Sometimes art is one of the best ways to express one’s identity. In fact, there are entire professions, industries, and therapies devoted to helping children and youth identify and work to clarify their own identities via art to help them understand who they are.
For this assignment, imagine you are the child or youth you once were. You can choose any age(s) or any environment(s) for inspiration. Then create a piece of art to express who you were at the age(s) you have chosen. Create that piece of art (it can be anything visual or audio that you can take pictures or videos of, to upload and show the professor and your classmates via attachments) and upload it to the submission portal located in the course menu folder titled, “Space, Place, and Identity Assignment” to the left. Suggestions for what to create include a poem, story, painting, drawing, video of a dance or skit, song, sculpture, collage, or anything you can think of that we will actually be able to actually SEE or hear via our BB course.
In addition, in one to two pages (double-spaced), please answer the following questions and upload these responses to the Discussion Board thread titled, “Space, Place, and Identity Assignment”. If you have trouble uploading any part of your assignment, do not worry – simply let the professor know, and she will work out a good solution and let everyone know what it is via an Announcement. You may answer each question separately (not as an essay). You should provide in-text citations for item 4, and include a references page to the assignment (although references are not included in the page count). This assignment is due Sunday, November 8th by 11:55 pm.
- What age for you does your art piece represent? To the extent that you are comfortable, speak about where you are/were living, and what your environment is/was like at that age.
- Who do you feel the audience is for this piece of art? What are you trying to communicate to them about your identity?
- What space or place are you representing in this piece of art? In what ways, if any, do you think the environment that you are representing in this art piece has shaped you today?
- Thinking of the articles that you have read on space, place, and identity over the past three weeks, please choose one framework (Batterton and Horner’s “discoverers, ambassadors, negotiators” model; Scourfield et als’ “group divisions” model; or Jahromi’s, “specific experience with nationality” model respectively). Be sure to clearly describe this framework. How might this framework be reflected in your art piece? Be specific in your details in referring to both the article and certain aspects of the art piece. Be sure to write at least one substantial paragraph to answer this question that includes five direct quotations from the required reading(s).
Please post any questions about this assignment to the “Questions for the Professor” thread on Discussion Board. And remember: this assignment is very subjective! There are really no “right” or “wrong” answers, because the professor cannot tell you what your experience was. This is just an opportunity for you to think about the course readings, and complete a thought experiment about how some of the author’s models/frameworks for engaging with identity might apply to your own life, or how you might use them when you interact/engage with children and youth in your jobs, at home, etc. who may be searching for/expressing their own.
Grading Rubric
Your art piece must be visual/audio, and something that can be uploaded for classmates and professor to see/hear via the submission portal in the course menu folder titled, “Space, Place, and Identity Assignment” [5 points]
You must tell us what age(s) you feel that you are creating this piece of art from, as well as where you are living and what your environment is like at that time [20 points]
You must tell us who you feel the audience is for this piece of art and what you are trying to communicate to them about your identity. [20 points]
You must make clear what space or place are you representing in this piece of art, and in what ways, if any, you think the environment that you are representing in this art piece has shaped you today. If you cannot answer this question, in a detailed response, discuss why. [20 points]
You must choose one framework (Batterton and Horner’s “discoverers, ambassadors, negotiators” model; Scourfield et als’ “group divisions” model; or Jahromi’s, “specific experience with nationality” model respectively) from our course readings and make clear how this framework might be/is reflected in your art piece. If it is not reflected, in a detailed response, discuss why. [20 points]
You must include at least five direct citations from the article you choose to discuss as part of item 4 of the assignment (Batterton and Horner; Scourfield et al; or Jahromi [you may discuss more than one if you like]) [10 points]
You must include a complete and proper Works Cited section [5 points]
Sample Solution
