Hello All,
It’s Mid-Term time again! For those of you who have taken my classes before, you know that I take a unique approach to the Mid-Term and Final. I call the blog assignments that we do at these magic moments “updates” or “challenges.” I don’t call them papers. Rather, they are working documents that are designed to help you think through and integrate ideas from the class readings into your (newly evolving) thesis idea.
Yes, I realize that some of you are new in the program and have barely begun to think about a thesis. As you know, the MAE program at TTU offers three different thesis options. These options are, 1) traditional (research-based) thesis, 2) professional project paper, and, 3) an exhibition of your artwork and short exhibition paper explaining the work.
With these options in mind, please use the Mid-Term Challenge to flesh out your particular aims and interests in relation to critical pedagogy. The pedagogical issues we have discussed so far in this class encompass a range of school- and community-based initiatives and issues facing teachers of art, media and critical thinking. Please integrate your reading of Rethinking Popular Culture
& Media pp. 201-213, 226-234, 247-252 into your Mid-term response.
The Mid-Term Update asks you to consider and specify your interests in critical pedagogy in relation to the readings we have covered so far. I do not expect you to have a clear picture of how these interests may or may not influence your thesis. I do recommend that you think about your longterm goals in the MAE program and how particular readings, activities and discussion threads align with your goals.
You can write this in about 3 paragraphs. The first paragraph will explain the issues that interest you the most in the field of Art Education. You may not know what you're going to do for a thesis, but this paragraph will give you a chance to start thinking and writing about it. If you have more than one idea and can't decide which way to go, write them all down. The group will offer you guidance!
The second paragraph will address specific discussion topics or threads from our readings. Explain why they resonate. If nothing has resonated, explain why/why not.
In the third paragraph, state how the ideas in paragraph 2 might inform or eventually lead to a thesis (i.e., traditional, professional project or exhibition paper) dealing with a specific issue or topic. The aim of this assignment is to twofold: 1) For you to clarify what interests you about critical pedagogy, and 2) For you to integrate ideas from this class into your longer-range plans.
You may post your Mid-term Updates right here on the blog. If you want to include a work of visual art, video performance or poetry, you may send me the file via email. Let me know if you want to share it with the class.
I expect and welcome your questions about this assignment. Please, feel free to post your questions here. If you are uncertain about something – anything! - chances are that someone else in the class feels the same way. So don’t be self-conscious. (If you are self-conscious and can’t help it, you can email me.)
Since I am posting this assignment one day late, you have until next week Tuesday at midnight to complete your Update. Best of luck with your Mid-Term Update. I can’t wait to read what you come up with!
Just a short comment. The movie, Grave of the Fireflies, was not the best start to my day. Although it was extremely well done, I think I'll feel somber all day. Don't watch this before bed...
ReplyDeleteNow the writing...
I'm sorry, Gail! It is a sad film. You do not need to include it in your Mid-Term Update, however. It's for next week's discussion!
ReplyDeleteoops....I thought the readings and movie were this week in addition to the mid-term assignment.
DeleteThe issues that are the most intriguing to me in the field of Art Education are those centered on the formation of women’s identities as influenced by pop culture media messaging. Issues related to women’s identities versus the roles we subconsciously portray are fascinating to me for so many reasons. Since the 1920‘s and the introduction of moving pictures, the entertainment media has played a dominant role in developing and perpetuating pop culture stereotypes has been more significant than any other communications device in our history. These media messages, including those in product advertising, have adversely affected women’s views and self acceptance of their true personal identities. The messages projected throughout pop cultural references, that have been promoted through advertising and entertainment, result in generations of women who have been subliminally brainwashed into adopting culture driven, artificially derived, and mostly stereotypical roles and behaviors.
