Final Capstone Project Proposal

Name of student: Benny Kang

Date: th, 2021
May 14
Teacher: Ms. Lacroix
Capstone strand I have chosen is The Capstone strand I chose is a Project Strand

Proposed title for my project: The History of the Ancient and Modern City of Palmyra

My inquiry question is:

What can I do or create to introduce and get others around me interested in History?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are
choosing to investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry
connect to your passion(s), purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

I chose this question and investigative topic because it allowed me to explore and expand my
knowledge of history while also being able to share my passion and interest with the people
around me. I have had an interest and passion for history since middle school as I became
introduced to the periods and stories of the past. I loved delving into a period of time or
geographic area and being able to discover the unique dynastic and personal stories unfolding
through time. I also loved being able to see and examine the connections between all of these
stories and the reasons and fallout of these events and how they connect to our present day.

I want to be able to share this passion, and the way I want to do this is by creating an engaging
presentation of history I also personally want to explore. When I was beginning to get interested
in the subject I was drawn in by animated or well-made documentaries or web series that
brought attention to interesting periods of history. By creating my own I would be able to further
my knowledge while potentially providing a chance for others to engage with something that has
brought me a lot of joy.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this

area of inquiry?

For background knowledge in this area of inquiry I have explored a lot of western and European
history but want to divert my attention to other geographic locations to widen my horizons. For
academic research one example was the creation of a draft extended essay for IB for history
regarding Carthage. Regarding the history of Palmyra which is the specific topic in question, I
have a small overview and knowledge of the history but chose it because of my interest in
learning more about the city and its evolution over time.

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What
connections does this inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

Although I do not have a specific career choice I have decided on I know that I want to move
towards an education in the history field and gain an occupation around this area. For
connection to the inquiry question and my life, academic, or career goal, I believe working on
the question and project will allow me to deepen my draw to the subject and open the gates for
me to expand the areas of history that I want to explore to learn through. I plan on my interest in
the subject to last me my entire life and I have goals to travel and take in the locations and gain
a greater appreciation of the world as a result of having a greater understanding of what came
before.

Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core
competencies will be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

For the interdisciplinary connections, this project will involve History, English, and Art. I will
require history to be able to research and gain knowledge and information to be able to share
and detail for an audience. English and Art will be utilized in the actual creation of the
presentation as I would create visuals and art to enhance and create a more engaging
presentation and create a suitable script that would be read along with the visuals of the
presentation.

For core competencies connection, I believe Communication, creative thinking, and critical
thinking connect to the project. Creative and critical thinking would be used in both the research
and creation stages of the project as I would want to delve through research materials and
gather relevant information by absorbing the important and correct information to present. I
would have to decide on what to present along with how to present it such as what should be
drawn or created for a specific part of the presentation. Communication would come in since I
would have to effectively communicate the ideas and information I want to present to my
audience through the script and actual speaking that would be recorded to play alongside the
visual presentation.
Personal Awareness & Responsibility:
Personal awareness & responsibility will be important during this project for both self-
determination and self-regulation. Because of the scope and amount of freedom that I have in
the creation of this project, ranging from what the product will actually be to how it will be
presented, I will need to be the one responsible for keeping track and working on the project so
that it can be completed. I will need to be able to motivate myself during the entire process and
also be able to set my own goals and timeline.
Social Responsibility:
Social responsibility will also be an integral core competency in the creation of my capstone
product. Aspects such as contributing works that can benefit the community by introducing them
to new ideas and subjects that may intrigue them. Being able to solve problems I may encounter
during the process of creation by being able to identify and utilize different perspectives and
views and evaluating and utilizing strategies to resolve those problems, such as evaluating the
credibility of different sources and being able to respect and incorporate differentiating view and
ideas surrounding the subject of history.

Critical Thinking:
As previously stated, critical thinking for this project will be essential in effectively conducting the
research and creation of my product. It will be vital when conducting the research necessary by
allowing myself to seek out and sort through the vast amount of information and knowledge
available and determining which ones are the most important, relevant, and trustworthy. Critical
thinking will also be important when combining the finalize research with a visual and auditory
presentation to create a final product as it will be necessary to properly create a timeline and
schedule of progress.

Creative Thinking:
Similar to critical thinking, creative thinking would be important in the creation of the visual and
auditory aspects of the presentation. Creative thinking will be utilized to translate the research
and information gathered into a presentable and digestible format for an audience. It will be
important in creating a script as well as visuals to go along with it that is able to engage the
audience with the material being presented.

Communication:
Communication will be vital to effectively relay the content present in the video and actually
engage the audience in the subject of history being presented. Not only will I have to speak
clearly and fluidly, but I also need to be able to set the right tone to connect more effectively with
the content actually being presented. Being able to connect with an audience even if it’s only me
talking can be accomplished by presenting an interesting and engaging product that they can
become invested in. Overall, being able to effectively interpret and present the information I
gather will be integral to creating a good product.

