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Instructions
Video Assignment: Shahnameh and Sundiata
Purpose
For this assignment, you will respond to one of the two prompts below and make a thoughtful argument about the Shahnameh and the Sundiata. You will then present your argument to your instructor via a PowerPoint presentation of 8-10 slides and a brief 3-5 minute video overview of that PowerPoint presentation.
Task
First, choose one of these two prompts.
Consider the origins of the heroes of the Shahnameh and Sundiata. What information do the authors share about the families and early lives of the characters Rustem and Sundiata? What are their backgrounds? Drawing upon that information, analyze how the heroes’ early circumstances shape their worldview and prepare them for the heroic journeys that follow.
Analyze the ways in which women in the Shahnameh and Sundiata influence the heroes of these epics. What agency do they have over their own lives? How do they adhere to the values of their societies, and in what ways do they break established norms? What price (if any) do they pay for the choices they make? Ultimately, what lessons are the audience intended to learn about the role of women in these societies?
Second, create a PowerPoint presentation of your argument. Include both text and images that illustrate and enhance the argument you are making. Use the following as an outline of what to include:
Start with a title page that includes your name, the title of the presentation, the date, the course, the name of your professor. (1 slide)
Explain the general topic and put forth a thesis, an argument that brings both epics into conversation with each other. (1 slide)
Apply that topic to both Shahnameh and to Sundiata. Give specific examples and quotations from the texts to support your analyses. (5-7 slides).
Your final slide should be your Works Cited slide, with both texts in MLA format. (1 slide)
Third, and finally: Create a 3-5 minute video. During your video, 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? If you had time to continue working on this project, what might you explore next?