About our Curriculum:
We developed this curriculum to address the lack of teaching on BIPOC culture within the US education system. It seeks to address aims to the lack of diverse education that many high school students receive by combining ethnic studies and art in a meaningful way. This curriculum is designed to inspire self-reflection, giving students information that they can take to explore themes of racism in their own lives. This course aims to give our next generation a foundation of tools that they need to be vigilantly antiracist. Our goal is to nurture the next generation of antiracists, and we believe that this curriculum offers an entertaining and engaging approach to involving students in discussions about race and racism.
The curriculum, synopsized:
Unit #1 - What is Racism?
Unit objectives (synopsized): Students will be able to identify different types of racism, understand the origins of race, and differentiate between racist policies and racist ideas.
Day 1: Mini-lecture introducing the origins of race & racism, Activity- establishing class norms
Day 2: Continue lecture on origins of racism, Activity- Analyzing artwork related to the formations of race
Day 3: Mini-group discussion/whiteboard activity. Mini-lecture- assimilationist views, colorblindness, and racist policy. Activity- current policy analysis
Day 4,5,6: Project #1- Portrait of Justice
Day 7: Portrait of Justice Gallery Walk
Day 8: Lecture- Myths and Facts: Critical Race Theory. Activity- small group artwork analysis
Day 9: Lecture- Critical race theory and racialization. Activity- Color theory and race
Day 10/11: Mini-lecture- Imperialism & colonialism, colonization of the mind. Activity- Civil war gallery walk, reflections.
Day 12, 13, 14: Project #2- Celebrating difference
Day 15: In-class reading: Introduction of How to Be an Antiracist. Activity- meaningful quotes.
Day 16: Activity- Scenarios. Lecture: Color-blindness, segregationist vs assimilationist vs antiracist.
Day 17: Activities- Analysis of race in artwork, small group discussions, whiteboard activity.
Days 18,19,20,21,22: Unit project: Antiracist piece of art that proposes a solution to a racist policy + written reflection.
Days 22 + 23: Presentation/Gallery walk
Day 24: Unit self-reflection form & discussion
Unit #2: Women of Color Feminism
Unit objectives: Students will be able to apply the key tenants of women of color feminism into their daily life.
Day 1: Lecture- Intro to intersectionality. Screening: Kimberle Crenshaw's TED Talk + sticky note activity
Day 2: Finish up Intro to Intersectionality lecture. Activity: Appreciation cards.
Day 3: Gallery exploration: Intersectional artwork. Introduce intersectional identity collage
Day 4&5: Intersectional Identity collage workday
Day 6: Lecture- Women of Color Feminism. Wrap up intersectional identity collage. Homework: Speed dating
Day 7: Lecture- The Master's tools will Never Dismantle the Master's house. Collaborative artwork: Mind-maps
Day 8: Mini-lecture: The power of the poem. Gallery walk: Glenn Ligon.
Day 9: Speed dating!! Introduce poetry painting project.
Days 10, 11: Poetry painting project work time
Day 12: Workday or Gallery walkthrough
Day 13: Lecture- Exploring positionality. Activity: Create reflexive scrapbook. Homework: Utilize reflexive scrapbook. Diagnostic: Comprehensive debrief.
Day 14: Lecture: Storytelling & Artwork in Indigenous communities. Screening: The Art of Storytelling
Days 15 & 16: Comic book fill-in.
Day 17: Unit project: Sharing the story of your positionality & brainstorm sheet
Days 18, 29, & 20: Unit project work time
Day 21: Unit reflection & Gallery Walk
Unit 3: White Supremacy
Unit objectives: Students will be able to define, identify, and dismantle White Supremacy in popular culture, artwork, the media, and daily life.
Day 1: Lecture: What is White Supremacy? Activity- Small group mind-maps
Day 2: Wrap up mind maps. Activity- White Supremacy in contemporary media. Small-group activity- White supremacy or not?
Day 3: Introduce project: Challenging White Supremacy Media. Activity: Mini-media analysis.
Days 4 & 5: Challenging White Supremacy Media Workday
Day 6: Gallery walk/project share-out
Day 7: White Supremacy Culture Characteristics. Small-group activity: Brainstorm. Introduce White Supremacy culture characteristics scrapbook assignment.
Day 8: Activity: Artwork that combats White Supremacy. Scrapbook project work time.
Day 9: Activity: Act out White Supremacy Culture Characteristics. Introduce Zine project.
Day 10 & 11: Zine project work day/scrapbook project work day
Day 12: Zine project mingle share-out, scrapbook project work time. Introduce discussion questions assignment.
Day 13: Lecture- Critical Whiteness studies, create/turn in discussion questions, finish/turn in scrapbook
Day 14: Silent discussion
Day 15: Mini-lecture: Possessive Investment in Whiteness. Small group discussion/whiteboard activity
Day 16: Lecture: Community care. Project: Healing from the Heart
Day 17: Healing from the heart workday
Day 18: Wrap up Healing from the Heart & introduce Exploring Whiteness project
Days 19, 20, & 21: Exploring Whiteness project workdays.
Day 22: Project share-out & unit reflection form.
Unit 4: Cultural Criticism
Unit objectives: Students will learn to become enlightened witnesses, critically analyzing and reflecting on the content that they consume.
Day 1: Lecture- What is cultural criticism? Activity: Media discovery
Day 2: Lecture- What is cultural criticism? (pt 2). Activity- Training your "enlightened witness" muscle
Day 3: Gordan Parks & Ella Watson American Gothic group analysis
Days 4 & 5: American Gothic discussion, reflection, and presentation days.
Days 6 & 7: Group analysis project
Day 8: Group analysis presentation day
Day 9: Lecture- The role of Culture. Activity: Capitalism mind-map
Day 10: Introduce cultural collages project
Days 11, 12, & 13: Cultural collages workday
Day 14: Lecture- Colonization of the Mind. Activity- Analyzing past media
Day 15: Project: Cultural effects analysis
Days 16 & 17: Work days
Day 18: Presentation day
Final project:
For their final, students will have creative authority over a project that incorporates themes learned from across the entire course. This could be analyzing a film and stating whether the film is racist or antiracist, creating a portfolio of antiracist artwork that challenges white supremacy, creating a solution to a racist problem in society, or coming up with ways to utilize artwork as a mechanism for healing.
Students will have 5 workdays and one presentation day. On the final day of class, students will write appreciation cards to each other. Each student will write to all students in the class.