Students are required to complete one required research project (Native Artist Profile or Native Arts Subject Area) for submission during the semester. The Research Project is designed to replace a "formal" written research paper. Students are responsible for completing an Abstract – which is to be a minimum of 2 full pages of text – for the research project. The content of the Abstract will outline the specific project, identify resources, propose a working time-line, and, scope of research to be accomplished.

Research Project Content: The Native Artist Profile (biographical style) and Native Arts Subject Area (subject based research style) should include Native/non-Native cultural influences upon the work of the artist and area being researched. For the Native Artist Profile it will be useful to examine the artist’s work within American society and the global/multi-national art community. The specific Native artist, as well as the Native Arts Subject to review for the final submission is left to the discretion of the student. Assistance regarding this project may be provided by the Professor, or as necessary. An "Artist Listing" is available on-line through CANVAS for suggestions as necessary. Detailed information pertaining to these research projects can be found in the "Research" folder within the "Assignments, Exams & Course" folder on CANVAS. Both research projects should discuss the cultural background of the artist/art and any non-Native influences upon the artist/art being examined.

Regardless of the research topic selected, each research project will include: a complete bibliography, footnotes or end notes in proper citation format (i.e., Chicago Manual Style, MLA, APA, etc.), and a separate Abstract. Research projects submitted without these components will result in a substantial lowering of the final mark for the overall project. No Wiki or open-source interest sites (i.e., Wikipedia) are permissible for research. The inclusion and/or use of such internet sites will result in a substantial lowering of the overall grade for any research project. Scholarly and/or peer-reviewed journals and articles are strongly encouraged to be used for all research projects.
Each research project will include the following:

Images, or other supporting visuals/multi-media (i.e., graphs, music, maps). If a Discussion/Lecture style presentation is selected, these supporting visuals are not included within the required full pages of text.
Proper citation for all supporting resources (i.e., end notes, footnotes, bibliography, website URL). Resources should be from a minimum combination of two(2) different sources (i.e., books, articles, websites, interviews, videos).
Research Projects must be in one (1) of the following forms:

Discussion/Lecture Format (i.e., webinar, Skype): 15 – 20 minute minimum length required + minimum 5 – 10 page (double spaced) research document.
Film/Video: 15 – 20 minute minimum length required + written document outlining and containing the information used to generate the film/video. Length of this written document will vary.
Power Point/Prezi ( https://prezi.com/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) Presentation: 20 minute minimum length required + any included notes and documents used during the presentation.

Sample Solution

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

This question has been answered.

Get Answer