There are an infinite number of ways to configure a humanities class. Humanities through the Arts is designed in a roughly chronological manner, beginning with ancient and tribal works and ending with contemporary arts. Some teachers focus on one art form at a time (visual art, music, dance, or drama) and incorporate connections on a secondary basis. A class such as this could also be organized thematically. Certain topics seem to emerge naturally: the hero, humanity and nature, the search for self, the connection between mother and child, love, death, war, and on and on.
Regardless of the plan you choose, chances are it will change somewhat with each semester, and change at least slightly with each group of students, even within the same day. Some ideas and projects work well but will have to be abandoned some years because you're in a time crunch. Some ideas are seasonal. Other ideas will follow the current trends in education, or may exist because they're the current darlings of the administration. The only certainty is that we will all want to teach more than we can in the allotted time-- so we choose what we need to teach, what we think will work, what we enjoy most. The rest gets filed away.
This page, then, has rather oblique references to specific units in the current class. The ideas here connect to a variety of art forms, as well as creative writing. These projects and web sites may apply cross-culturally and may effectively be "plugged in" to a number of different time units. Essentially this page is a collection of resources that fit nowhere-- and everywhere. And be sure to check back, because we will be adding new projects as we go!
Projects:
- Be a critic
- A paper-making project
- An Artist's Statement
- Be a Museum Curator: In this activity, your students will create a small exhibit by choosing artworks from selected web sites.