ReplyDeleteI began to be aware of my feelings about this issue during this year’s Summer Session II at TTU Junction. My printmaking class required that I develop a body of work based on a theme. As I researched images that would move me, I began gravitating toward images that juxtaposed women’s roles in society versus their personal, internal identities. I know that I have been changed by pop cultural influences that have shaped my thinking about my personal identity versus the roles I outwardly “play’ or portray. During the printmaking class I developed many works centered on this theme. I continue to feel passionately about the subject. This semester, our readings from the book Rethinking Popular Culture and Media, including the articles; “Seventeen, Self Image, and Stereotypes”, by Bakari Chavanu, and “Girls, Worms, and Body Image,” by Kate Lyman, have further solidified my resolve to focus on this topic as the center of my professional project or final exhibition. Upon becoming intrigued by this subject I voraciously watched a few documentaries highlighting the topic, 2001‘s MISS Representation, written, directed and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and 2010’s Killing Us Softly - 4, developed by Jean Kilbourne. I am convinced now, more than ever, that my path to my MAE Capstone must center on this issue.
Although I have not formally decided which route to pursue, I am sure that I will be producing art for my Capstone project. An idea that I have revolves around doing a series of structured, audiotaped interviews with women in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s that focuses on women’s feelings about the roles they play publically versus their innner identities, and how/if they feel popular culture and media messaging have influenced them in regard to this area of their lives. The interviews would conclude with a written questionaire filled out in each womens handwriting. The responses from the interviews and questionaires would be distilled into common areas of responses. An exhibition of art works incorporating the voices and written words of the women would then be created around each of these common topic responses. This could also be adapted into a teaching unit, in which I am assisted in this effort by a group of my students. This opportunity would afford a rich learning expereince for them.
What a terrific idea, Gail! There is so much to be said on this topic, and the influential sources you mentioned will provide a good structure of ideas to work with. In my early teaching days, I found young women who swore popular media had no effect on their personal lives or sense of personal identity. These young women felt that only "weak" people let themselves be molded, even subliminally, by the constant presence of media images that, in a consumerist society, are always carefully chosen with profits in mind. You are correct that this has been true since the dawn of filmmaking, especially as marketers learned early on that women were the primary consumers of movies. There are some great studies on a film genre called "Women's Films of the 1940s" - films like Stella Dallas, Mildred Pierce and the oh-so-fabulous Imitation of Life - that were made primarily for women and had a lot of product placement, especially in the way of clothing styles & fashions. A very good book on this subject is Mary Anne Doane's The Desire to Desire, The Woman's Film of the 1940s. For a film theory book, it's pretty accessible. The best part of it, I found, was that it give me a chance to watch older Hollywood films with whole new pair of glasses.
ReplyDeleteToday, most women young & old do not deny that mass media shapes their identity on an ongoing basis, and has since their earliest years (even if those early years were the 1920s, as you mentioned). People differ on how deeply this identity-shaping goes. Some theorists go so far as to say that we have no real, solid, original and authentic self to begin with and that identity itself is a construct of messages and images constantly streaming in and out of consciousness. Others believe we are born with an authentic inner self that is then manipulated to a very great extent by messages and images flowing in and out. Although these people believe we are born with a self, they argue the self is highly malleable and always in transition as it adapts to new messages and the exigencies of life. Then there are the old-schoolers who think we are born with a biologically programmed self that remains fairly solid throughout our lives and it relatively unscathed by the "outside" world.
Many of these debates focus on the nature of the inside/outside divide. Some say there is no divide, only a continuous flow of exchange, while others say it is porous but a core self still exists. Still others insist on a biologically or spiritually inherited self that maintains its integrity throughout life. In their view, media images are "outside" noise that individuals consciously sort through and decide which parts to bring "inside." These folks see a solid inside/outside barrier.
Regardless what you believe, you might keep these ideas in mind as you interview women of different generations. It's one of the most relevant topics of our time. You have a great mind, Gail, and you are going to do this complex topic justice in your own way. Excellent Work!!!
I am interested in obtaining a position at a Major Art Museum or Collection as an Education coordinator as my primary objective for entering the MAE program. I think my classroom experience along with my studio ability, studies in critical pedagogy, history, and museum science should give me the skill set to achieve some goals if and when this happens. Ideally I would like to use this position to create or expand programs aimed at bringing in a broader audience into the facility, specifically public high school students and teachers.
