Singers bless the song

Semester Project Comments

We are very near to the end. I would like to thank everybody for reading and sharing your posts and questions. I am glad I had the opportunity to read both books and reread Kate Lyman. All of the authors were thought provoking.

This will be the final section where we will all communicate about our blogs: if they are finished to look at; and where each of us will talk about your ideation of your blog (your ideas);  I encourage everybody to leave comments at each of your blogs--at your sites. Please give each one of us some feedback--positive and constructive if you'd like.

It is here where you will talk about some of the problems or successes you have in thinking up a topic, gathering ideas, putting together information, problems or issues that arose, problems that are still problems, thoughts you have, after thoughts you are having--just giving us some behind the scenes information about how you put together your blog. You may highlight doubts you had/have; obstacles you faced/face; that sort of thing. Post anywhere from 2-4 paragraphs and then feel free to respond to everybody's posts. You can post about current issues or what you hope will happen to your work. You can post about future impact of your blog on you and your work or your teaching or? And yes, I realize these are all works-in-progress.

You will have until midnight Sunday to finish posting any posts here. Feel free to comment/post anything anyone posts. I will try to check each day and I will add comments here. If you would like more response from me, just email me with a specific request.

Here are our due dates: Sunday 12 midnight all blogs and comments due here; Monday at noon Grades due.

Look on the syllabus for grading rubric. I will be sending each of you an email with some comments and a final grade. Let me know if you need anything else. I will be posting "Post markers" on here so I know who I have responded to--just keep posting your comments after the "Post markers." Ask questions on here or send me an email. Thanks again for a very nice and fast summer II course.

August 6

Aug 6  Lampert pp. 296-304 (Chapter 29)

Did you ever think we would get to the end? Thanks for staying with the books, even when the reading got dense (as in the Rader book). Just a few reminders. I will be posting the Semester Project side bar tomorrow. You will have until Sunday at midnight to reply to it.

What I am looking for in it, and I will re-explain this when you open that sidebar, are the insider thoughts, ideas, problems, issues, frustrations, successes, contacts, etc.--that you faced while thinking about your project. I am hoping for anywhere from 2-4 paragraphs. Just giving us inner glimpses of what went on for you. It might be about low self-esteem, not knowing what to do; about worrying until you had a topic; worrying about technologies used; etc. I just want some behind the scenes gossip, if you will. And here's why. I want people to read what you were really thinking through the semester idea. I want people to hear your doubts and successes--your fears and shames. That's the most important thing for me as a teacher as I am reminded of what people really go through as they plan something. I sense we will all learn about ourselves again by doing this. It's a reflective wrap-up exercise. And by no means does your project have to be finished. I figured these would all be works-in -progress--Hopefully something you might actually use. Not just something made for another dumb class. 

I chose these two books because I wanted to read them. And honestly, I feel like I have a better grasp of histories of arts and all of the factors that are involved with them. I hope you were able to enjoy them as well. 

August 5

Aug  5 Chapter 28 Bringing the War Home (pp. 287-295)

As we finish our quick Summer II, I want to sketch out the end of the semester. You will have until August 10th at midnight to get as far as you can on your semester project. Grades are due the 11th at noon. That gives me time to go over stuff.

I expect that everybody will look at everyone's else's blog. I am just asking one more thing in addition to your semester blog. I will post one more time that will be titled final semester project. What I would like for you to do there, is to think back to your ideas, doubts, calculations, process, and problems that you had designing your semester project. It's like insider notes--if you knew this… Usually lots of things go wrong and I want the class to get an insider view of the problems or doubts and other stuff that you dealt with. Possibly limitations? Changes? Etc. I'm expecting two to four paragraphs. It's a way to remind us all of the messy process: here was my first idea. I went with my fifth idea; I couldn't interview so-and-so so I did this instead--some of the rough interior stuff that we would never suspect happened.

Daniel posted/commented how social change is usually met with great resistance. Blair posted how difficult it is to teach about the deeper issues. Lyman was, as dead artist David Wojnarowicz would say, a brushfire in the social landscape. Almost all of those "great" people we read about from Emma Goldman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Judy Baca, Helen Keller, etc., all had similar lives to many of the lives we have read about--whether privileged or not. When people tell me that Kindergarteners are too young for something, I usually have them read something from Rethinking Our Classrooms, Volume 2; just to show them one example of how one person integrated deeper social issues in a lesson.

