Arts-based Social Justice Practice: Course Development

Arts-based Social Justice Practice: Course Development

Grant:
Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching
Academic Year:
2019 - 2020 (June 1, 2019 through May 31, 2020)
Funding Requested:
$10,000.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
ropinto
Graduate Student/Postdoc:
marcarth
Overview of the Project:
This proposal responds to the Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the improvement of Teaching by focusing on the discovery and testing of innovative arts-based teaching methods and approaches, in order to develop a course in Arts-based Social Justice Practice. Our proposal goes beyond the traditional “art therapy” for social work clients to explore more expansive principles of artistic creation and experience and their usefulness in the realm of social justice. Ultimately, students who choose to take the course will learn art theories and techniques vis-à-vis social work practices, which will prepare them to teach social work clients the skills they need to engage with art as a means of self-reflection and advocacy toward myriad social problems. This course will complement other developments (e.g., areas of specializations, such as advocacy) currently taking place in the School of Social Work, and will be benefit students in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, and to students from across campus interested in the taking the course.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:

(1) to identify forms (e.g., theatre, sculpture, music, etc.) and art-making processes (e.g., painting, dancing)

(2) to evaluate the usefulness of identified art-making processes for teaching master’s level and PhD social work students and undergraduate students taking courses in social work (e.g., Community Action and Social Change Undergraduate Minor).

Project Achievements:

During Summer and Fall 2020, the Whitaker grant helped us bring together a diverse range of students in the School of Social Work and beyond for bi-monthly meetings (as part of the school’s Art Collective) to for rigorous and insightful discussions about how art making would be useful to achieve social justice within their educational program and beyond. Several achievements came out of these meetings, including learning where student’s interests and values are located at the axis of social justice and the arts, as well as creating dynamic and lively space for students to convene and share their art and discuss it’s community impact. During the Spring of 2021, a select group of these students met bi-monthly (in addition to the regular Art Collective meetings) to create a blueprint for a syllabus for a course in arts-based social justice. The final version of the syllabus will have an immense impact on bridging the arts as a critical methodology for achieving social justice in the School of Social Work.

The course we developed will include;

  • General topics of oppression:  xenophobia, sexism, racism & anti-blackness, homophobia, immigration, capitalism and exploitation
  • Art forms: Visual art, music, theatre and performance, dance, design,
  • Core students from SSW others will be from other UM Schools
  • Each class will be 3 hours long, over one semester (14 weeks)
Continuation:
The syllabus will be taught in the School of Social Work by Professor Rogério Meireles Pinto. Additionally, the support for the students in the Art Collective created a consistent space in the school for them to meet, share work, discuss, and invite guest artists. This will continue beyond the time of the grant.
Dissemination:
In May 2021, a group of leading experts and scholars were convened for a roundtable discussion of the syllabus and its materials. They provided invaluable feedback and insights on the materials and structure and pedagogical activities. After we offer this course in fall 2022, others will be able to use the syllabus.

Advice to your Colleagues:
Given the scope of this project, arts-based social justice, we found that the field is quite large and there are many methods, forms, and approaches. It was challenging to both research the seemingly exponential variety of social justice art practices as well as choose how and where to implement them into the curriculum. To overcome this, we created a systematic approach in which we chose the approaches that were best suited to the school and its focus on social work.
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