ReplyDeleteI would hopefully do this by facilitating or curating shows and exhibits that highlight contemporary artist of color, or of a different cultural background, as a means to bring a broader awareness and understanding of diversity in society. I would in theory also like to write grants or fundraise to help low income schools or under financed Art programs gain access to museum/ gallery visits and programs tailored to these shows. This idea came from a trip to the Fort Worth Modern last spring with my Advanced Art students. I knew I wanted to get a job at a Museum / Collection but hadn’t thought it out past that. For the first time we had been able to raise enough funds pay for the students travel, hotel, and special exhibits tickets almost entirely giving many lower income students the chance to leave Lubbock and visit a major museum for the first time in their lives. This was a really big deal for many of the kids. When we got to the Ft. Worth Modern we had already visited the Nasher, the DMA, and the Kimble, so the students were starting to really enjoy the whole experience of seeing, first hand, major works from Art history and talk about them in a forum with likeminded artist young people. The Ft. Worth Modern was their first exposure to contemporary Art however, and the icing on the cake was a Retrospective on the work of Glenn Ligon. This was the first time some of them had seen work from a living person of color in a “legitimate” Art setting. It was the first time any of them had seen the work of Glenn Ligon let alone work dealing with such serious, and culturally relevant themes. I am not sure if it had a stronger impact on my students of color, or my white students looking at the piece “Negro Sunshine” or “I am a man”. It was this lack of exposure to working, living, Artist of color or different cultural/ ethnic backgrounds that I was really interested in. In way I felt like I had let my students down by not exposing them to this kind of work myself.
This plays in thematically with the readings we have been doing in class. While reading about Tim Rollins and his programs for the self-proclaimed “Kids of Survival” I could relate to his desire to expose young people on the fringe to Art as a means of personal improvement, empowerment, and pride. The whole time I found myself being a bit critical and noticing pitfalls I hope to avoid, but surely come up sooner or later. No one is perfect, and I am far from the mark. I felt the same while reading about the Shooting Back program in D.C. The best of intentions for helping homeless youth, pushed to the way side by the strong pull of personal success and financial influence. If and when I get to my goals in a Museum setting I know I will face many of the same obstacles and potential pitfalls. It is my hope that the readings and topics we discuss here as well as the themes covered in my Undergraduate degree in Visual Studies will better prepare me to face these dangers.
ReplyDeleteAs for how the readings in Rethinking popular culture and media, the question is how I can integrate the concepts into these Museum programs? I think, depending on the particular topic, I can develop a critical curriculum for programs related to shows such as the Glenn Ligon exhibit that look closely at stereotype, sexism, racism, classism, xenophobia, homophobia, and a whole laundry list of social issues. The trick will be getting Artist and works that highlight these concepts and finding public school programs that are progressive enough to be interested in exposing their students to these issues and dialogs.
This brings me to the thesis/ capstone application of these ideas. I would very much like to have a show to display my studio works since this is a huge part of who I am as an educator, I wouldn’t say I am an Artist, I just play one at School. However I am increasingly contemplating a thesis paper or project that would demonstrate my ability to put together such a museum program. Realistically I think a project that played off the themes I just outlined would look better to prospective employers at the various Museums around Texas.
Any thoughts?
I would agree that a project along those lines would be fantastic. The only thing I would scrutinize is that so much of art is the visual interpretation of the viewer. Even through artist statements or titles, which not everyone reads unfortunately, there is only so much you can tell someone to make a point. I don't know if that makes sense at all. It sounded way better in my head.
DeleteDaniel,
DeleteYour educational programming ideas would fit perfectly in a Museum Studies or Museum Education program. Of course, they are also relevant to Art Education, as there is a lot of overlap between the two fields. However, as competition for museum jobs increases, so does the tendency for museums to hire only people with Museum Studies or Museum Ed degrees.
I read the other day on a Museum Studies blog, "Soon we'll have to have a PhD in Museum Studies to operate the cash register in the museum gift store." I don't know who wrote this or his/her location. A lot depends on the number of museums in a given area and the number of Museum Studies/Museum Ed degree-granting institutions nearby. However, my impression is that Museum Ed has become a very competitive field in some parts of the country. If you want to work in San Antonio, I encourage you to check out the number of universities in the area that have museum studies programs.
