Week one

At the college level, many faculty do not consider writing part of the arts.  I enjoyed having writing seen that way.  I believe this course will give me a lot of ideas for teaching at the college level.  Even though my goal is to obtain teacher certification so I can teach special education and English language learners, I   plan to stay at my current position as long as possible.

Doing the "opera" today reminded me of a time when I was asked to substitute teach in an elementary school one day.  The teacher had the whole day laid out very well.  I realized that whenever the kids were getting distracted, if I sang, they focused immediately.  It worked as a wonderful way to control the class, and I had a blast.  I was supposed to teach them about Martin Luther King, Jr. that day, so I let the kids take turns standing on a chair and giving part of his speech, pretending they were him.  They seemed to enjoy that.

Here are some websites I looked at this week.

Creativity http://www.goshen.edu/~marvinpb/arted/tc.html

Arts in Society http://a06.cgpublisher.com/proposals/219/index_html

Creativity Arts http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/primary/creativearts/index.htm

APPLICATION

I was fascinated by the "I Remember" activity, and decided to modify it for my Interpersonal Communication course. 

I wrote "I remember traveling the world in my imagination, as we drove down streets in London, raced the LeMans in France, and dodged a rhino in Africa. . . "

In class, I opened my lecture with the video below.  Then gave the lecture over the chapter about ways of knowing, then had students write the "I remember' essay.  I wrote an "I remember" piece of my own on the board, while students wrote on computers.

I'll follow up with stage two of the writing exercise next week when we discuss the role of story-telling in interpersonal communication.

I Remember http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEV5WSBmhIA

Four Stages in the Creative Process

1.  Period of preparation

All past experiences that will be drawn upon for a particular creation.  Leave that when you have a desire strong enough to trigger activity.  So a gap is sensed and its time to act.  The more experiences we provide for children in schools, the more they can create.

2. Incubation

Person sits back and reflects.  Germinating of the solution within individual.  How will I transfer this to sensuous form?  Can be a frustrating time.  Feelings of inferiority can set in if ideas are slow to come.  You may need to model again.

3.  Insight.  Inspiration or illumination.  Ah hah moment.  The Creative Process by Rosen and Rosen.  "Orgasmic."  Kids may get extremely excited.  Often exciteent is exuded through body language.

4.  Evaluation, verification, perfection.  Look at what you are creating and ask "Is this how I want it to be?"  How d I polish?  May have another inspiration and change it.  Merging of series of experiences that lead to a final whole or final product.  the final whole is achieved when an individual is able to take his or her experiences, organize them, and recreate them in visual form, aural form, tactile form, or kinesthetic form.  Regardless of what we create, it is always a response to experiences we have had.  In classrooms we are hoping we gain a better understanding of experiences as expressed and we come to terms.

I could see students enjoying the song to introduce either other and get to know people.

To Row Row Row Your Boat we sang

This, this, this is _______________

Each person wrote the next line about himself or herself.

This is Joan

She loves panda bears.

This is Libby

She is from the south

This is Erin

She has four brothers.

This is James

Harleys blow off steam.

This is Angie

She loves SCUBing.

Critters was what we had in common so we sang to Merrily, Merrily, Merrily...

Critters, critters, critters, critters

Make my life a dream.

The symphony read was interesting.  One line, then someone else read from their piece.  Each person added--whether connected or not--to the piece whenever she or he wanted.  I liked this, so I used it in class.

I have a blog for student jobs, events, and internships.  Students actually use it.  The page was black print on white background.  I decided to change the layout, background colors and add some images I found while looking up the 1960s for my group's work.  Here's what the page looks like now:  http://parkca.blogspot.com/ I love the Vasarely image. Much more pleasing, I think.

I thought Valentine's day would be a fun time to work on my class projects.

I was surprised how difficult the clay was to work with and how much it hurt my arthritic hands.  I was also surprised how when I created my creature, my husband said it was a nice spider.  It wasn't a spider, but I decided to make it into one.  I thought I would play on the song Itzy Bitzy Spider, and I wrote this psychological profile.

Park University strives to be an exemplary liberal arts school.  I think you can tell something about a school by what they put on the web homepage.  Park's slide show has an upcoming musical event (violin concert), the next an upcoming theatre event. This emphasis on the arts is quite different from UMKC's homepage slideshow, for example.

