The American Dream Museum Exhibit
Your team has been asked to create an exhibition that communicates the essence of the American Dream.
Your job is to collect artifacts—images, music, literature, poems, or other items that represent or symbolize the idea behind the American Dream. Use your imagination and have fun!
Each team member must collect 10 items and bring them in for discussion with the other team members. You should be able to make an argument about why you believe each artifact should be in the exhibition. Then, the team should choose five objects from each person’s collection. Take notes about why those items were selected as representatives of the American Dream.
The format of your exhibit is limitless—your team (if everyone can agree) can have an overarching theme such as “Unrealistic Expectations? Women and the American Dream” or “His Way and the American Way: Music and Images of Frank Sinatra” or you can have a hodge-podge collection of items. The important thing to remember is that you must be able to make the argument that your exhibition says something about some aspect of the American Dream.
- At some point before the exhibit, decide on a title of your exhibition—be creative!
- Each individual team member will write a one to two page argument about each of their (5) artifacts and why they are important representations of the American Dream. For example, if you are writing about an image, you might do a textual analysis of the image—the subject, composition of the elements, colors, etc. If you selected a song or other music, you might show how the music or lyrics represent the American Dream. Try to make connections and/or cite some of the material we’ve covered in class.
- Each team member will also write a one or two page introduction to the exhibit. Be sure to define the “American Dream.” (We created a definition in class and our reading materials also defined it.) This introduction should provide an overview of the exhibit and why the audience should be interested in it. Look over all our material from this semester—the founding documents, speeches, and essays. Again, try to connect and/or cite some of the material we’ve covered in class.
- Finally, each team will give a tour of their exhibit and provide information about their artifacts.
Due Dates:
Thurs—04/15 Each person brings in 10 artifacts—Teams discuss and narrow down each person to 5
Thurs—04/22 Each team member brings in and reads their arguments about each of their artifacts
Thurs—04/29 Teams work on the design and order of their artifacts and presentation
Tues—05/04 Group Project Presentations
Thur—05/06 Group Project Presentations
