ASSIGNMENT 2 |Presentations (25%)
Presentations topics are artists, monuments, events, or museums. They are listed beneath the readings of each class and there is generally one presentation per class (presented in groups of two). Send me your first, second, and third choice for dates by January 14 or sooner (either as partners or as individuals—I will match you with another person on the topic you want). I will try to get you one of your three preferred topics and dates. I will need two people to be the first presenters on January 14—l will give guidance on the exercise to help you start. Let me know if you want to be the first one!
Presentations involve: preparation, presentation, an exercise, and a one-page reflection. Prior to each presentation, you are required to meet me during office hours or by appointment to discuss your plans and review your exercise. In the week following the presentation, you will hand in a one-page reflection that includes what you intended to do and what you thought the exercise achieved. To avoid going overtime in class, time yourself while doing a practice run at home.
Structure of presentations: Each presentation is to be 25 minutes, followed by an exercise for 15 minutes, in which you will design an activity to engage the class to think through a question/concept related to your presentation topic. Design the exercise to enable the students to apply the knowledge you shared in your presentation. You are encouraged to use creative approaches such as discussing an excerpt of a video, podcast, or other visual medium, drawing, movement, poetry, voice, group work, use of photographs, encouraging people to use their home space (identify objects of memory for instance), going outside (to do something), or playing a game. You can also use more conventional approaches such as hosting a classroom discussion of a relevant question.
The presentation should tell us about the vision and the concept that guided the memory work presented (by the artist, museum, exhibit, monument, etc.) and offer a critical interpretation of it to the class. The presentation should curate an affective experience with the class that facilitates their learning through photos, videos, audio, or illustrations (as visual narratives or visualizations) in a PowerPoint. Some text can be included in the PowerPoint but please avoid lengthy bullet point lists; instead, only integrate key, substantive, and short textual interventions. The majority of the presentation should give full attention to the topic you are presenting.
When researching the artist, ask yourself: How is this linked to memory and justice? Does the topic have a website to explore? Are there news articles or scholarly write-ups you could read? Are there interviews with the creators or people who engage with it? What is the chosen medium, site, size, and design and why was it chosen? What year was it created in? What was going on that year (is it a response to something?) Why was it created? For whom and for what purpose? What is said and left unsaid? How did the piece allow us to consider concepts of the readings from that class?
When preparing the exercise, consider: How does it apply the concept or modality of the topic presented? What is the pedagogical aim of the exercise? How will you guide the class through the exercise (make sure there are clear and accessible instructions), and what do you want them to reflect on as they do it? How will you gather the class back together to share this?
You will be evaluated for a) clarity of presentation; b) research and analysis of topic; c) making connections to the readings of the week (this should be nuanced), d) effectively developing an engaging exercise to involve the class in a deeper analysis of the subject, and e) being able to demonstrate the value of the exercise and providing a summary of what was learned.
“In collectively made art, the relationship between beholder-beheld (subject-object) is turned into a relationship of reciprocity/mutuality among participants. In other words, the focus is not on the relationship between art object-art spectator but on a communal experience of co-authoring which prepares the ground for a dialogue” (Medina, 2010).
photo: https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-its-like-being-a-political-graffiti-artist-in-india-and-getting-away-with-it/