Daniel - I think such a project would be a real step up on your resume- So start lining up the museum.. Get a proposal ready to present. The Tech Museum? The Underwood Center? What's in San Angelo? I know there is a good small museum in Abilene. start with the TTU related ones? I dont know which ones are most likely. I do know that Underwood is aleays willing to look at interesting proposals. I think it is far more important than a thesis or an exhibit if you want to go on in museum work but this is only my opinion!
DeleteDaniel, I completely agree with Jennifer. If you want, your final update for this class (due at the end of the semester) can be your proposal. Please feel free to use the class for feedback and ideas as you move forward.
DeleteDuring the summer (Web Design) we had to think about a possible theme/interest for our future thesis and for my final website, http://www.anaharvey.com, was the idea of a strategy of using abstract art to explain complicated scientific theories. Recently I bought a book (which I haven’t quite finished yet) called Art and Cognition that deals with using the visual arts in the core curriculum. The very first chapter deals with the lack of respect that society has on visual arts because “artistic genius is the stuff of legend – an extra human gift, not a measurable mental trait”. And because of this, if you ask someone to think of a genius, names like Einstein and Newton will come to mind…never any noteworthy artists. In the classroom, the first month(s) of class is spent on building up the confidence of the students because most complain (and sometimes refuse to work) because “they’re not talented” or “what does art have to do with my future?” and even “how is learning this going to help my education?” Things like this get to me because I believe that art not only gives a complete and holistic education, but it can also help students learn the process of analysis and critical thinking!!
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to think about how the topics might lend a hand in my thesis. The current readings Dr. Erler assigned to us didn’t seem to have too much to deal with my interest, but there was a week when we talked about corporate sponsorship in public education. I sat down with my parents (both teachers, one retired) and I discussed about how my interest in Art Education might resonate with what we’ve been discussing so far in our class. We broke it down to an analogy…if a person goes to get a check up and their doctor notes that some preventative care (like dieting) is in order, what would the doctor tell his/her patient to cut out first? The food that is bad for you like desert. So if a public school district’s budget needs to be trimmed, what is considered the “bad food”? Fine Arts??
But…for me, it’s hard to blame District Politics as the sole source of negativity towards the Fine Arts. I understand that Math, Science, Language Arts and History are and will always be the “meat and potatoes” of the educational system but, it still doesn’t seem fair that Art Education is our “guilty pleasure”. Why is it that when someone asked me what I was majoring in they replied, “oh”, and moved on? I had to dig a little deeper to get to my next theory: The American’s Dream – not to be confused with the American Dream where others took the risk to come to America for the sake of their family’s well being. We have discussed about how we, as Americans, have been raised by businesses and corporations as massive consumerists. We’ve been “brainwashed” into thinking (as my 2 year old Niece would say) “But I neeeeed it!!” So to me, the American’s dream is to grow up and be successful so we can afford the things we “need”. Going back to school politics, my district’s main focus is to graduate students and lead them to success. But…could the “starving artist” really be considered a success in the eyes of a materialistic society?
I feel that what we’ve been discussing can definitely be used in my topic!! I’m not sure if my explanations were clear, but I’m very excited to read what everyone else thinks!
Ana,
DeleteThe "bad food" - "art" analogy is really interesting. In a way I think art is "bad food" for consumer capitalist powers that depend on a compliant public. Not all art, but good art typically challenges status quo thinking by either critiquing specific operations of power (for example, military, economic, environmental, ideological) or offering an alternative vision. As the anti-globalists say, "Another World is Possible." Of course, another world wll not be possible if we lack the imagination and desire to think beyond this world.
Art has always been regarded as dangerous. That is why artists, intellectuals, journals and teachers are always the first targets - the first casualties - of an oppressive regime. Absolute power seeks to crush every dream. Capitalism works by packaging illusions of happiness and selling our dreams to us. In a society where more is better and wealth is a barometer of moral worth, working in a low-paying profession like art does not bring much respect. Our current society conflates monetary worth with moral worth. It takes a strong individual to step back and question what it's all about. Good art teachers can teach kids to see beyond pretty surfaces and start asking questions about the dreams we're being sold. The arts help us ask, "Who benefits from this? Who loses?" and from there, we can start taking apart what the poet Audre Lord called the Master's House.