Kate Lyman is still teaching, 3rd grade, at Hawthorne Elementary School in Madison, WI.

See: https://hawthorneweb.madison.k12.wi.us/node/80

 

Junction MAE Summer Exhibit

August 4

Aug 4  Rader pp. 220-227 (Chapter 9); Lampert pp. 278-85 (Chapter 27)
           And Kate Lyman: Teaching the Whole Story (pp. 168-175)

Yikes. Sorry about posting so late-- 11.30 am. I had the First Friday Art Trail opening issues all weekend long and this morning. I will post some pics under that heading. I will be checking on blog sites today. Just three class days to blog--and then we will be responding one more time to people's blogs whatever stage they are at--on their blog site.

Lots of posts about ideas for pedagogical changes in our lessons and classrooms on Friday's posts. Lynn--your: Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary? questions--where do those come from? Andrea's ideas for  creating/inventing cultural projects is a great idea. Keep in mind that it will take research time to track histories--interviews, mapping, online research, etc. in order to produce that cultural project. Many of us know very little about our own backgrounds and histories--or have to remain silent about them for various reasons.

Andrea posted about where to leave comments--leave it on their blog site. I will see that you have left a comment. Am keeping track of those too. Just that you comment. So make sure you do.

And check out some of the pics from First Friday Art Trail JUNCTION 2014 Exhibit.

August 1

Aug 1  Rader pp. 211-20 (End of Chapter 8/Beg. of Chapter 9); Lampert pp. 269-77 (Chapter 26) 
           And Kate Lyman: Staying Past Wednesday (pp. 199-201)

We are getting close to the end. I will be looking  and commenting on blogger sites tomorrow. If in Lubbock, First Friday Art Trail tonight. COme see MAE Summer Exhibit at TTU Satellite Gallery 6-9 pm. I will take some photos and post on here.

Some reactions to your posts: Thanks for responding to Lynn's post about factions to statue. I have yet to make it to the State Fair. I am going to try this fall and seek out that building and the Women's Building. Statue looks similar to ones Rader critiqued. Sculpture by white people. In 2001, Edgar Heap of Birds was a speaker for TAEA in Lubbock. That was right after 9/11. I recall driving Edgar and two friends in my car. Edgar commented how McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken were white people's visual culture and histories. There are lots of Native museums in OKL and NM. There is the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe just off the Square across from the Cathedral (I believe). Andrea posted of not connecting to nuclear essay and I wondered if there was a NYC/east coast bias in his articles. So, I counted them: Native Am, slave ships, England, West Coast, NYC (7), Chicago, DC, the south, Depression era, Fed Art, Internment, non-violence (south), Oakland, 2 CA, LA, and China. So about 12 out of 25 were somehow about the east coast. 

Monday is our last chapter in Rader. I liked the one for today, BTW. I'm always learning new things. Hope your week went well. Happy August (means we are back at school soon).

July 31

July 31  Rader pp. 200-210 (Chapter 9); Lampert pp. 263-68 (Chapter 25)
             And Kate Lyman: The Trial (pp. 140-143)

Wow--the Summer II is almost over. I am so very happy that I got to read these marginal histories of artists galvanizing for social and cultural changes. I will be looking at your sites this weekend. I'm at the gallery all day today again and tomorrow evening is First Friday. I will try to take some pics and post them on here--How's that?

Some reactions to your posts: Lynn asked about the Tejas Native Sculpture. I will reply below so everyone can have a say as well. Blair's comment about AIDS is interesting. New AIDS cases are rising the most in young gay men. Here in Lubbock, STIs are very high per capita. Andrea posted about how it seems all of Lyman's lessons go smoothly. What I would like to remind all of us is that her essays document all of the cautions and precautions she did as a teacher, and what incidents/reactions she choses to write about. What I get from her essays are that teaching about anything "real" is almost exhaustingly painstakingly  difficult to create and manage. Often, she wonders if she is a good teacher. And is even doing the right things--when from my perspective she is courageous, visionary and how I should be as a teacher. Lyman always considers what to tell administration. She is never given support--she builds, develops and maintains it--so when she does run into trouble, she has created community allies--that makes administration back down at times. And Lynn, thanks for the Sherman Alexie quote--was that his grandmother? Great quote. 

