Your Oceans & Society assignment for the summer is to identify and research an artifact related to maritime culture (past or present) that is meaningful or interesting to you. 

The point of the assignment is to identify one specific way in which human cultures, in the past or currently, have meaningful interactions with the maritime world. The “artifact” does not necessarily need to be a physical object, although a physical object is one option; alternatively, you could choose something less tangible from the maritime world, perhaps an idea, policy, person, technology, song or story.  See the list of Cultural Categories below for some cultural categories that could lead you to an artifact that interests you.  Then read through "What you need to do" to put your project together.  

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: 

Come to Woods Hole fully prepared to describe/present a 3-5 minute presentation summarizing your personal investigation of a maritime artifact, inspired by the categories above or elsewhere.  Important Note: This is not a digital slideshow you will be presenting without technology. 

• The handout describing/illustrating your 3 to 5 minute talk on your selected maritime artifact /idea should be more than one 8.5 x 11 printed page to distribute to fellow students and folks at SEA prior to your talk. 

• Important Note: This is not a digital slideshow you will be presenting without technology. 

Possible content to include in your 3 to 5 minute talk with physical handout (images, diagrams or words): How and why did you choose this maritime artifact/idea? How does it show human interaction with the oceans?  What is the timeframe represented by this artifact? How might it have been created and by whom? Which cultural category would you say this artifact belongs to?  What does this artifact show or make you consider about past, current or even future interactions between oceans and societies?  Where might this artifact have been created originally? Did it move/travel or impact areas other than where it was created?  Cover any of this content or others ideas / aspects of research into your artifact that interest you and produces the 3 to 5 minute talk from your personal investigation into the item.