I love how you're thinking about this, Ana. I respect your interest in questioning the status quo of public schooling, consumerism and the place of art/art education. Take your time developing your capstone idea. It could explode into something really big, interesting and important.
Art is a visual language, the images far more pregnant with meaning than oral or written language – a picture is worth a thousand words…. and more. And yet here we are after years of educational experimentation, reading , writing, and arithmetic hammered again and again, however unsuccessfully on the minds of a totally visually oriented youth. The fact that images are more communicative intrigues me. Images are far more basic and communicative than words. The first books a child encounters are picture books. Prior to books they have witnessed or heard countless hours of television from their mother’s lap. Less and less information today comes to our youth through written words. It is sad but more a fact each year. I have seen less and less willingness to read every year I have been in the classroom and a growing dependence on sound and image. So why is it that in education reading and writing are always more important than drawing? How much sooner might fluency in reading and writing be reached if based the childs own drawings? I love language, and I love the written word. I have a significant number of hours in French at the Master’s level, and yet I am still not fluent enough that sometimes a quick drawing is more effective than a dictionary. If I can draw, I can communicate across any language barrier. My interest in an MAE is not particularly focused on pedagogy – it is more focused on me. If I become a better thinker, more aware and critical of diverse ideas and practice, more practiced and professional in art techniques of visual communication, I will be a better teacher. My intent was to make art history my emphasis but I have found the art history department unavailable to those of us who work full time. It remains to be seen whether I can work out those scheduling difficulties. It is still my primary interest.
ReplyDeleteOf all the readings the past few weeks, I found the brief summary of the philosophy of Lev Vygotsky and critical psychology the most powerful, and I intend to read more of his work. Gaining agency, both my own and that of my students, is dependent on our development of and use of tools such as sign systems, among which Vygotsky included images. I have seen students transformed by the development of their talent and mastery of art technique as communication. It gives them confidence, a voice, a power they had not previously realized. Vygotsky’s ideas reinforce my belief that the agency gained through creative art transcends social context, broadens cultural exposure, develops confidence and empowers students to achieve in other areas of life. Vygotsky’s ideas are practical, applicable to every person, whatever their gender, race, social class or sexual preference. They are applicable to all. They are applicable to me as I strive to become a more accomplished artist and teacher. I would not say that anything I read the past two weeks was particularly applicable to my thoughts regarding my MAE program, with the possible exception of Jim Hubbard’s work with Shooting Back, as it relates to personal portrayal of each person’s own view of their home or neighborhood. (More in pargraph three!) Both books have challenged me to be a better teacher and brought new ideas to my teaching . We have read of many creative teachers and artists’ efforts to challenge students to think at a higher level, at times for the supposed betterment of the student and at times for the advancement of the artist’s career. Most of the subject matter in the current book is highly subjective. Developing critical media literacy can certainly be a part of the process of developing the agency of our students, whatever their gender or race, but it does not directly relate to my interests in acquiring a MAE.
In attempting to further develop my ability to communicate through visual art and the use of my own visual language, Vygotsky inspires me to examine where I came from, my own zone of personal development. Jim Hubbard’s ideas also relate here. It is currently my plan to create a group of works about home, not one place but the feeling of being home. It is very early in my thought process but I am refining the ideas and have done some of the sketches. It ‘s about warmth, the color of the light, comfort, flavors, tone of voices, acceptance, a feeling of belonging, in many different places. I am attracted by the art of Carmen Lomas Garza and Mary Cassatt. They both portray such empathy – such depth of feeling and warmth. I am intrigued by combining audio with the paintings, excerpts of sound and language background, possibly with text included in the images as well. I look forward to many revisions and improvements with the critique of such an involved cohort!
ReplyDeleteHow very interesting, Jennifer! It's very exciting for me, as a teacher, to hear how our readings and discussions intersect with your own teaching practice, your goals as a student, and your personal and artistic development. Your decision to develop the connections between Vyvotsky's theoretic ideas and Shooting Back in a body of your own artwork exploring the theme of home is quite brilliant. I only wish there was a way for you to take art history courses. I too find the study of art history very important. It's always a challenge, but the kind of challenge I enjoy - as do you.