 My department is called Communication Arts, not the traditional college Communication Studies.  This name frustrates the Dean because it sounds like high school.  The name Communication Arts works fine for the faculty because we see journalism, interpersonal communication, public speaking, human communication on the Internet, public relations, and broadcasting as arts.  We recognize the role of science and technology in communication, but ultimately we consider communication an art.  I think the faculty page is interesting.  Instead of the standard everyone looks alike homepage, each photo is a different style, plus is shows me with my daughter and a panda when I was teaching in China, the department chair's press pass when he was young, and another faculty member biking with students in Azerbaijan.  

We have an excellent photojournalism professor who has some amazing photographs displayed in his office and the office of other faculty.  In addition, students are encouraged to display their work.

I tried to look up definitions of art and saw that definitions are somewhat controversial.  I believe art is a self-expressive form of communication, which can use multiple forms or media.

The arts are a meaningful presence in my school.  I talked with people in our department in particular because they are the main presence of integrating art in our building.  

Art in the Hallways

On the first floor, you can see student published newspaper articles on the wall and the television station.  On the second floor, I have created a huge bulletin board with the theme of admission to an Academy Award event.  The board contains photos of students, job announcements, and other information. 

My plan is to contribute to the sense of the arts on the second floor.  I could do more to encourage the arts through the space outside my door.  In a class activity, I asked students to write goals for the department.  I put those around my door.  Next to my door is a brochure holder, which contains brochures that students have created in my public relations class.  In the hall, there is a table with a tabletop display. 

I decided to rotate tabletop displays created by public relations students for the annual Research and Creative Arts Symposium.  These are pictures of my students participating.

Here are pictures of my students planning for the symposium, and the art work they prepared.

Preparing their art work for the tabletop display:

Explaining their content and design:

I helped this group get a t-shirt made up with their design.

Here are the displays at the symposium.  We had a huge turnout and positive reactions from visitors.  Here are two displays about Public Relations.

Northland News is a cable television station we have on campus.

This display for Pirate Radio--our mascot is the pirate--probably attracted the most visitors.

Another Public Relations display.

This one on the student newspaper The Stylus also attracted many visitors.

On the last day of the student creative arts and research symposium, I had my class go to theater dramas and readings.

When Students Are Asked What Is Important In Their School, They Mention the Arts

When I ask Park students why they are here, they will say because of the small classes, the interested faculty, and the ability to do hands-on projects.  As freshfolks they can have their own radio show, do broadcast news, write for the paper, make department public relations materials, and more.

Next door to my office is the campus radio station.  I often hear students singing, rapping, and having much fun on their shows.  

Our University President and her husband have done much to improve the integration of the arts at Park University.  They have hired world class musicians for the faculty and frequently have concerts and include musical performances in various programs we hold.  For example, when we go to graduation or Founder's Day or an awards gathering, there often is a musical performance.  We could set up one of the bulletin boards to advertise artistic endeavors on campus.

My plan is to create public relations materials that emphasize art.  My public relations students create an array of materials promoting the Communication Arts department.  Instead of assigning that they advocate the department in general, I could advocate the Arts in Communication Arts.  I could do more to guide students in public relations to emphasize how they use art in their webpages, blogs, brochures, postcard design, t-shirts, and other public relations materials.  So, I decided to start by having a t-shirt made up that says "We put the art in communication." I was delighted with the t-shirt, which I put up on the bulletin board outside my office.

A couple days after ordering the t-shirt, the Dean announced that the departments of Communication Arts, Art, and Theatre had been combined into the Department of Communication and Fine Arts.  I love it!  A couple faculty are upset with the name.  If we think of communication as purposive or utilitarian expression and fine arts as aesthetics, I think the new name covers everyone. It will be interesting to see how the new configuration works together.

There Is a Real Relationship Between The Artists Working With Your School And The Teachers, Not To Mention The Students

            We have an active limestone mine on campus.  Within the top layers we have built offices, the library, the Art and Interior Design Department, an academic support center, and computing services. 

We call it "the underground" or "the cave."  As someone said, it makes me feel like I'm living in a James Bond movie.

I was asked to judge class projects in an Interior Design class as if I was the client.  I think this approach is an excellent way to encourage Art and Interior Design majors to engage faculty and students outside their department.

Perhaps because of this unique space, the College for Distance Learning—our main meeting space for faculty committees and events--has a beautiful art collection gracing the walls.  The art department has created a beautiful mural in a doorway.  The campus art gallery is located inside the library.  Student art is often displayed in the underground hallways.

