Motivation to Teach Social Action:
Taught By:
Natalie Novak
Adjunct Instructor
Department of Visual Arts
Flagler College
Motivation to Teach Social Action:
I currently teach a core course titled Crafting Democracy at Flagler College. The course examines how craft has historically played a role in activism, protest, and social change in the United States and how it continues to do so today. My students learn about artists who have used creative practice to address civic issues and to advocate for equity, inclusion, and progress. What interests me about participating in this Institute is the opportunity to move beyond learning about change, to having my students actively participating in it. I want my students to experience how creativity, collaboration, and civic engagement function in the real-world. This program will give me the structure and tools to facilitate students through the process of organizing, strategizing, and implementing a social action campaign that grows directly out of the themes of the course. My goal is for students to understand "active citizenship" by doing it. Active citizenship comes with both agency and responsibility. Through social action, they can use their creative skills to make a tangible change within their community.
Course Description:
Because creating positive change in our world requires sustained and collaborative effort on the part of the citizenry, those interested in progress must coordinate individual efforts and work together as a community. This Creativity skill course within the Citizenship with Integrity value pathway emphasizes how citizens can be active political agents even without holding office. Whether citizens want to petition the government, amplify marginalized voices, or challenge existing ideologies, they must work together or coordinate efforts and apply creative solutions. The course Crafting Democracy focuses on how art, and craft in particular, has played a role in historical movements and how it continues to do so. This class will exemplify creative community by teaching and learning various craft skills, and by using these skills to visually support the issues we care about as students undertaking social action campaigns.
Taught By:
Natalie Novak
Adjunct Instructor
Department of Visual Arts
Flagler College
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