Information and communication theories through "total arts". |
From the winter class of 2018, I went further in exploring the arts-informed pedagogy by going to a fully-fledged arts-production workshop as a means to facilitate students' understanding and appropriation of Information and Communication Theories. Students were asked to produce art works expressing how certain ICTs operated in plausible, real life or historic contexts. They were to draw from the Bauhaus artistic movement in designing their artwork.
"The Staatliches Bauhaus commonly known as the Bauhaus, was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. The Bauhaus was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar. The German term Bauhaus—literally "building house" (...) was founded with the idea of creating a "total" work of art (...) in which all arts, including architecture, would eventually be brought together. The Bauhaus style later became one of the most influential currents in modern design, Modernist Architecture and art, design and architectural education." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus.
"The Staatliches Bauhaus commonly known as the Bauhaus, was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. The Bauhaus was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar. The German term Bauhaus—literally "building house" (...) was founded with the idea of creating a "total" work of art (...) in which all arts, including architecture, would eventually be brought together. The Bauhaus style later became one of the most influential currents in modern design, Modernist Architecture and art, design and architectural education." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus.
During the class, students learnt of how this artistic movement became an inspiration during the second world war for American intellectuals gathered around President Franklin Roosevelt to try and combat the spread of fascism in the US. These intellectuals who were mostly from the social sciences and humanities believed that in order to guard Americans from the fascism into which Nazi Germany had fallen, they had to create a situation that will stimulate the making of democratic individuals. They saw the Bauhaus' movement of "total arts" which combined different art forms and media as a model that enables the creation of self-reflecting individuals who can freely form their own opinions owing to exposure to multiple and varied information sources and arts, as opposed to the mass conformity effect fostered by the top-down hierarchic model of the mass media. These intellectuals experimented with several exhibitions recreating the Bauhaus effect in the US. For an account of this post-war movement in the US, read Fred Turner's The democratic surround .
Theoretical course
The course ran for seven weeks at the rhythm of 3 hours per class. The theoretical part of the course delivered by the instructor occupied the first 5 weeks and included topics such as the origins of communication steeped in Rhetorics in Ancient Greece to the use of propaganda techniques in the two world wars which consolidated the mass media and public relations as a profession, mass marketing and the first research programs in communication. The students were further introduced to Wiener's Cybernetic theory, Shannon's Mathematical Theory of Communication and Gregory Bateson and the Palo Alto's school theories on interpersonal communication.
Preparing the art work
The 6th class was organised as a workshop. Students worked in groups of five or six and discussed how they might materialise their chosen theories in their art work and began working in ernest on their arts exhibit. The instructor consulted with each group to make sure that their ideas were realisable within the logistics constraints of the school (available materials) and timeframe (they had 1 week between this workshop and the exhibition day).
Sixteen groups were thus formed which each designed a form of "Bauhaus-like" arts exhibition that was showcased within the precincts of the school the last week.
The "D" Day: 29th October 2018
The arts exhibition took place in the last week of class. Students arrived early to take up their allocated spaces and set up their art work. The audience was then allowed to come and view the arts work, engage with the students as they explained their ideas and how their "total arts" exhibit reflected the functioning of information & communication theories. Below are some of the most creative and impressive arts exhibits produced by the students.
Theoretical course
The course ran for seven weeks at the rhythm of 3 hours per class. The theoretical part of the course delivered by the instructor occupied the first 5 weeks and included topics such as the origins of communication steeped in Rhetorics in Ancient Greece to the use of propaganda techniques in the two world wars which consolidated the mass media and public relations as a profession, mass marketing and the first research programs in communication. The students were further introduced to Wiener's Cybernetic theory, Shannon's Mathematical Theory of Communication and Gregory Bateson and the Palo Alto's school theories on interpersonal communication.
Preparing the art work
The 6th class was organised as a workshop. Students worked in groups of five or six and discussed how they might materialise their chosen theories in their art work and began working in ernest on their arts exhibit. The instructor consulted with each group to make sure that their ideas were realisable within the logistics constraints of the school (available materials) and timeframe (they had 1 week between this workshop and the exhibition day).
Sixteen groups were thus formed which each designed a form of "Bauhaus-like" arts exhibition that was showcased within the precincts of the school the last week.
The "D" Day: 29th October 2018
The arts exhibition took place in the last week of class. Students arrived early to take up their allocated spaces and set up their art work. The audience was then allowed to come and view the arts work, engage with the students as they explained their ideas and how their "total arts" exhibit reflected the functioning of information & communication theories. Below are some of the most creative and impressive arts exhibits produced by the students.
Links to talks I have given on Arts oriented pedagogy
- 4th November 2021. Increasing student appropriation of course content using arts-informed pedagogy. Some reflections on the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown experience. Keynote speaker at the First Multiplier event of ERASMUS+ Project Digital Education for Crisis Situations: Times in which there is no alternative (DECriS), Barcelona, Spain. Link to the video of the talk.
