CORE Final Project 2017
Resistance is NOT futile: Pushing back against systems of oppression
Hannah Arendt teaches us that resistance to oppression is required of us as humans, even if our individual efforts may not alter the oppressive regime against which we resist.
FromEichmann in Jerusalem:
For the lesson of such stories [of resistance to Nazi atrocities] is simple and within everybody's grasp. Politically speaking, it is that under conditions of terror, most people will comply but some people will not, just as the lesson of the countries to which the Final Solution was proposed is that "it could happen" in most places but it did not happen everywhere. Humanly speaking, no more is required, and no more can reasonably be asked, for this planet to remain a place fit for human habitation.
From Men in Dark Times:
…even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination may well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and their works, will kindle under almost all circumstances and shed over the time span that was given them on earth...
What does it mean to resist?
For your final CORE project you have two options. Both options are responses to the question of what it means to resist. Option #1 is to create your own act of resistance through political satire.Option #2 is to synthesize strategies of resistance that have been covered in English & Social Studies over the past two years through an essay, Mind Map or Art Project. You will be working on this project in both your English and your World History classes.
You will present your project during Finals week.
Option #1:Create your own piece of resistance
Satire:mockery or ridicule of a person, place, idea, thing, or society itself with the intention to change it; often involves irony or humor.
For your final CORE project you may create an original piece of satirein which you explore an important issue or event of our times. This piece of satire should be conceived of as a means of resistance to some form of oppression.
In order to be successful you must understand what satire is (English) and you must be well-informed about the topic you seek to satirize (World History).
Some topics you might consider addressing in your satire are the following:
Syrian Civil War / N Korean Nuclear Weapons / Rise of Right-Wing PopulismClimate Change / Income Inequality / Mass Incarceration
Refugee Crisis / Gender Inequality / LBGTQ Rights
Format of project:
●Original 3-4 minute video clip
●A short TED Talk style video
●A news piece (think Daily Show, Full Frontal, Colbert Report, SNL Weekend Update)
●A piece of live political satire performed in front of the class or filmed
●An art piece that offers a satirical commentary on your chosen topic
Requirements:
Write a 1 page description of your project(typed, double-spaced) in which you:
Paragraph 1: describe your concept and artistic/intellectual piece
Paragraph 2: explain the satire by describing
➢who/what you mock/ridicule
➢how you do so, and,
➢the purpose of the satire (what you want to see changed).
Option #2:Synthesize Strategies of Resistance
Identify and reflect upon significant strategies of resistance that you have seen occur both in texts covered in English and in incidents and events covered in Social Studies. You should be able to point to a minimum of three examples, with at least one example coming from both disciplines.
Present your recognition of the purpose of this strategy by composing an essay, a mind map, or an art piece. The art piece and the mind map have the potential of being a partner activity, with prior approval from Krause/Ernst.
A) Synthesis Essay (individual assignment)
Open with an introduction that defines a specific strategy of resistance and its nature as push-back against oppressive forces.
Compose multiple body paragraphs that support your introductory claim. Each body paragraph should focus on a specific example.
End with a conclusion that reflects on the applicability of this strategy to our 21st century world.
B) Synthesis Mind Map or Infographic (individual or partner assignment).
Construct a mind map that considers both years of CORE content and organizes the dynamics of resistance to oppression that have been part of course content. Be thorough in identifying strategies of resistance that have overlapped both English and Social Studies content, and strive to support each strategy with as many relevant examples as you can generate.
As a physical document, strive to enhance the presentation of your content with colors, images, geometric designs, and proportional design/icons/lettering.
Attach a 1-page description of your Mind Map/Infographic that explains how you have identified, analyzed & synthesized strategies of resistance. Offer a 4-5 sentence reflection on how these specific strategies can be applied to our 21st century world.
C) Synthesis Art Project (individual or partner assignment).
Compose an art piece that depicts (abstractly, realistically, or someway in between) at least three dynamics of the same strategy of resistance. There must be at least one example from English course content and one example from Social Studies course content.
Attach a 1-page Artist’s Statement that explains how you have identified, analyzed & synthesized strategies of resistance.