            My plan is that I decided to volunteer to be on the committee for the Research and Creative Arts Symposium.  I worked with the people who designed the poster, then helped get them printed and distributed.  I encourage my students to participate and attend the events.

Assignments for Session Two

Izzy Busy Spider Psychological Profile and Poem – Joan Aitken

Izzy Busy Spider really loves red tulips.

And when she can, Izzy does fantastic flips.

Izzy Busy Spider loves to crawl free

Cause Izzy Busy Spider is happy as can be.

Izzy Busy Spider is smart, kind, and fun.

She loves outdoors and smiling in the sun.

Izzy Busy Spider is a girlie spider

And she likes to drink warm apple cider.

Izzy Busy Spider plays hard all day.

And Izzy sure does have lots to say.

Izzy Busy Spider loves her family,

And they make her shout with total glee.

Izzy Busy Spider has a fluffy coat

When she's in water, it even helps her float.

Izzy Busy Spider likes her fun outfits

Cause Izzy is a colorful blitz.

Spider does have cute good looks,

And Izzy really likes to read her books.

Izzy Busy Spider is loved by everyone,

And now Izzy's poem is really all done.

Jabberwocky about Exams by Joan Aitken

`Twas learners, and the slithy teachers
  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the creatures,
  And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Examination, my one!
  The questions that bite, the meanings that catch!
Beware the late nights, and shun
  The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his knowledge sword in hand:
  Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the computer tree,
  And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
  The Examination, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the exam week wood,
  And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
  The studied blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
  He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Examination?
  Come to my arms, my beamish joy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
  They chortled in the joy.

`Twas learners, and the slithy teachers
  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the creatures,
  And the mome raths outgrabe.

My Dreams

I created a collage on a photo album cover, front and back.

I dream of finding ways to share my children's and my grand niece's dreams with them.

I dream of enabling my son to walk the Sahara Desert.  I called the credit card company today to make sure they will accept charges in Africa because he is at the edge of the desert right now.  When he was a little boy, my son showed me a picture of the Great Sand Dunes National Monument and said:  "Let's go there, Mom."  I'd never heard of it, but we traveled there three times.  Perhaps for both of us, days walking the dunes were the most special times of his childhood.  He would climb and climb the dunes.  I would struggle to keep him in sight.  We were humbled and mesmerized by the constant and endless shifting.  I remember feeling so scared when I lost sight of him once as asked a couple coming toward me:  "Did you see a little boy where you came from?"  "Oh yes, he was running up the next dune."  Recently my son visited Morocco, loved it more than anywhere he's traveled, and decided to spend a week in the Sahara.  I'm still scared for him, but I can see him running across the sand in my mind.  The little boy I encouraged to love the dunes is the man who is looking for himself there.

I dream of living my daughter's dreams.  Since a young child, my daughter said she would save the panda.  I was surprised by her singular focus, which led her to spend six years working for the Smithsonian in China in giant panda reproduction.  I traveled there twice, taught there, and held a baby panda twice as I lived her dream.  She's now a wildlife and zoo veterinarian at the University of Florida.  When she went to Florida last summer, she didn't care much for birds.  I love birds.  Today, after saving and releasing an eagle and an owl into the wild, she is a bird lover too.  We are a family who loves wildlife, and I dream of traveling and hiking to see more.  One of my dream destinations is Mexico, to see the arrival of the Monarchs in October.  Of course I love the symbolism of butterflies as our lives are in a state of metamorphosis.

I dream of standing in a field of wildflowers. I have silk tulips and live tulips in the house right now, and a hundred under the ground preparing to come up this spring.  I enjoy flowers and nothing is better than seeing a field of flowers. 

I dream that those are my feet hanging off the rocks.  I love rocks.  I dream of going to an archeological dig.  I dream of climbing a rock wall in April.

I dream of swimming with the fishes.  Some of my most special moments have been seeing ocean wildlife while teaching in Jamaica, studying in Hawaii, and traveling in Malaysia.  I love the ocean too and plan to learn SCUBA in the fall so that I can go beyond snorkeling. 

I dream of being a great teacher, and I am excited about the prospect of working with a new online program with students in St. Petersburg, Russia.

I dream that my husband and I will be together forever and have more opportunities to look for polar bears on the frozen Arctic Ocean. 

