CHANGES

 

 

 

 

 

 

What has changed? What has not changed? What still needs to change?

 

These are questions driving students investigation of the experiences of African Americans and the experience of women in US History.  Utilizing the work of Kara Walker as inspiration, this work addresses parallels between historical and contemporary issues and events involving African Americans and women in the United States. The 9th Grade U.S. History curriculum at the Dayton Regional STEM School approaches United States history thematically. One of the themes that students explore, entitled “The Struggle for Equality,” is broken up into several smaller themes that focus on the experiences of marginalized groups in U.S. history. This allows students to investigate the root causes of contemporary issues such as racism and sexism as well as the myriad attempts that have been made to address them.

 

In their U.S. History and Art classes, groups of students selected a topic and examined two events, one historical and one

contemporary, to research. Groups then drew comparisons, focusing on what’s the same, what’s changed and what still needs to change in the United States. Students chose images from both time periods and collaboratively created a silhouette merging the images. Their accompanying artist statements describe their perceptions of the two events and the threads that connect them.

The students went through several rounds of critique, with their peers, with upperclassmen and then with experts from the area, refining their work after each round. We would like to express our gratitude to the following individuals who helped contribute to the creation of this project:

 

G. Jahwara Giddings                                     

Professor of History Interim Director,

Honors Program

Central State University

 

 

Jenny Montgomery - DRSS Art Teacher 

 

Kevin Lydy - DRSS Social Studies Teacher