Personal & Cultural Identity:

Personal & cultural identity will be important to be able to actually be engaged and committed to
the project. Being able to appreciate and respect the culture and history of the subjects that I am
diving into and trying to present. Being able to understand the history and its importance to
others and myself. These aspects can help me become more invested in the topic I am
researching and become more invested in trying to get others to appreciate and learn about it
themselves. Being able to also understand my abilities and strengths can help to assist me in
creating a product I can be proud of completing by allowing myself to focus on the aspects I
excel at while also trying to improve skills I may lack.
Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to
present your project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once
completed. You may use a combination of mediums.
○ Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
○ Physical portfolio
○ Website
○ iMovie presentation
○ YouTube channel

The final medium used for the presentation would be a digital .mp4 video which could be
uploaded to a website such as YouTube or simply sent to the recipient.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what
will you research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced
at the end of this project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your
proposal.

The project timeline will be separated into two major stages. The first will be the research and
discovery stage and the second will be the creation stage in which the information collected in
the first stage is sorted and used to create a complete product to present in video form.

In the first stage, research must be completed to actually gather content to deliver for the final
product. I will research and study the history of the city of Palmyra using academic sources
available to me. Several sources will be utilized for the research of the topic starting with the
JSTOR database and moving on from there. Along with the journal articles retrieved from
JSTOR, books written on the subject will also be used for research purposes. These books will
be vetted by myself to ensure that they are written and published by credible professionals and
organizations within the area of study.
Once a sufficient amount of sources have been located they will be examined and used to gain
information and knowledge which will all be combined in the ended to create a detailed
presentation of the History of Palmyra.

After the completion of my research and the possession of enough material to form a video on I
will begin the creation of a video that will be an engaging explanation and rundown of
Palmyrene history. For this project, I will form the basic structure of the video and how it will flow
along with what each section will talk about. After doing this a script for the entire video will be
created that will be one-half of the video. Once this script is created I will record it myself and
save it for the next stage of the project. Once the script is created I can begin creating the visual
aspect of the video that will go alongside it. A drawing table will be used to create illustrations
along with creating edited photos on the computers if needed. Once both the audio and visual
aspects of the video are completed they will be combined and edited into a final product which
will be a video presentation. This video presentation will be the final product used for the
evaluation of the product.

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and

skills you will need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to
access/learn all of the resources necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail
your plans.

For any resources or technology, the only thing required for this project will be my personal
computer as the project will be completed digitally. Skills or use of any software should not be a
problem as I already know how to operate any which will be used such as the drawing program I
am planning to utilize. If I chose to use or add another software to help assist in creating the
project I can simply search for tutorials and guide to learn to operate them.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will

you need to help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you?
What is your plan to access the mentorship/community connections necessary for this
project?

Although I don’t believe the assistance of a mentor is required for the completion of this project
some mentors I could potentially reach out to would-be local museum curators who have
knowledge concerning Palmyra. Another could be University professors and historians who I
could reach out to online for any question or help when researching. They could help me
answer any question I have that I was not able to clarify in my own research or provide new
information or perspectives I did not encounter in my own research. For accessing any mentors
I would plan on trying to reach out to them using email or any other form of communication
online because of the pandemic or distance reasons.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee
that might affect progress with your Capstone Project?
Some project limitations could be any technical problems that may occur such as files not
having saved after work or files being corrupted or deleted by accident. A more likely problem
could be that I may run out of time because of the limited time available for Capstone this year. I
have become too ambitious with the project, so I must keep in mind the limitations of time and
keep the project reasonable and manageable.

Attach a REFERENCE LIST. Your list should be written using correct APA formatting.
An example is provided on page 21 of your Capstone booklet.

References:

Bonacossi, D., & Iamoni, M. (2012). THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE WESTERN

PALMYRA DESERT REGION. THE CHANGE IN THE SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

AND THE ADAPTATION OF SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES TO ENCROACHING

ARIDITY: A FIRST ASSESSMENT OF THE DESERT-KITE AND TUMULUS

CULTURAL HORIZONS. Syria, 89, 31-58. Retrieved May 5, 2021, from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/24887325

Campion, K. (2017). Blast through the Past: Terrorist Attacks on Art and Antiquities as a

Reconquest of the Modern Jihadi Identity. Perspectives on Terrorism, 11(1), 26-39.

Retrieved May 5, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/26297735

Gawlikowski, M. (1994). Palmyra as a Trading Centre. Iraq, 56, 27-33. Retrieved May 6,

2021, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4200382

McCrea, R. (2018). THE POLITICAL IN TRADITION AND PLACE: REVISITING

PALMYRA CA. 14–272 AD AND 2013–2016. Traditional Dwellings and Settlements

Review, 30(1), 61-61. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from

https://www.jstor.org/stable/26877430

Potter, D. (1996). Palmyra and Rome: Odaenathus' Titulature and the Use of the

Imperium Maius. Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik, 113, 271-285. Retrieved

May 5, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20189870

SOMMER, M. I. C. H. A. E. L. (2020). Palmyra: a history. ROUTLEDGE.

Syrian archaeologists murdered by ISIS. (2015). Archaeology Ireland, 29(3), 41-41.

Retrieved May 5, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43631008

Veyne, P., & Fagan, T. L. (2018). Palmyra: an irreplaceable treasure. The University of

Chicago Press.