Class Project:. Southeastern Louisiana is a highly diverse region whose social landscape has been shaped through migration, colonization, forced displacement, and human trafficking during the last 10,000 years. Today, New Orleans and its surrounding areas are home to people with cultural roots in all continents. For this project, students will select an ethnic group other than the one they primarily identify with and which is represented in the current population of Southeastern Louisiana. Projects consist of various assignments that are due on different dates throughout the semester. The assignments and their due dates are as follows:
1. Introduction to cultural group: The student will indicate the cultural group they will be focusing on throughout the semester and will provide a brief description of that population’s cultural and migration history. Assignment must be based on the review and citation of at least 2 scholarly sources (1 page, 12 pt type, double spaced, one-inch margins, 250 words).
2. Religion and Cosmology: The student will provide a description of the primary religious behaviors their chosen cultural group has practiced in the past and is practicing in the present. Assignment must be based on the review and citation of at least 2 scholarly sources (1 page, 12 pt type, double spaced, one-inch margins, 250 words).
3. Language: The student will provide a brief description of the language(s) primarily spoken by their chosen cultural group, including the language’s primary features and broader language family. Students should reflect on how the language of their chosen cultural group differs from Standard American English. Assignment must be based on the review and citation of at least 2 scholarly sources (1 page, 12 pt type, double spaced, one-inch margins, 250 words).
4. Economic Behavior: The student will provide a brief description of the past and present primary subsistence and economic practices of their chosen cultural group. Assignment must be based on the review and citation of at least 2 scholarly sources (1 page, 12 pt type, double spaced, one-inch margins, 250 words).
5. Food or Popular Culture: The student will either a) provide a description of the foodways of their chosen cultural group. Assignments should discuss themes such as ritual importance, meaning, and ecological origins and impact. Assignment must be based on the review of at least 1 scholarly sources and 1 or more popular sources (2 pages, 12 pt type, double spaced, one inch margins, 250 words), or b) provide a description of an event or example of popular culture (music, film, social media) related to the cultural group they are focusing on (1 page, 12 pt type, double spaced, one inch margins, 250 words).