As a first generation American, behind my dreams is a country I love, which has decided to live up to the hopes of our foreparents.

African Dance

The West African Dance session was headed by Vanessa Gibbs

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/201073/where_to_take_african_dance_in_kansas.html?cat=2

The African dance session was amazing.  I was surprised how much difficulty I had at time, but felt I made some progress in loosening up and appreciating what was going on.  Given that my son is currently walking the Sahara, I found it extremely interesting to contemplate a dance across Africa.  When I say my son is in a walkabout on the Sahara, some people ask why?  I don't think I know why or care why.  He always loved the dunes in Colorado and climbing those were special times for us.  Perhaps it's like seeing the great lakes and that makes you want to see the ocean.  He needs to walk that place to know what he's made of, as a religious walk, as a way to search his soul.  While Vanessa talked, I could picture African people making the trek, and I felt very glad that my son is doing that too.

African Mask

http://www.alyssaravenwood.com/photo-albums/plaster-mask/thumbnails/112_jpg.jpg

Making the mask was interesting on several levels.  I thought Angie knew a lot about how to do it, and my mask had excellent detail.  I've never done anything like this before.  The tactile nature, having someone rub my shoulders, and focusing on listening were all interesting parts of this experience.

I thought I would make a mask to welcome my son home from Morocco and his Sahara trek.  He hired a guide who packed a camel and took him into the Sahara.  They slept in tents at night and walked the dunes during the day.  The nights were cold and the days were in the 80s.  In looking on the Internet, I had difficulty finding information about Moroccan masks.  Perhaps they are not so common, or there is just less information.  found this example mask from Morocco, and I modified my mask to be similar to the example.  The Moroccan mask appears to be made of wood.  The mask is symmetrical, and it looks quite old.  Masks are an important part of art and community in Africa.

"The African masks are an important part of African ceremonies, rituals, initiations, celebrations and secret communities. The use of African masks typically includes song, prayer, and dance. It is for this reason that the mask can be viewed as an obvious work of sculpture art, but because of its function, it is also considered a performance art form. African masks are mainly crafted from wood." (African Tribal Art, 2009)  http://www.african-tribal-art.net/?page_id=2

Because the model is quite simple and unadorned, I decided to make my mask that way too.  This project felt interesting and unique.

Moroccan Mask

http://www.freewebs.com/siaolili/mask_2.JPG

Paper Mache Table Setting

As part of the multicultural study, I also selected an African American artist and made a table setting for that individual out of paper mache.  First I had to figure out how to make the paper mache.  I found some interesting links to read about doing paper mache via about.com: about.com Paper mache can be a serious art form, as evidenced by this picture from http://www.thatsgreat.org

First I prepared materials.

I don't keep flour, so I decided to try this recipe from http://home.earthlink.net/~tekvov/id2.htm Measure out 1 cup cornstarch and dump in lidded container.
Add 1/2 cup water and mix in as best you can. ( will be powdery after completely mixed )
Add 1/2 cup Elmer’s Glue and mix till all the lumps are gone.

I found this mixture very challenging to work with.  With no instructions on how to do the project other than the visual I could find on the Internet, I didn't feel like it was at all like what I remembered doing as a child.  The material was way too stiff and goopy to work well.

Here's my dinner plate.

This assignment made me think of Judy Chicago's art.

Judy Chicago. The Dinner Party, 1975–1979.

This assignment took so long to do.  The paste didn't seem to work right.  I put it in the garage and it didn't dry.  So I put it outside and it froze.  The paper peeled up.  I tried painting, but it really seems to be a mess.

My place setting is for bell hooks.  I've used some of her works in my own writings, and I find her words to be powerful. 

My name is bell hooks.  I'm a writing.  My  place setting is simple and small because I want to conserve.  I like the color green because it represents recycling.  I recycle ideas into something new.  I like a place that is understated because that is how I approach my writing.  I use popular culture in teaching theoretical principles for critical thinking. I've blended everything together because I believe that concepts of gender, race, class, culture, and media cannot be considered separately.  The jarring contrast of the golden beads represent both the beads of my African heritage and the jarring effects of the golden nuggets of my thought.

hooks, b. (2006).  bell hooks: Cultural criticism and transformation.  Retrieved February 28, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQUuHFKP-9s

McGee, A. R.  (1994).  Postmodern Blackness (bell hooks). University of Pennsylvania.   Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Postmodern_Blackness_18270.html

Provenz, E. F. (2009).  Bell Hooks.  Contemporary Educational Thought.  Retrieved February 28, 2009 from http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/contemporaryed/Bell_Hooks/bell_hooks.html

Multicultural Education

Today, there's a greater focus on multicultural education than when we went to school.

