Breaking the Silence

Students will create a worldviews poster on one of three topics: the first relates current understandings of self and self-care to the formation of the autonomous self during the European Renaissance, the second relates relationship conflicts to intercultural conflicts in colonial Mexico, and the third relates the onslaught of media messages to Japanese isolationism and adaptationism. Students will create posters that illustrate the connections to present day conflicts.

 

This activity is fairly simple compared to the other creating media activities listed above. Nevertheless, a consultant will be brought in to demonstrate how to make a visually compelling poster. Elements of design and layout will be covered, and students will gain firsthand knowledge of digital photography and illustration software.

 

The posters will feature a 50/50 text to image ratio, or thereabouts, so both the script and the accompanying images will require some formative feedback. The assignment itself is a little difficult in that students are asked to make historical and contemporary linkages and analogies. General guiding questions can be put as follows: What would our European Renaissance figures say about mental health as it pertains to self and self-care? What can we learn from the collision of worldviews in colonial Mexico, and how can we apply these lessons to making better relationships in the here and now? How can we filter mass media messages like Japan filtered outside influences throughout its history, alternating between isolation and adaptation? Since these are difficult throughline questions, a great deal of clarification is necessary. The general and specific outcomes for Grade 8 social studies will make the purpose of this task more apparent.