DeleteYou have, I imagine, already spoken to Ed and Future about your wish to take art history classes. If they can work it out for you, they will. Ed and Future go to the ends of the earth for their students, and they will for you too. There must be some art history courses offered at night or during the summer. But - if not - you might do an independent study. If you look through Amazon.com and pick out a few books you are interested in reading, then later in your MAE you can read them with an instructor in an Art 6000 (independent study). But you don't need to wait. If you buy or borrow (from the library) a book now, you can start reading and studying right away. This will move closer to where you want to go with your artwork. In your capstone, you can use the books as source material/references.
Let me keep thinking about it, Jennifer. Great work!
When it comes to art education and critical pedagogy I find issues surrounding social media and popular culture most interesting. The interest is drawn from how these influences affect children and their perspective on gender roles as well as what is culturally accepted. This may be based off the separate interest of opposing social forces. How do you make some one aware of social stereotypes, enough to proactively be aware of them and try and change them? It all seems like a jumbled mess as I am becoming more aware of the topics. So trying to find one area of focus is difficult.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about the perspectives on the “urban teacher” and how the portrayal of education films can resonate to teachers, I see situations where educators took teaching to a different level or realm outside of the standardized bore of scantrons. Such as ‘City Teaching, Beyond Stereotypes’ by Gregory Michie, and his insight on ‘Half Nelson’. The next reading about the film ‘School of Rock’ (I got caught up, and didn’t realize it wasn’t part of the reading) was insightful to these issues as well. I feel like these issues are something I find familiar. I was taught it and “out side the box” environment, and looking back at it I don’t think I would have learned as much any other way. This is something I hope I can do eventually and learn. But as of now everything is new to me and as I am trying to grasp all of it simultaneously I feel a little overwhelmed. Maybe it should be expected though.
Since starting this class I have thought about how to integrate issues with my studio work. I have always preferred creating something to make my point, rather than writing it, and the influences from the studio seem to be bleeding together. I’m still trying to figure out visually how to address certain social stereotypes with out being so blatant. It is exciting to experience this first hand and work through it with some of my peers. In the future I can see these experiences having an impact on the way I try and make students aware of social stereotypes and cultural expectations.
Stephen,
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear that you're interested in critical media theory, teaching and activism. This rose to prominence as a movement within Art Education and the professional art world in general in the mid-1980s. The magazine, Adbusters, is probably the best-known organization addressing critical media issues. Their website has many useful materials -
http://www.adbusters.org/
Culture jamming is a tactic used to interrupt, subvert or change the message of mainstream media culture. The book, Culture Jamming, by Kalle Lasn defined the movement for many artists. Naomi Klein's book, No Logo, put branding marketing strategies under the microscope with great success. She helped citizens of consumerist societies become more aware of the extent to which contemporary personal identities are shaped around brands such as Prada, Apple and Cadillac.
Lasn, Adbusters, Klein and other members of this movement owe much of their thinking to the French Situationist Movement of the 60s and the ideas of its most famous theorist, Guy Dubord. Dubord was expanding on Karl Marx's theory of commodity fetishism as explained in the first chapter of Capital, Critique of Political Economy published in 1867. Commodity fetishism is the idea that branded, marketed commodities take on lives of their own, appear to assume human traits and thereby transform social relations.
Anyway, there's a lot to this - it has a long history - of which most Americans are unaware. The basic idea is that we're awash in a world in which consumption of everything from NASCAR to God's Learning Channel creates a profile of who we are in terms of class, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, age, ideology & more.
Critical Media Literacy stopped being a hot topic in Art Education after No Child Left Behind was enforced. Now K-12 educators, even art educators, are held to state and federally-mandated curriculum standards. While this can make it hard to inject social theory (such as the continuing prevalence of social stereotypes) into the art classroom or any classroom for that matter, many art teachers do so by flying under the radar. One advantage of being an art teacher is that art is one of the least scrutinized subject areas in school curricula.