July 30

July 30  Rader pp. 191-200 (Chapter 7); Lampert pp. 252-62 (Chapter 24) 
             And Kate Lyman: AIDS: You Can Die From It (pp. 149-153)

Wow!!!! What a joy/pleasure/honor to read your posts from yesterday. Mostly because of your nuanced and engaged responses. So, let me get to a few. First off, I became inspired to write a paper on creating change in curriculum by simply making artists we teach reflect the demographics of a school and then what that can mean for teachers, students and learning. It's how I am going to teach students in Art 3360, our introductory class, about engaging students and learning--make the curriculum reflect their lives.

Blair posts that she was embarrassed about some previous judgments and posted that we weren't taught that much (or the latter may be my thought on that). $60 is a deal for anything Native-made. Some of the art/jewelry at the Governor's Palace where Natives-only sell, go for hundred and thousands. It's one way locals can make livings by selling art. And much of that art traces back to Natives relearning crafts to sustain their communities. When I was referring to the HOWE statue, I was intending how we all have seen similar examples somewhere in our lives--that that particular one--sorry if that was confusing. Lynn posted "How do we help preserve culture[s] respectfully?" Great question. Daniels' memory of playing with a slot machine with Indian-motif. Lynn posting again "How do we keep from homogeneity--from losing identity?" I might add that many of us don't even know much about our identities. 

I am glad many of you find Kate Lyman's pedagogical courage and strategies impactful. 

July 29

July 29  Rader pp. 183-90 (Chapter 9); Lampert pp. 242-51 (Chapter 23)
             And Kate Lyman: From Snarling Dogs to Bloody Sunday (pp. 119-125)

Good morning. 9.15 am. As I am posting, it is slowly raining outside--simply delightful. Also delightful, believe it or not, was the Rader reading for today--183-190--about public art. I am going to lead with that post. A few comments about yesterday's posts:

Sarah's post of her idea of creating a mural of deployed parents is very cool in my opinion. Blair posted about when is art finished? was interesting to me. When I taught elementary art in the 80s (don't laugh), I bought a four-part filmstrip series (where there is a beep to tell you to turn to next image) that was called Shoe-view of Art through History, something like that. You looked through the history of arts/mostly paintings looking at shoes that were represented. What I remember was the narrator said that in the very famous Arnolfini Wedding portrait (google it) the artist left the man's shoes unfinished--that there is evidence the artist did not know how to finish the shoes. When is something finished? Could it be that it never is and that everything is temporary? From my perspective as an old man, nothing hangs around or sticks for very long--records, music, buildings, people, rivers--everything seems to be in states of constant flux--that really goes against how I was taught about everything.

Sarah posted she was surprised at subject matter at 2/3 grade age--that's why we are reading Lyman. I was always interested in important things as a kid and teen. Adults seemed to hedge away from anything that was important to me. Lyman is an example of how to begin to bridge those important ideas of students and bring or allow them into the classroom. My WARNING is that all of your colleagues will think you are crazy and inappropriate. That is usually the first, second, third and fifty-eight response. LOL

Andrea's post got me to thinning about in the early 90s when I was a grad TA and teaching an art class for non-art majors (people who were going to be elementary classroom teachers, not art teachers). One female student had her husband assume poses that females do in magazines--like lying on his back with a leg in the air; and she photographed him. Sadly, even in my view, he looked ridiculous--and the bigger question ofr me was why did women not look ridiculous assuming those poses? That's what the Rader article is all about today, what happens when we become immune to what we see and how we see it? Do I see the misogyny? The racisims? Etc. And, it's never comfortable realizing that I participate in cultural racisms, sexisms, etc., especially when I remain silent. 

July 28

July 28  Rader pp. 141-50 (End of Chapter 6/Beg. of Chapter 7); Lampert pp. 235-41 (Chapter 22)
             And Kate Lyman: Girls, Worms, and Body Image (pp. 107-111)

Hope you all had a good weekend. I'm thinking of two posts by Blair that many commented on. One was that she has Indians from India in her school. India has over 1.1 billion people, imagine all of the contemporary and historic artists it has as well. Also, I like the idea posted that Blair gives students choices and input. As Rethinking Our Classrooms says, the best discipline is a good curriculum--and the best curriculum invites the lives and expertises and interests of students. 

I have also noticed that no one is commenting on the Rader book questions. So, for tomorrow, let's skip ahead in it and start Chapter 9, reading pages 183-190. The last two chapters take it back to art. I sense literary analysis is not that interesting to everybody. I would encourage you to check our a Sherman Alexie Film--Smoke Signals--it's a totally different pace and theme than Hollywood films. Or any one of the other ones mentioned if available. 

