Intersession 2008 (part 2)

As mentioned in my earlier post (Intersession 2008), I recently taught a two-week intensive course called The Art of Social Protest. In it, students chose from a variety of media and created socially conscious work about a variety of topics of relevance to them. Because students received a pass/fail designation for course, there were several issues paramount to its success. One was student choice: because the grade was not an issue, it was clear from the beginning that students' most significant motivating factor would be their intrinsic investment in the work they were doing.

As a result, the issues and media students chose for their work vary greatly: a surrealist film suggesting the social pressures felt by girls to look a certain way; a surfboard mural depicting extinct species of frog; a dystopic short story about censorship; political comics on global climate change; punk songs about racism and the government; and a collage protesting the depiction of women in shojo cartoons - just to name a few. By and large, the pieces students produced were successful in their aims. I've posted a few examples below.

Lora, "Shojo Collage"


Beth, "Bob Dylan"


Lisa, "Scared of Growing Up"


Beth & Mari, "Somewhat Surreal"


For more student work or information about Intersession, visit my Digital Portfolio (http://teachers.oregon.k12.wi.us/pforsich).