Embedded Meanings
Recontextualizing the Myth of “The Abduction of Europe”: Using Art Works for the Creation of Comics in an Interdisciplinary English Class Project
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Maria Emmanouilidou, Efi Papadimitriou
The following paper is a presentation of a teaching intervention applied in a 6th grade English class in Thessaloniki, Greece, focusing on the ways art works can contribute to differentiated learning, increase of motivation and improvement of linguistic output in the target language. The materials chosen for the teaching intervention are five works of art revolving around the myth of “The Abduction of Europe.” The purpose of the intervention was to kindle the students’ critical skills through thorough investigation of the art works. Apart from the artistic elements portrayed, the students were encouraged to detect how male power is depicted in the paintings and sculpture chosen. Following the observation and analysis, the students produced comics relating the theme to the present day social world. Careful investigation of the comics exhibits an overwhelming tendency to perpetuate dominant stereotypes of male power where the weak female needs to be saved by the powerful male, even in its animalistic form. These findings seem quite disturbing in the sense that students have not yet developed critical literacy skills, but accept particular aspects of the social world as “natural.” However, the overall outcome of the teaching intervention suggests that active engagement with works of art can improve the students’ linguistic skills in English and enhance motivation.
Erasmus within the Framework of the Ionian University: Research on Identity Related Metamorphoses, Reflections and Experiences in the Context of the Mobilities 2012-2016
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Georgia Tsimpida
Nowadays Europe, aiming for the borders’ breaking down and in response to the globalization of the economy and the recent immigration crisis, presents a new, more demanding Erasmus+ program concerning the university education. On the occasion of the celebration of the 30th Erasmus anniversary and the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which reflects the importance of the year 2017, the present research conducted within the framework of the Open University (Greece), notes the importance of identities` issues through mobility actions. The main objective was to present the general theoretical reflexion of a Europe always developing, to explore the evolutions in a cultural, social, psychological level as well as the complexity of identification and identity related metamorphoses of the Ionian University`s students of Corfu, who travel in a world facing a new barriers crisis. In particular, within the context of the six Departments of the Ionian University and the students` future personal and professional fulfillment, the Erasmus bubble will be presented thoroughly: a practical approach of data/statistics of the period 2012-16 and the 25years experience of the Chief of the Bureau of Public and International Relations will shed light on important aspects concerning the future of the University.
Learning Literacy through the Rhetorical Function of the Drum: The Place of Sound, Symbolism and Reflection
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Joseph H. Gaines
This study corroborates the need to broaden the conceptual framework from which to examine the rhetorical function of the drum in Africa and broader African diaspora. The notion of "languaging" and "translanguaging," dynamically creative and reproductive processes--not constrained to only speech or writing to create meaning, seen through the lens of "semiotics," the study of sound, words, and body language is explored. In sum, the research cogently reveals how the African drum languages have been shown to be an influencing academic, as well as, psychosocial idiom. Continued discussion of their contribution and implications for the fields of: education, African studies, psychosocial linguistics, bilingual/bicultural studies, multicultural education, and comparative rhetoric is compelling.