So--reading change for tomorrow--Rader 183-190--don't forget. 

Also, if I haven't mentioned it yet, if you have never heard of or seen or read The Guerrilla Girls, google www.guerrillagirls.com

July 25

July 25  Rader pp. 131-40 (Chapter 6); Lampert pp. 224-234 (Chapter 21)

A few updates. You all should have received invites to Dropbox for the Kate Lyman articles. I thought we would read one each day next week. They illustrate how an elementary teacher has taken some of the issues we have read about and turned them into pedagogy/teachable moments. I think you will enjoy them.

I hope these literary chapters from Rader haven't alienated you a reader, but this is how literary criticism is written about in academe. And he is quite accessible. I am hoping that if poetry wasn't that interesting to you, that the movies will be. But poetry is a method or medium that is like reading for art's sake--and all of the poetry examined here is all about historic and contemporary identity and place. 

Keep in mind that museums don't sell work, they store it. Galleries sell work. When I asked about positive portrayals of Native Americans in media or cultures it reminds me that especially in movies, white people often see Indians as one group--not their differences; many whites are not interested in the lives or histories of Natives, much less how things are represented. Many whites seem to be very interested though in their own interests--if that makes sense, from what we have read.

Rader repeats, over and over, the privileges of being white in this culture; and having access to money--being middle and upper classes. 

Keep in mind, that by this upcoming Monday, I asked you to send us addresses, so we can peek at your blog or site under construction. On Monday, I am asking that you leave feedback to each other--there is space for comments. 

I hope you are enjoying most of the reads; I am learning a lot about the histories of art and artists.  

July 24

July 24  Rader pp. 121-30 (End of Chapter 5/Beg. of Chapter 6); Lampert pp. 211-223 (Chapter 21)

We only have nine class days remaining. Where does the time go?

First off--just a reminder that by Monday, can everybody give us their addresses to look at ideas or the beginning of your project? It's a work in progress and will probably end that way--no need to completely finish something. There isn't the time. I hope that helps a few of you who may be perfectionists. Sarah asked if you have to use blogger--no. Use another online site. I just thought we are using blogger and it is free. I understand how blogger isn't working with a few iPads. I don't know if that is a platform issue--does Chrome work better with iPads? I don't know.

About our readings. I am noticing that fewer and fewer are commenting on the Rader book. Don't let literary criticism and analysis scare you off. Especially as we are reading about poetry. I just plod along and read it, ask questions, and underline. I try to ask more open-ended questions, but please respond to those as well. He gets back to films with more pics shortly. 

I am noticing how nuanced the writings are--whose side/s do I/we take? And how understanding and siding may have to do with similar issues we have experienced in our lives. That's the beauty of a democracy. Finding many reactions and feelings in one story. Cheech MArin's book, Chicano Visions (2002), is a great little find. And cheap now--on Amazon for .89--though there is $3.99 shipping. It's only about painters, but a great resource book.

I was intrigued with Lynn's ratio of what to include based on contemporary stats. What might an art curriculum or museum show listing look like if it better represented current demographic stats? Lynn posted that she "almost" named a poet in an artist list. Let's think about that for a moment: Do categories and the ways we have been trained restrict us from telling our truths and/or even being creative? (I would venture to say yes). 

July 23

July 23  Rader pp. 111-20 (End of 4/Chapter 5); Lampert pp. 199-210 (Chapter 19)

Thanks for yesterday's posts. Lots of histories and stories embedded in posts. melanie posted about the "disconnects people make to do certain things." And/Or what knowledge is not known that allows people to jump to certain judgments and actions? Sarah posts about how dark many of our histories are. It got me to thinking about the updated version of the movie Hairspray with John Travolta and Queen Latifah. One of the main characters yells out "Everyday should be Negro day!" I often quote that now to the "shock" of friends and colleagues. We should be more shocked at what we don't know about our histories. 

