- Photo-voice journal
- Collage
- Dance, song, theatrical performance
- Personal reflection journal
- Mixed CD
- Brief movie on DVD
- Website
- Poetry, spoken word
- Something with food
- Poster presentation
- Creative essay on your reflection
Yeah. So, those of you who know me, may have had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing me sing and dance in informal settings before. I've heard the words "Elaine from Seinfeld" more than once in descriptions of my "moves," so I'm not going there in the classroom. I wrote some bad poetry a couple of times in high school. I've made a collage or two in my time, but I wasn't feeling very inspired on that one for this. The thought of sifting through magazines and pictures sounds exhausting at this point in the quarter. Nor do I feel the urge to make a mixed CD, even though I heart music, primarily because I don't think I have a good collection of music in mind related to social justice. For a while, I felt a glimmer of interest in creating a social justice diorama, simply because dioramas are *awesome*, and I know that would make friend Em very proud based on our history of diorama ideas, but I got tripped up in envisioning a concept. My expertise in the kitchen extends to french toast. And, frankly, while creative at times, my artistic record is pretty spotty. I created a Culture Chest as a first assignment for this class, and here is what I came up with:
As you can see, I am not a fan of leaving any blank space open. Gaudy clutter is more my style. The culture chest project was a starting point in helping the class understand each other's social and cultural identities, and the dynamics around these identities. We were asked to put three items inside of our chest that represent/describe our own membership in various social/cultural groups (race, ethnicity, gender, religion, social class, etc.) that are meaningful to us. The second part was to decorate the chest with images, words, and phrases that describe how we think other people see these aspects of ourselves and our social groups. We made short presentations on our culture chests to the class. I had fun with this, decorating the outside with words and images that represent how people describe me or what is reflected back to me based on perceptions of my identity, and things people commonly know about me or my interests. The cool-friendly at the top is meant to show that people usually find me friendly enough but will also say that I seem a bit cool or standoffish at first. I've heard that a lot through my life, and, while I don't mean to do this, I think it's a result of initial shyness and wanting to feel out new situation.
On the inside of the chest, I placed an item that signifies my alternative spiritual identity and connection, which is incredibly important to me. I had a symbol that represents female characteristics and strength throughout every phase of life, and stands for the important female relationships in my life. And, finally, I have a Yoshitomo Nara postcard of one of the more straightfaced grumpy girls to portray my exasperation/confusion with social injustices in our world. On the back, I included a Dr. Seuss quote from The Lorax "Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." I firmly believe that, and I'm sure that concept will come up in later posts since I operate with that belief as one of my life truths. Sometimes it's really tough. Hence, the straight face.
Anyway, with all of that in mind, and after my culture chest tangent, I've decided to write a series of blog posts on my reflections from class and on social justice. I like to write. I process best through writing. And, this way, I can also include pictures, songs, poems, quotes, and links to more completely integrate my ideas within my posts.
The questions I'll be answering in my reflections are:
1. What has been key learning for you in this course?
2. How will you continue to deepen your understanding of social justice issues?
3. What will your involvement in social justice issues look like beyond this course?
4. How do you envision incorporating social justice issues in your work?
Project Posts
Intro
Movies with Social Justice Themes
Part 1
Part 2
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