Approaches to multicultural curriculum. (Banks)

1.  Most common and basic--the contribution approach. We see teachers engaging children in activities about heroes of a culture, emphasize holidays and cultural elements (e.g. food, artifacts, clothing, music, art, dance).

When Vanessa came in to teach African dance, she showed us dress and dance.  That's a contribution approach.  Celebratory. 

2.  Additive approach.  When we take the content, the concepts, themes in a particular culture, the perspectives of that culture, the history of the culture, and we add that on to the curriculum.

Vanessa did some of that when she talked about what the dance steps represented.  When she talked about lifting the feet, moving over the dead bodies.  When she talked about the lineage of the kings, she gave us a historical background. 

Also added on is the current circumstances of the immigrant.  Not just historical, but what does it mean for the immigrants of that culture today?  We have children in our classrooms who are refuges and others who come for looking for a better life.  Those kinds of things can be discussed in classrooms.  They understand it on their developmental level.

3.  Transformative approach.  You are changing the structure of the curricula to enable students to view issues, concepts, and themes from various ethnic and cultural perspectives.  Providing individual from various cultures to enhance their learning.  THE VOICE OF THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY IS HEARD AND DISCUSSED.

Our schools have a culture of silence.  We can discuss certain people, certain issues, certain ideas, but a lot of people are closed out.  

We rarely discuss gay and lesbians, drug use, and  these kinds of voices in our society.  The most censored books in high schools are from African American writers.  So you have to think in terms of voices different from the norm.  Do I bring them into the classroom.

4.  Social Activist Approach.  Once you look at art from a social movement, we make important decisions about how to take action to solve some of the problems we see in society.  We can do that through art work.  Our voices can be used as art, such as King, Obama, who use a message to affect social change.

The idea is to show multiple perspectives, multiple voices.  Children learn best when we tie the curriculum and the experiences they have to who they are.  If you have a large ethnic population and want to reach those children, it would be good to know about their culture and traditions.  First, so you don't step on those traditions and cultures.  Second, so you can make connections between what they already know and what you're trying to teach them.  You can't focus the curriculum totally on that culture.    Students will be exposed to a variety of cultures in the world.  It has to make sense for your curriculum.  The reason why it's so threatening is because all parents want their children to grow up with the values of the home and community.

Critical literacy--reading, looking, listening to other points of view.  Sit back, reflect, and ask "does this make sense to me."

Communication studies has inherent in the field a social activist point of view.  How has my education modified my values from home?

Sometimes the prejudice is really about class.

The attorney general said Americans are cowards.  We don't have tough discussions.  We never take it the next step.  How much better have things really gotten for the person today?  Income difference? 

Gloria Baker Feinstein

http://www.gloriabakerfeinstein.com/

We looked at some fascinating pictures.  I enjoyed hearing and seeing her perspective.

Tabletop Presentation

I had a presentation at the MSLBD: Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders.  I've done these before, but this was the first time I added color photographs to increase interest in my display.  Maybe it's my imagination, but it seemed like more people stopped to talk to me.

·        Blacks deserve equal rights.

Hill, L. C.  America dreaming:  How youth changed America in the '60s.  New York:  Little, Brown and Company.

1960s http://blogwaybaby.com/NOW%20March.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v280/tomasutpen/album6/anthonystatue1970.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZbDKf8rNxQU/RhoK4bm3_DI/AAAAAAAAAFc/IroDPdE-5B0/s400/Women%E2%80%99s+March+at+Garden+State+Plaza,+Paramus,+NJ+1970.jpg

 

Women's Rights Now

http://media.nowpublic.net/images//ba/2/ba21932e6938abc284572d07200d9dae.jpg

 

Peace Demonstrations in the 1960s

http://pro.corbis.com/

http://www.engaged-zen.org/publications/NewsArt/peoples.jpg

Be sure to read case 18 for discussion in the next class meeting.

In class, we began discussing what we had been working on.

Unfortunately, I lost my camera that had some of my pictures of the process. of creating these materials. 

