Activist Art in Social Justice Pedagogy: Engaging Students in Glocal Issues Through the Arts, Revised Edition (Counterpoints)

Artists have always had a role in imagining a more socially just, inclusive world―many have devoted their lives to realizing this possibility. In a culture ever more embedded in performance and the visual, examining the role of arts in multicultural teaching for social justice is a timely focus. In __Activist Art in Social Justice Pedagogy__ approaches to using activist art to teach a multicultural curriculum are examined and critiqued. Examples of activist artists and their strategies illustrate how study of and engagement in activist art processes glocally―connecting local and global issues―can deepen critical literacy and commitment to social justice. This book is relevant to those (1) interested in teaching more about artist/activist social movements around the globe, (2) preparing pre-service teachers to teach for social justice, (3) concerned about learning how to engage diverse learners through the arts, (4) teaching courses related to arts-based multicultural education, critical literacy, and culturally relevant teaching. As we think more broadly we address the question "why does a ‘social justice through the arts in education’ approach make sense"; describe examples of preservice teacher assignments examining artists’ roles in activist movements, promoting multicultural understanding and social justice; and share approaches to and examples of using the arts in the United States and abroad to deepen multicultural comprehension and teaching for social justice. Cover 1 Contents 9 List of Illustrations 11 Acknowledgments 13 Note on the Cover Art: “The Night the Artist Became Activist” (A Mixed Media Composition by Cynthia Clabough) 15 Introduction (Barbara Beyerbach) 17 Chapter One: Social Justice Education Through the Arts (Barbara Beyerbach) 23 Chapter Two: Learning About the Farmworkers and the Landless Rural Workers Movements Through the Arts (Tania Ramalho / Leah Russell) 39 Chapter Three: Art and Change in the AfroReggae Cultural Group (Leah Russell) 61 Chapter Four: Media Literacy and Social Justice in a Visual World (Jacquelyn S. Kibbey) 77 Chapter Five: Enlivening the Curriculum Through Imagination (Mary Harrell) 89 Chapter Six: Photography and Social Justice: Preservice Teachers and the Ocularized, Urban Other (Dennis Parsons) 99 Chapter Seven: Creating Student Activists Through Community Participatory Documentaries (Jane Winslow) 117 Chapter Eight: Art Class at the Onondaga Nation School: A Practice of the Good Mind (Jennifer Kagan / Chris Capella) 133 Chapter Nine: Indigenous Activism: Art, Identity, and the Politics of the Quincentenary (Lisa Roberts Seppi) 143 Chapter Ten: Activist Art and Pedagogy: The Dinner Party Curriculum Project (Carrie Nordlund / Peg Speirs / Marilyn Stewart / Judy Chicago) 165 Chapter Eleven: Acting Up In and Out of Class: Student Social Justice Activism in the Tertiary General Education, Fine Arts, and Performing Arts Curriculum (Lisa K. Langlois) 185 Chapter Twelve: Interactive Social Media and the Art of Telling Stories: Strategies for Social Justice Through Osw3go.net 2010: Racism on Campus (Patricia E. Clark / Ulises A. Mejias / Peter Cavana / Daniel Herson / Sharon M. Strong) 203 Chapter Thirteen: In the Grey: Finding Beauty Without Labels (Barbara Stout) 219 Chapter Fourteen: The Art of Growing Food (Suzanne Bellamy) 225 Chapter Fifteen: Complexity, Communication, Education, and the Making of Art (Arnon A.m. de Andrade / Tania Ramalho (Translator)) 233 Chapter Sixteen: It Starts With an Idea: Integrating Arts into the Classroom (Ritu Radhakrishnan) 241 Chapter Seventeen: Sharing Our True Identity: Taking Environmental Portraits to Subvert Existing Community Narratives (Anneke McEvoy / Peter Cardone / Elias Williams) 247 Chapter Eighteen: A Collective Endeavor—The Creatively Exploring Place, Self, and Collective Identity Project (Cynthia Clabough / Todd Behrendt / Elizabeth Brownell / Christi Harrington / Sharon Kane / Lacey McKinney / Kelly Roe) 257 Chapter Nineteen: Activist Art in Social Justice Pedagogy (Barbara Beyerbach / Tania Ramalho) 269 About the Authors 285 "Artists have always had a role in imagining a more socially just, inclusive world—many have devoted their lives to realizing this possibility. In a culture ever more embedded in performance and the visual, examining the role of arts in multicultural teaching for social justice is a timely focus. In Activist Art in Social Justice Pedagogy approaches to using activist art to teach a multicultural curriculum are examined and critiqued. Examples of activist artists and their strategies illustrate how study of and engagement in activist art processes glocally—connecting local and global issues—can deepen critical literacy and commitment to social justice. This book is relevant to those (1) interested in teaching more about artist/activist social movements around the globe, (2) preparing pre-service teachers to teach for social justice, (3) concerned about learning how to engage diverse learners through the arts, (4) teaching courses related to arts-based multicultural education, critical literacy, and culturally relevant teaching. As we think more broadly we address the question "why does a ‘social justice through the arts in education’ approach make sense"; describe examples of preservice teacher assignments examining artists’ roles in activist movements, promoting multicultural understanding and social justice; and share approaches to and examples of using the arts in the United States and abroad to deepen multicultural comprehension and teaching for social justice."--Publisher's description