I use an introductory exercise from a book edited by Susan Cahan and Zoya Kocur called: Contemporary Art and Multicultural America (1996). Under Part 4: Integrating Curriculum and Experience, Chapter 7: American Identity; Lesson 1: Immigration and the United States: Who Are We? is a suggested activity:

1. Divide class into pair(with teacher included as part of a pair if needed).
2. Have students take turns conducting interviews with each other working from the following list of questions or similar questions they develop through class discussion:
A. What is your name? Do you know the meaning of your name?
B. Where ar your parents from?
C. Where are you from?
D. Do you know or use any languages besides English?
E. Do you have relatives in other countries?
F. How long has your family lived in the United States?
G. Why did you family originally come to the United States?
H. What did they encounter when they arrived?

Many students know very little about their own backgrounds. We discuss what surprising things we learned of each other. If it helped us better understand classmates. If we were interested in knowing more about our backgrounds. What we might learn about interviewing a parent or close relative. Similarities we have in common. 

Other ideas in the lesson are to brainstorm and have class build reasons people come, voluntarily or not, to the US. And also consider: have reasons changed for emigrating to US; what are some specific circumstances; what similarities exist no matter what the ethnicity; what differences; how does economic and historical circumstances of different countries make immigration experiences to US unique for different peoples; were earlier migrations of Europeans to US motivated by different sets of circumstances?

It also goes into John Ogbu's distinctions between groups who came to the US voluntarily and groups forced to come here. Artists highlighted/used are: David Avalos, Juan Sanchez, and Yolanda Lopez (pp. 234-236) 

Using interviews to collect data to then think about art projects was key. 

I continue to use this in face-to-face classes to set the tone for the often difficult topics that occur when I teach. It gives us all an avenue to wonder about our pasts. Who am I? Where did I come from? What did my relatives experience? How does that connect to other's experiences? Etc. 

July 22

July 22  Rader pp. 101-10 (Chapter 4); Lampert pp. 188-98 (Chapter 18)

Thanks for your posts. Keep in mind on Thursday I will invite you to DropBox to access one of the Lyman articles that we will read. They are very quick reads and demonstrate one way to integrate what we have been reading into a classroom format. Lyman describes all of the issues she had to deal with. Very interesting stuff.

Lynn, thanks for posting your semester blog address. I encourage everybody to follow what gets posted for semester projects. May give you ideas and encourage you on yours. Daniel posted about graphic novels and Persepolis. Great connection. And a great idea--someone could pursue/develop a short graphic novel for a semester project. Sarah posted about documenting immigrant stories--can never have enough of those. Another great semester project idea. (And now I will stop about ideas.) Blair posted about what Okubo was really thinking. COuld it be that she never felt safe to ever say what she was thinking. She may have witnessed many things that frightened her. We have been reading what US citizens have done over the years. One would have to have a lot of courage to do the things many of these people did because there seem to be lots of negative reactions and violence that followed. 

Keep this in mind about the questions that I pose. Thank you for your willingness and openness to respond to questions that I try to develop. You may always propose others for us to respond to. 

July 21

July 21  Rader pp. 91-100 (Chapter 4); Lampert pp. 176087 (Chapter 17)

Comments about Friday's posts. Lynn posts about her project and how to document it. You can take photos of the installation as far as it gets. You can focus on one aspect of the installation--dolls. You can post conversations had during making dolls, focusing more on one aspect of a larger event. It doesn't have to be the whole thing. Does that help?

Blair's example on dallasgraffitiobservations.blogspot.com are spot on. She is giving us a journey through a journal with her thoughts. One nice way to begin to document. Photos are grand. 

Lisa posted about road repairs and water taking priority over art, for ex. My opinion, just mine, is that each community has it's own histories with the arts as to whether or not they are important and on or at what level/s. As Lubbock grows its arts districts, different people will have different opinions as to what is or is not successful. Wealthy people depend on artists and artisans to this day--just look at their homes. What they think about artists--hippies or weird, that's more about them than the artists. Places I have visited recently, San Diego, New Orleans, Ottawa, Canada, Chicago, NYC, Wash DC, Seattle--all sport incredible visual and architectural scenes--whether they are considered important or not by locals. And, everywhere there are stratifications of the arts--who is in--who is out--who makes decisions--everything we have been reading about. Museums do it differently than local galleries who do it differently than schools--all have vested and different interests. It is often hippies vs. academics vs. local artists vs. formally-trained vs. self-trained vs. outsider artists vs. museum quality artists, etc. As Andrea posted, white artists still tend to be out of touch with anything having to do with others other than themselves and their own art--and making art is very difficult on its own. Students will tell us that their parents will not pay for them to go to college to learn about art--that that is a dead end. Galleries are another way, but Lubbock is not that much different from NYC in terms of galleries--where it costs a lot to be a part of that culture. Private galleries are businesses--they are in business to make money selling art first and foremost--no matter what anybody says--most decisions are profit decisions. What sells, sells. Sometimes the history book authors disagree.

