Subject 1: Analyzing Cultural Artefacts
In the major Culture and History, you will often encounter texts, images, or artefacts of various kinds that are difficult to understand, especially on first glance. They may have come from a very distant historical time or a different culture, or they may have been specifically designed to challenge your preconceptions. You will need to be able to make intelligent “guesses” in order to begin the process of interpretation. The following exercise asks you to practice analyzing a challenging cultural artefact (Figure 1, right).
Mark the statements that are a useful starting point for interpreting this challenging poem:
