For this assignment, you’ll choose one of the topics below, evaluating Shahnameh

For this assignment, you’ll choose one of the topics below, evaluating Shahnameh and Inferno, and present it to your instructor via 8-10 slides and a brief video overview. This assignment will build your analysis, evaluative, and both visual and oral presentation skills. The video component will also serve to verify your identity for the purposes of this course.
You may be able to further flush out the writing you have already done in discussions towards these goals. If you choose a different topic than the ones on which you have already written, the discussion posts and responses may still be useful and inspiring to you. However, be careful you don’t plagiarize your classmates’ work. We encourage you to use the background material in the course to further develop your own original interpretations and arguments; researching other secondary sources is not required for this assignment, and plagiarism of other sources will not be tolerated.
First, choose one of the following two topics:
Topic #1: Unit 1B’s introduction to the Five Great Themes of World Literature states with regard to the hero: “The surest way to understand what a culture of the past most values is to focus on what it considers heroic, in that a culture recognizes its heroes as embodying its most important ideas, the values that are essential.” Discuss the diverse values that our two epic heroes, Rustem and Dante, embody.
Which values embodied by these epic heroes are endorsed or celebrated by their societies?
Are any of their values condemned or rejected by their societies?
Illustrate your discussion with specific examples of the heroes’ obligations to their societies and what their values reflect about their cultures.
One passage you should include in your discussion reflects Dante’s feelings at the beginning of his journey:
110 I bowed my head and held it low at last
111 the poet said: ‘What are your thoughts?’
112 In answer I replied ‘Oh,
113 how many sweet thoughts, what great desire
114 have brought them to this woeful pass!’ (Canto V).
Topic #2: Although two very different literary works, both the Shahnameh and Inferno deal centrally with the existence of human suffering and mortality. Discuss how the two deal with such issues as
what causes human suffering;
what seems inevitably tragic about human existence;
how one should deal with suffering;
what one should learn from an understanding of human mortality.
One passage you should include part or all of in your presentation is from the section about Saiawush. Rustem loved Saiawush, the son of Kai Kous. The passage says,
“By the hairs of his head they dragged him [Saiawush] unto a desert place, and the sword of Gersiwaz was planted in the breast of the royal cedar. But when it was done, and they had severed the head from the trunk, a mighty storm arose over the earth, and the heavens were darkened (Saiawush).
From the Shahnameh, your presentation will probably focus on Rustem, Sohrab, and/or Saiawush; for Dante, you have many options, but the following characters and their sad stories make especially good choices for the subject (but you can choose others if you wish; just one will do): Virgil, Francesca, Pier della Vigna, Brunetto Latini, Guido de Montefeltro.
Second, create a slide presentation of your argument. Include both text and images that illustrate and enhance the points you are making. Use the following as an outline of what to include:
Explain the general topic and relevant themes (e.g. heroes, suffering) and any relevant terms for that topic (suggested 2-3 slides).
Apply that topic to both Shahnameh and to Inferno. Give specific examples and quotes from the texts to support your analyses (suggested 5-7 slides). You may want to check the feedback from your previous assignment to make sure you improve upon your earlier efforts.
Your final slide should be your Works Cited slide, with both texts in MLA format.
Check the Building a Great Presentation page and accompanying links in the How to Succeed in this Course module for more assistance. Make sure you save time to submit your draft to Tutor.com via the free Tutoring Services link for helpful feedback before the due date. Make sure you save and submit your presentation as a PDF.
Third, and finally: you’ll practice briefly presenting on a few elements of your project. Open your video by clearly showing your student ID (or other government ID) to the camera for a few seconds for identity verification. During your presentation, please don’t read each slide out loud. Instead, trust that your reader has already looked through your slides and use the time to discuss what you yourself found compelling about this project.
For example:
what do you feel is the most fascinating part of your presentation, and why?
What do you understand about these epics now that you didn’t before you worked on this project?
What interesting connections have you made?
If you had time to continue working on this project, what might you explore next?
Shoot for a total presentation time between 2-3 minutes. Then record yourself through the assignment drop-box and upload the recording along with your slides. IMPORTANT: watch this brief video for instruction on how to best record your video directly within the assignment using your computer’s webcam. Note you will need to make sure your browser (Chrome or Firefox) allows GoView access to record video. This method avoids long download times and protects everyone’s computer from infected files.
You’ll be graded on your ability to analyze and evaluate your topic through both your slides and your oral presentation, as well as your effective use of visuals and your MLA formatting. Familiarize yourself with the criteria below and the grading requirements by going under Assessments/Rubrics in your nav bar to the Unit 5 Presentation Rubric SP21.