Project ideas look great. Keep they low-key and personal and it should work out well. We only have two chapters today. Starting Friday and all of next week, I will be adding one essay to ground us pedagogically. You will be invited to Drop Box. We are almost half-way through. 

July 18

July 18  Rader pp. 81-90 ((Chapter 3); Lampert pp. 156-75 (Chapters 15 & 16)

*Consider creating your blog with initial ideas for project starting this weekend or upcoming week. I'd like for us to share those no later than July 28th--meaning we are all going to take a look at each of our blogs--so plenty of time for initial thoughts/ideas/plans--that could change from what you end up with.

Also, not, that starting next week, we read one chapter from Lampert and continue ten pages from Rader. Starting next Friday on the 25th and the following week, we will be reading one essay from Kate Lyman a day. Her essays are accessible and interesting and quick reads. 

A few comments from your posts: Sarah you posted about mapping Native Americans--thinking about artists, writers, community people, others? Just wondering. Daniel, you posted about being surprised about the freedom to choose a topic. As an FYI, I base part of my pedagogy on AS Neill and Summerhill School, which promotes love and freedom and democratic principles. I love being surprised by student's connections to passion and learning; having them make decisions as part of learning and loving to learn. I've tired of controlling and directing teaching. (And this online class is quite controlled and directed.) Melanie posted about reading the violences against people. I'm noticing that too--that there is lots of day-to-day violence in our histories--and that's excluding wars we were/are in. Agitprop is defined as beginning with Communist issues, but since then, feminisms, AIDS, all kinds of writers and visual artists use it as one method to focus their passions and art. ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) is mostly agitprop. And Lynn, have you tried using a different platform? I find Safari and Chrome work, but sometimes on other computers they don't. 

And one comment about us reading literary analysis these past few days in Rader. What you are reading--10 pages a day--as he deconstructs Native writings against the Eurocentric canon, this is the kind of reading I had all of the time in grad school--sometimes 100 pages of it a week. Very dense and you almost have to be an insider because everything is self-framed and self-referented. As Rader mentions Foucault, Beth Brandt and others, he is flexing his academic muscle telling us as readers that he has read all  of these writers and theorists. But also keep this in mind. As he writes about his ten books, he is literally giving us his Cliff Notes version of all of the novels.

July 17

July 17  Rader pp. 71-80 (End of Chapter 2/Beg. Chapter 3); Lampert pp. 135-55 (Chapters 13 & 14)

I apologize for posting so late today, but we had another MAE defense in Junction in the morning and then had to settle up some paperwork.

Some reactions to questions about semester projects. Andrea, you can use your current blog and create a sidebar for semester project. Daniel, your topic is not straying at all--there is no way to stray--it's all about what you are interested in. You project can be about one person or one historic idea or event. 

When I asked about the idea of "ladylike," I was thinking in terms of how I/we treat others: men, women, trans, etc. Do I do anything differently around men than I would around women or trans persons? Would I open a door for a woman but not a man? Just regular genders stuff. Would I kiss my grandmother but not my grandfather? 

Starting later next week when we are only reading one chapter from each book, I am going to send you an invitation to read one of Kate Lyman's essays from Rethinking Our Classrooms, Volume 2; well one each day--she had six in that essay ranging from a variety of topics. Here's the kicker--she is a 2nd/3rd grade combination classroom teacher. And she tackled issues brought up by students about AIDS, LGBTQ, Civil Rights, Homelessness, Death, and gender issues. We will be using her as our pedagogical guru and guide into what is possible and how the possible evens begins. You will find the essays refreshing, thoughtful and engaging. I will notify you when we will be reading those--from DropBox--you ill be invited.

How's your weeks going? Hopefully well. Sorry again for posting so late in the day. 

July 16

July 16  Rader pp. 61-70 (Chapter 2); Lampert pp. 110-34 (Chapters 11 & 12)

Andrea posted a question as to why so many of our toys are white. If you haven't seen a toy aisle in awhile, head to a local toy department and look at army and cowboy and Indian toys. Quite awful the state of toys. I am hoping that everybody is googling the sites people offer. Did anyone get a chance to google the Edgar Heap of Birds Indian suggestion?