We talked and role played out people and explained our meals.

I was impressed with what some people did.

This assignment was very engaging.  I was so impressed with Sarah's work and explanation.  Although I wasn't impressed with the place setting I made.  In fact, it was still wet.  I made it two weeks earlier, and it was still wet.

 I found this assignment very interesting, and in fact, I used a similar assignment in my interpersonal communication class. Here are my students. We brought various communication theorists to dinner.  I used it as a review of principles for the course so far.  One student said:  "I just spent 20 minutes putting this together with my niece.  We had fun, and now I'll remember this theorist.

 Each student in my class role played a communication theorist.

Some students really seemed to get engaged in this assignment.

I was pleased with the way the assignment worked.

I found the masks very interesting too.  Mine is on the left.  I'm so surprised that my little parrot tore it apart.  He notices anything new in the house, and he chewed holes in it.

I was very impressed by the various masks other students made!

My mask is in the foreground.  I showed it to my son when he came home.  He said he could see a similarity to a Moroccan style mask.

The acting portrayal of artistic elements was quite unique.

The kazoo jazz was great fun, but probably not something I'll be using with my college students.  I haven't laughed this hard in some time!

 Go kazoos!

We did poetry readings.

We used the poetry to inspire a sculpture.

Art Museum

When I visit the art museum, I feel good.

One time I got too close to this piece, and a guard used a megaphone:  "Back away from the shuttlecock!"  Now, whenever I come to the museum with my son, I go inside a shuttlecock as our inside joke.

I'm still getting used to the  new structure.

I have probably been to the art museum within the past 6 months, but I was surprised by how many new pieces there were.  The one we studied, I have noticed before, but I felt like I saw it today.

This is the piece we analyzed together.

Kerry James Marshall, American, b. 1955, b. Birmingham, AL
Memento #5, 2003

Acrylic and glitter on paper adhered to unstretched canvas banner
9 feet x 13 feet (274.32 x 396.24 cm)

We discussed this work.

Alexander Ross, American, b. 1960, b. Denver, Colorado
Untitled, 2004

Oil on canvas
Unframed: 5 feet 8 inches x 10 feet 1/2 inches (172.72 x 306.07 cm)

Purchase: acquired through the generosity of the William T. Kemper Foundation--Commerce Bank, Trustee, 2004.39

We discussed this work.

Elizabeth Murray, American, 1940-2007
Art Part, 1981

Oil on 22 canvases
9 feet 7 inches x 10 feet 4 inches (292.1 x 314.96 cm)

What strikes me most about the 1960s is the work for civil rights.  I am disappointed that we have not made more progress in this country over the last 40-50 years.  I decided to take some photos of the Kansas City Troost area.  We haven't done enough.

Rockhurst built a wall around their campus.

Bars on the windows.

As I think about the janitors at UMKC who are being cut because of the poor economy, The University of Missouri system Board of Curators today unanimously approved the new seven-year contract that will pay the MU men's basketball coach a minimum of $1.55 million a year if Mike Anderson serves out the length of that agreement.

 

SESSION FOUR JOURNAL

In the final week, our group met and worked on our presentation.  We finalized everything and agreed to meet at 7:30 AM at school to set up. 

8:00- 9:30 Jacob, Robert and Kevin
9:45-11:15 Darron Jones, Joseph Mentasano and Kelly Peterson
11:15- 11:25 Photojournalism

11:25-11:50: Lunch and minor chit chat

11:55-1:25 Erin Eimer, Angela Brun, James Pratt, Janice Ring
1:25- 1:35 Photojournalism

1:35-3:05 Sarah Werner, Joan Aitkin, David Littlewood and Marilyn Isaac

3:05-3:15: Photojournalism

3:15-3:30: Feedback

3:30-4:00: Wrap up and Course Evaluations

In the final week, our group met and worked on our presentation.  We finalized everything and agreed to meet at 7:30 AM at school to set up. 

HERE ARE MY NOTES AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PRESENTATIONS
 

1880-1919  This was a period of expansion, sometimes called "Boom to Bust"

I thought the noble savage was interesting.  The public wanted more and better art.

This was the beginning of mental health.  There was concern for social justice.

I'm surprised when I think about how many states joined the US during that period.  It doesn't sound like that long ago.

The ideas they talked about seemed more progressive than I expected.

