ARTIFACT ANALYSIS

TITLE OF ARTIFACT:

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WORK CITED:

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AUTHOR –
Age _____ Gender _____ Class/Position __________________________________________________________
Political Allegiance (s) _________________________________________________________________________
Religion _________________________ Ethnicity __________________________
Personal connection to purported topic of artifact ____________________________________________________
Relevance (?)



TYPE –
Type of artifact _______________________________________________________________________________
Personal/Public ___________________________________ Medium _____________________________________
Contemporary to the artifact’s topic/event ________________________________________ Translation Y N N/A

CONTEXT –
Date _______________ Location _________________________________________________________________
Era (s) ______________________________________________________________________________________
Contemporary Issues/Events/Movements ____________________________________________________________
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Relevance (?)


PURPOSE:

AUDIENCE –
Age _____ Gender _____ Class/Position ____________________________________________________________
Political Allegiance (s) ___________________________________________________________________________
Religion ____________________ Ethnicity _________________ Circulation ________________________________
Connection to purported topic of artifact _____________________________________________________________
Relevance (?)


PURPOSE:


INTENT –
Why was the artifact created? Is it a piece of persuasion?


What is the main idea or message of the artifact? What is the main argument?


STYLE –
How does the style / diction / wording / rhetorical style / tone help you understand the purpose of the artifact?



VALUE:
Insight into worldview (political/social/cultural views) of author



Insight into worldview (political/social/cultural views) of the audience



How can this artifact help you understand the time in which it was produced?




LIMITATION:
Is this a distortion of ‘ideas’, ‘beliefs’, the ‘facts’ or of ‘history’?



Is any relevant information ignored/left out?



Does the author’s political and/or social views create a biased view?



Do we know the reaction of the intended audience?



SIGNIFICANCE / RELIABILITY
What are you trying to understand by using this artifact? What are you being asked to do with this artifact? In light of the above analysis, what is the significance and reliability of the artifact towards the purpose in which you intend to use it?