Our Country and Its People

Lesson 22: Tradition as Innovation: Apartheid’s Funeral, South Africa

Summary and Objectives

Students explore the history of apartheid in South Africa and discover the important role of artists and the arts in the struggle for freedom and human rights for all. They will deconstruct the funeral of apartheid, as imagined by the artist, and their writing activities will focus on composing a news report of the event. Other curricular suggestions include a study of other art forms that brought attention to the injustices of apartheid, most notably South African music of resistance and anti-apartheid posters. Art and music making follow their study. Finally students have the opportunity to research world peace leaders and the impact their actions have had on global peace efforts. Students will

  • Become “news reporters” and observe and discuss Apartheid’s Funeral and the consequences of change for different people.
  • Be introduced to poster art from all over the world calling attention to the struggle against apartheid. They will create posters to address issues of concern in their own lives, inspired by anti-apartheid posters they study.
  • Respond to multi-media arts addressing apartheid through discussion or creative writing activities.
  • Discuss the role art can play in activism and relate their work of art to current global issues.

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 4: Art and Transformation

Lesson 20: Arts for Spiritual Intervention: To Seek Divine Assistance: Emas, Japan

Summary and Objectives

Activities in this lesson provide opportunities for students to explore the importance of animal symbolism in Japanese art. Students interpret the meanings of selected images and engage in artmaking activities that focus on animals in art. Their study of emas extends to an exploration of a Japanese form of poetry known as a lune, which students use to express feelings of thanks or good wishes. Students will:

  • Study and interpret the symbolism of animals in Japanese art through writing and artmaking.
  • Create their own ema-like wish and engage in creative writing about their wishes and dreams.  
THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 4: Art and Transformation

Lesson 17: Harnessing Spirits: Pacific Northwest Arts, United States and Canada

Summary and Objectives

A study of selected works of art from the Pacific Northwest will introduce students to the symbolism, materials, and uses of masks, and serve as inspiration for artmaking. Another activity focuses on students’ discussion of the potlatch with its distribution of gifts. Students will

  • Explore the uses and visual forms of masks in the Pacific Northwest (United States and Canada) through visual analyses and artmaking activities.
  • Analyze the potlatch as a means of exchanging wealth and expressing status through discussion and oral language activities.
  • Express their interpretation of the concept of transformation through the making of masks.  

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 3: Art and Power

Lesson 9: Proclaiming Heritage: Canoes, Carvings, and the Austronesian World

Summary and Objectives

Students’ study of selected objects from Austronesia (Philippines, Indonesia, Polynesia and beyond) provides opportunities to examine the roles that art plays in communicating peoples’ heritage and history. Activities encompass object study to investigate visual symbolism, work with maps and migration patterns to understand how geography and movement shapes family and community traditions, and creative writing to explore the importance of ancestry in communities’ values and belief systems. Students will

  • Gain a deeper understanding of the communicative role of the arts through a study of Austronesian arts.
  • Use maps to discuss reasons for immigration and its impact on the cultural traditions of Austronesian peoples.
  • Explore their own and Austronesian origin stories and belief systems through poetry writing.
  • Analyze visual symbolism to understand the importance of ancestry in Austronesian culture.

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 2: Art and Knowledge

Lesson 8: Memory and Cosmology: Cacao and a Ballplayer: Maya Ceramic Vessel, Mexico

Summary and Objectives

As students explore the iconography of a Maya chocolate vessel they explore topics of hieroglyphics, the ancient ball game, and culinary arts. Other curriculum connections include a focus on the Maya epic, Popul Vuh, in which are told stories of the Hero twins, and contemporary sociological challenges for Maya today. Activities involve research, visual analysis, artmaking, creative writing, and cooking. Students will

  • Explore the iconography on a Maya chocolate vessel through drawing activities and compare these with logographs in our writing system.
  • Explore topics of hieroglyphics, the ancient ball game, and culinary arts of the Maya through a variety of activities.
  • Develop a deeper understanding of Maya civilization through a study of the stories in the Maya epic Popul Vuh.
  • Consider and respond to issues and concerns facing the modern Maya today as they assimilate into new homes, far removed from their highland origins.

    

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 2: Art and Knowledge