Abstract
In our complex society, more and more people are beginning to recognize the multifarious nature of identity and its many subsets: race, language, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, etc. Some of these carry more weight than others, sometimes externally, such as race, and other times internally, such as one’s belief in God. In an ever increasingly binaried world, it’s imperative to address the complexity of identity and to be open to conversations about what certain conflicted identities mean for individuals and communities. The ability to critically identify and analyze conflicting “identities,” to be able to listen to and respect multiple narratives, is crucial. This sort of social, emotional, and analytical training must start at a young age. Imagine if school children grew comfortable asking the questions: whose history are we learning? Whose narrative are we reading? What are the other sides to this story? How does representation shape perception? This is a proposal for a curriculum that would reimagine and revive the relationship between cultural institutions and community youth. Based within an art museum, students would be given the chance to explore the collections while considering: what types of pieces do you see here? Whose history is represented in this collection? The program would involve critical discussion and conversation, investigating which questions they could answer, which questions they couldn’t, and why. The program concludes with a visual representation project: each student is asked to pick a piece from the collection and visually respond to a series of questions.
Presenters
Alexandra SanyalMasters Student, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
2021 Special Focus: Critical Thinking, Soft Skills, and Technology
KEYWORDS
Identity, Conflict, Representation, Art, Youth, Education