We created buttons.  "Go Iowa.  It's about social justice for all!"

http://writeinhillary4prez.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/votes4women.jpg

This was a period of expansion, sometimes called "Boom to Bust"

I like ragtime and Scott Joplin.  Interesting that it was the roots of jazz.  It had the sound of swing.  That was so cool that they had a record.

http://g.sheetmusicplus.com/Look-Inside/covers/5393251.jpg

The activity of identifying sections of music was great.  Although I may not have been able to correctly identify everything, it made me listen very differently.

Joplin's most famous piece is the Entertainer.

Vaudeville was entertainment for the masses.  It was a variety show, which bridged the gap between the social classes.  Broadway had its roots in vaudeville. 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons

/7/7c/OBrien_and_Havel_-_Joseph_Hart_Vaudeville.jpg

The Creole Show had the first women (1890).

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/sheetmusic/brown/images/049401.jpg

 

1880s Edison helped pioneer in film.

http://pro.corbis.com/images/NA012226.jpg?size=67&uid={064222C9-378F-42BF-A7FA-2778B0D9AEFD}

 

First film was called Balcksmith Scene, where they reenacted blacksmith scene.  See still from that film below. http://www.dvdbeaver.com/FILM/DVDReviews12/

treasures%20of%20the%20american%20film%20archives%2

0dvd%20review/treasues%20of%20the%20american%

20archives%20dvd%20review%2002black.jpg

 

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DEPRESSION

 

The Great Depression began with the economic downturn and market crash in 1929.

Coolidge was the president.  He was using a hands off approach.  Then FDR became president and was elected multiple times.

 

I was so excited when we were at the Art Museum and they said this Dorothea Lange photo will be displayed in the new America exhibit.

http://blogs.menupages.com/boston/the-great-depression.jpg

 

World War II finally pulled the country out of The Great Depression.

I didn't realize that we also had federal music, art, and theater projects.

 

Jazz began during this era.  Jazz helped bridge the races. Cab Calloway. Duke Ellington.

 

Charlie Parker put Kansas City on the map.

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/photos/profile/Charlie_Parker.jpg

Roots are with the people.  Don't want to be too commercialized.

 

Benny Goodman was white musician with music that had Creole roots.

 

http://www.memoir.demon.co.uk/570/Goodman.jpg

His was big motivation for the troops.  He hired African Americans in his orchestra. Hitler called him a 'nigger-jew." He was commercially successful and helped mainstream the music.

 

I liked the way they were familiar selections.  Strong beat.

 

Fletcher Henderson

Fletcher Henderson was the first known Black musician to play in a White orchestra.  This helped create jobs and change society.

 

Faith Ringgold Art

Born in Harlem

Van Gogh is standing in the back.  Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and other important Black women in our society who have not be recognized as they should be.

Faith Ringgold focused on quilt art.

http://www.seymour.k12.wi.us/rle/art/images/

artists/Faith%20Ringgold.jpg

 

The Federal Art Project went from 1935-1943.

http://www.toddroeth.com/class/images/18.jpg

http://www.cityofmontevallo.com/Sites/Monte

vallo/Images/Main/WPA%20Mural%20at%20Post%20Office.jpg

 

More than a thousand murals, 300 sculptures.

The Federal Art Project created 5000 jobs and produced over 225,000 pieces of art.  They paid little money.  Most has been lost or stolen over the years.  Brought art to the people.

 

The reading from To Kill a Mockingbird was extraordinary.

 

Doing the museum exercise brought up some interesting perspectives.

 

I was really interested in hearing about the 18th and Vine District.  My daughter went to middle and high school there.

 

 

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THE ROARING TWENTIES

 

http://www.crystalstoneonline.com/Print_files/flapper%20girl033.jpg

 

http://www.charleslindbergh.com/links/time.gif

 

http://kempton.files.wordpress.com/2006

/11/rockwell_freedom-of-speech.jpg

 

Fade Away Girl

http://www.day-lab.com/blog/cpfa1.jpg

http://67.19.222.106/photos/politics/graphics/prohibition.jpg

 

This is the beginning of media, short attention span.  Era of fads.

Red scare.  Palmer Raids.  This went on for years.

 

http://www.lisahaney.com/political/gifs/the.palmer.raids.jpg

 

THE PRESENTATIONS WERE INSPIRATIONAL AND INFORMATIVE.  THANKS EVERYONE!

This course has been great because of the people in it!