I am also struck by what everybody is noticing about the readings as opposed to what I notice; probably a generational thing--but I look forward to your viewpoints.

July 15

July 15  Rader pp. 51-60 (Chapter 2); Lampert pp. 86-109 (Chapters 9 & 10)

Great insights on posts. Daniel, sorry about the name thing. Don't know why I did that. As for project ideas--all great--even if you don't know. (I know I would be clueless at this point.) And remember, your project can be a work-in-progress. DO something that interests you--not just for the class. What are you really interested in doing?

Lynn, great idea. Even though the event happens after the class, show us your planning on the blog; give us histories and context; why you are doing it; why it's important to you; so we can check on the results--even if it's months away; a good idea is a good idea. Andrea, simply interviewing your Grandmother or photos--may be used at a later date--so you end up with historic and archival interviews and photos--a great start to something in the future. Melanie, following the graffiti artists on themes of abduction and abuse sounds intriguing. You can begin to lay all of that out and why you are interested on a blog. Daniel, radio broadcasting is a great idea. Love all of the ideas. Only do them if you are truly interested in them. 

Andrea posted about reading the histories of common folk. In many ways it is so refreshing knowing that regular people stood up for many important issues and against abuses. 

July 14

Rader pp. 41-50 (End of Chapter 1/Beg. Chapter 2); Lampert pp. 60-85 (Chapters 7 & 8)

Thanks for that first great week again. I am glad you are enjoying the stories. More to come.

Her are some comments on Friday's posts. Lynn, I was referring to President Andrew Johnson about being white supremacist. But thanks for the connection to LBJ--also involved with important civil rights legislation. Melanie, you asked if letters can be art. In my opinion, word press is art. Google Dirk Fowler, one of our communication design faculty--he makes posters with word press--very big. Also, google www.woodtype.org  That's the Hamilton Wood Type Museum site that is in Two Rivers, WI--the sister city of Manitowoc on the shores of Lake Michigan. Andrea posted about lies/misinformation. Below is an online excerpt from James Loewen's book Lies My Teacher Told Me:

Americans have lost touch with their history, and in this thought-provoking book, Professor James Loewen shows why. After surveying twelve leading high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of making history interesting or memorable. Marred by an embarrassing combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, sheer misinformation, and outright lies, these books omit almost all the ambiguity, passion, conflict, and drama from our past. In ten powerful chapters, Loewen reveals that:

The United States dropped three times as many tons of explosives in Vietman as it dropped in all theaters of World War II, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Ponce de Leon went to Florida mainly to capture Native Americans as slaves for Hispaniola, not to find the mythical fountain of youth

Woodrow Wilson, known as a progressive leader, was in fact a white supremacist who personally vetoed a clause on racial equality in the Covenant of the League of Nations

The first colony to legalize slavery was not Virginia but Massachusetts

From the truth about Columbus's historic voyages to an honest evaluation of our national leaders, Loewen revives our history, restoring to it the vitality and relevance it truly possesses.

Also google Howard Zinn's The People's History of The United States--it's a really great read as is The Young People's History of The United States. 

Lynn posted how intent matters. Tyler posted about not ever learning/hearing about the Alcatraz event in school. The two films I was talking about are Smoke Signals and The Business of Fancydancing. I noticed I  am making typos. Sorry about that. I will try to watch that more carefully. 

July 11

July 11  Rader pp. 31-40 (Chapter 1); Lampert pp. 39-59 (Chapters 5 & 6)

Thanks for your responses yesterday. We are developing a rhythm of posts. And that's how the class works--"I" language and posting observations, questions, comments, etc. 

A few notes about yesterday's posts. Lisa posted about the truth in photography. I always assumed a photo couldn't lie. Everything about a photo seems to be more about the taker than the taken. Melanie, thanks for the extended alphabet. Wow-creating an alphabet could be an example of a personal or professional semester project. (I will always be tossing out project ideas in the first two weeks.) I will say one thing about the histories I've read so far--they really come alive. I am interested as I read. History is made dull for so many people but these two writers have ways of engaging me. If you go back to yesterday's blog, you will see "Post marker" endings to sections. That's for me just in case someone posts make up posts not in the current day--I can quickly located them. Melanie referred to gangs. can country clubs be considered gang like? Andrea questioned about administrators with Turkish backgrounds. Lots of art history in Turkey--architecture, murals, mosques, churches, ruins…lots of cultural tourism. Maybe an art unit on contemporary Turkey? Historic Turkey? Andrea, yes I visited the Uprising Museum for an entire afternoon. I also got to see the remnant of the Warsaw Ghetto Wall and other surprising things. My hotel was ten feet from the Presidential Palace. Space is different in Europe. Poland is emerging as a country and still trying to find itself. Culturally and religiously it is very conservative. 

