For your final projects, each of you will research one of the areas we have studied from the perspective of a 100-year old elder and leave behind a time capsule. You may choose any place and 100-year period of time you wish but must be prepared to create something that survives you, write an Autobiography or First Person Narrative, and tell your classmates about the details of your life.

Object (100 pts - 10%)
First you will have to create an appropriate historical object that would have been able to survive in the area and time you choose until the present day. Depending on where you live this could be many different things, including a sculpture, poem, pot, painting, carving, tomb, or story that survives through the oral tradition. There are many possibilities for this part of the project, use your imagination and knowledge of what types of objects have survived thousands of years to tell their story in the area you have chosen.

Written Report (150 pts - 15%)
Each of you will then be responsible for creating a written Autobiography or First Person Narrative about all that you have seen in your hundred year lives. This should at least 1000 words or about 3 pages of typewritten text. It certainly can be longer if need be. The following details MUST be addressed in your written report but please feel free to explain or detail other information that may be interesting about who you are and where you are from. You definitely have more creative license here, your details need only be accurate to the time and place you have chosen.

If you choose to use quotations you MUST ONLY draw from sources who are alive when you are (you can't quote from the book or internet but if you live in Greece maybe you can quote Plato for example). Depending on where you choose, you can find much detail in the book but I expect each of you to reference AT LEAST TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES. Although you will not be quoting them, you should include a Bibliography at the end of your report with the sources that inspired you. This written report serves as your Final Exam and should be turned in preferably during your oral presentation but no later than the date scheduled for our class's final exam (to be announced).

Environment: What is the geographical landscape of where you live? What resources are available to you? What technology is important in your life? Have these changed throughout the course of your lifetime? Have you always lived in this same area or have you moved around?

Home: Do you have a family? What is it like? How many children, grandchildren, great grandchildren? What was your domestic role? What is your house like? What are your descendants like? Are their domestic roles different than yours were in any way?

Occupation: What type of work have you done for the last 100 years? Where did you work? Did you travel much? What about your family, what did they do? How does your occupation compare to the majority of people who live around you? What careers are most common where you are from? Were there any changes in technology throughout your lifetime that made work easier?

Faith: What are your religious beliefs? Have they changed? How did they shape your life? How important are they to who you are and what you have done in your 100 years? What is their larger place within your society? Are you more or less religious than those around you? What will happen to you according to your beliefs now that you are nearing death? Are you frightened or excited about the prospect of dying?

Travel/Trade: Throughout your life did you travel much? If so where did you go and what did you see? Do you ever buy or use products or objects from foreign societies? What do you think those places might be like? How might they be different than where you are from? Would you like to visit anywhere else before you die? What about your family, do more of the younger generation travel? Choose three cultures (must specify the time periods or eras you are discussing within them), compare the resources at their disposal because of their geographical location and natural surroundings, and argue which was better positioned to succeed based only on their environment. How did these environmental factors actually contribute to or deter the development of their civilizations?

Language/Communication/Writing: What language do you speak? What language do the rulers of your land speak? Do you write? If so, what language do you write in and what do you write on (remember, if you are going to leave a poem or novel or historical account behind, you have to be able to write)? If not, who does in society? Do you wish you could write?

Society/Politics: What is your place in society, what social and economic class do you belong to? Have you been a part of the same class since you were born? What type of limitations or advantages has this given you throughout your life? Do you ever wonder how your life may be different if you were born into a different social group? Who rules the area you live in? Have politics affected your daily life much in the last 100 years? Do you like your current leader, does he/she or his/her policy affect your daily life much?

Recreation/Arts/Inspiration: What do you do for fun? Do you have someone or something in your life who inspires you? Who are they and why?

The Good Old Days/ Predictions: Since you have seen so much in your lifetime, how do you think things have changed. Were they better then or are they better now? Why? Do your descendants feel differently? What will the impact of your life be? Do you think you had a good life overall? What do you predict for the future?

Oral Report (100 pts - 10%)
You each must be prepared to answer questions about these details of your life. You must also be prepared to present the object you are leaving behind to the class and explain why it is appropriate (and will survive). We will have presentations on November 27th and December 2nd. Each presentation will be roughly 10-15 minutes. You will display your object and the class will ask questions to try and decide where you are from. After they figure it out, you will have to tell us a bit about your life. Points will also be given for participating actively in finding out where your classmates are from.