Chichibu Pilgrimage Digital Museum Project (20%) Due April 29th

This project will be undertaken during the second part of the semester. The goal is to create a Scalar ebook database on the Chichibu thirty-four temple Kannon pilgrimage as a digital resource for people interested in studying (and perhaps traveling to) it. Our class work on Kannon pilgrimage on the Chichibu route in general will have oriented you, providing the basic information to begin your project. I will be responsible for writing a Scalar digitalized overview of the Chichibu pilgrimage (see. This will include a short 1000 word article introducing Japanese and the Chichibu pilgrimage—its history organization, and importance, with some photographs of the route from my collection, and an introduction to the digital ebook as a whole (See http://scalar.usc.edu/works/pilgrimages-canton-to-chichibu/the-chichibu-34-fudasho-kannon-pilgrimage-an-introduction). I will also include a map with links to each temple.

The class will be divided into four research groups (three to four students each for this assignment). This project is based on the Nicholas Cage movie, National Treasure (2004) (See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368891/). That is, you are doing a kind of treasure hunt, using artifacts collected from the Chichibu pilgrinage, photos, and so on as clues to figure out what they are, what their meaning is, how they are used, and so on.

Each group will be given artifacts from the Chichibu pilgrimage. You will be given some basic hints about the materials (photos, religious material culture, texts, etc.) in your possession. Your task is to decode the items in your group’s possession explaining in detail you findings. For example, you have been given a keychain, which is a souvenir from the Chichibu pilgrimage. Your goal is to decipher all the writing, images, symbols on the item, knowing their significance. You then take photos of the item and put your information (labeling it like a museum piece) on Scalar. You should have an introduction, section, objects, and credit labels for each item you put in your digital museum. Each group has four items of material culture. This is the initial focus of your assignment----each one has a wealth of information you can glean from it, all of which should be put on your Scalar site. You will need to photo it (front and back) and decipher any text, images, iddities found ion the item). Each group should include also tag elements to other items in the ebook as the group find relevant and meaningful. In addition, each group has several photos to identify as well. I am looking for a minimum of four photos per group from the bunch. However, the more photos you decipher the higher the grade. The more detail your level of analysis the higher your grade. All of this goes on the Scalar pages you create four your stuff, which will be designed by you following the museum labeling process detailed below and linked to the Chichibu map I am creating for the project.

In many cases, you may need to contact an expert to help you do your work. I will not be available as an information resource. A good place to start will be Chichibu guidebooks. I have placed two English guidebooks on reserve in the library under our course name. You will also have to find your own research sources in the library and on the Internet—there I can be of great help if you come to me for reference questions. I expect your research to be based upon academic sources. For example, if you find a Sanskrit character on an item, you will need to find its meaning in a dictionary that should be cited in your work. That is, as in any research paper, you need to document your sources (in your credits label). 

Your grade will be determined as follows: (1) The detail and accuracy of your analysis and content; (2) Correct use of labels; (3) Creative design of your Scalar pages for your section of the museum; (4) Correct style, grammar and punctuation (any mistake here will result in a ? letter grade lowering of your final grade!); (5) intelligent tagging with other sites within your section of the museum and outside it as well. The 1000 word (approximately four to five page essay that introduces your Scalar pages as a whole. This is a general orientation essay giving an overview of your project’s topic and ties all your separate research together into a coherent essay (it should have a bibliography at the end of your research sources).

The four projects are the following: (1) The Chichibu general materials group;  (2) Fudasho #1 group; (3) Fudasho #4 group; (4) Fudasho #17 and Anohana group. Please note that materials for you to do this assignment will be on Sakai, or distributed to you directly (they are precious so you have to take good care of them). 

All of these projects require research. In most cases, these will be partially based on research you have done earlier on in the semester, particularly materials we have already ready for class. But additional materials including other academic sources will be needed to complete each project. You may have to seek out experts on campus or through the Internet to get information. In addition, you will need to learn how to use and upload your materials on Scalar, the digital website used for this class. 

Museum labeling format. Your pages begin with your 1000 word orientation essay. Then each item (material and photographic image ) that you have researched should be presented on your pages. The pages should be designed as a digital museum exhibit with an Introduction label (introducing the exhibit), Section labels (indicating sub-topics explored), Object labels (for each object), and Credit labels. For labeling please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_label.