A reminder about the readings. Next week our pattern continues--ten pages from radar's book and two chapters from Lampert's. But the following week it's just ten pages from Rader's book and one chapter from Lampert. That should give you plenty of time to think about a blogger project. By blogger I mean you will upload your project to blogger. All of us will be reading each other's projects (unless your project is extremely personal and you only want me to view it--otherwise, we will all look at each other's and comment on them as part of the final. 

Warsaw Uprising Example

When we visited in 2009, the P/W image above the men, in Polish stands for the Warsaw Uprising, were all over the city. From August 1 to October 2, 1944 resistance fighters and others battled German occupiers for 63 days. Russian troops were in Warsaw on the other/east side of the Vistula River in a section of Warsaw called Praga. (See Warsawuprising.com) Over the course of 63 days, the resistance was crushed. Ten of thousands are dead. The Germans execute an additional 100,000 Warsaw citizens. All the rest had to vacate Warsaw as Hitler decided to level the city. All the time the Russians watched. Those P/W markers and monuments are all over Warsaw where people died or were summarily executed. Google Warsaw Uprising Museum. Using terminology from our books, Warsaw memorializes, teaches, and makes places for their dead/ghosts/memories and the struggles for freedom under Nazi occupation. It was quite traumatizing to see all of the memorials to their dead--and my dead as I am Polish-American. It was quite sobering and sad to learn about those histories. We visited the Uprising Museum and all of the artifacts and stories--we cried. It is a very large museum and gets the impact of war/death/suffering/annihilation across quite effectively. Was simply horrific viewing that history. (The photo was taken off web--a 68th anniversary reenactment.)

July 10

July 10  Rader pp. 21-30 (Chapter 1); Lampert pp. 22-38 (Chapters 3 & 4)

First off, thanks for your wonderful introductions. I made a mistake yesterday and only covered pages 1-10 in the Rader book. Sorry about that. I will cover 11-20 and 21-30 in todays comments. Please keep in mind that I expect a minimum of four responses each day. That means if there are four questions you can respond one or more times to each; or you can respond twice to two questions. 

Here are some comments on yesterday's posts. andrea stated how important the power of story-telling is, especially in many of our family settings. And yet, it really doesn't garner much support as a legitimate way to construct and "keep" histories. One thought I had was what can we take away as art teachers or museum educators from these readings in terms of how we could better democratize "classroom management" issues? Rather than one teacher disciplining, for example, what if there were others in the class that took part--I am thinking more of self-regulation/self-control, etc. Melanie brought up a great question Why didn't they teach us all of the facts? Sort of related to visual art never getting stories correct. Tyler posted about my question alluding to fear. My fear and learning question was questioning possibly what happens when new information calls into question core beliefs, ways I have been taught are facts? White ways of knowing and knowledge, for example. The histories presented are very appealing to me and I am glad many of you are feeling the same. We are currently reading two chapters from the Lampert book. That will change in a week to only one to give you time to think about a semester project. And plan. That project can be a thinning one--an idea or ideation or a plan for something. We really don't have time to create, though if you do, for example, put together a series of watercolors or collages that help you think further through some of these issues, that can work. The project is wide open to allow you incorporate your strengths and interests, however tied to the material--you will determine that. 

And remember, any late posts, just post in our current day--and let us know they are for the previous day/s. Thanks. 

July 9

Rader pp. 1-20 (Prologue and begin Chapter 1); Lampert pp. 1-21 (Chapters 1 & 2)

Welcome to our two books. Though both books are academic in nature, so far, the People's Art History book is reading fairly easily for me; whereas the Rader book is reading fairly academically--but both have incredible insights in histories normally ignored. I will be posting four questions each day. Remember that you need to post a minimum of four times a day. Also keep in mind that as we are reading these alternative activist histories, be thinking about our relationship to this new material--what you learned about these groups or issues, and now the possibilities (or our responsibilities) for us as educators/artists/curators to do something with this newer information. What are our concerns, limits, dangers, etc?