Rationale
I have never been to New Orleans. Until I started my research I thought of New Orleans just as a big party place with great Jazz, amazing fun costumes, divine cuisine and Mardi Gras. My quest has been to explore and understand what the feathers, beads and the exquisite craftsmanship of the amazing costumes are all about. Heritage can and should be introduced to students in all areas of study. This is an area so rich in cultures and traditions that ooze out in the music, the food, the architecture but especially through the Mardi Gras costumes. As a colleague recently asked, "What can I do to get the attention of the Glitter Group"? Those students whose interests is piqued only through glitter and pizzaz. This unit will address what is tangible and what is not in an art form that has big rough men sitting around sewing "suits" that are so detailed and glorious there are examples of them in the Smithsonian Institute. This sewing, the art of creation, has replaced blooded with beauty through feathers and beads.
I want my students to first understand the diversity of New Orleans and it's importance. It was the first place in America that African Americans could own property. It has the first integrated church, still in existence. We will do that through selected readings in Mardi Gras, Gumbo and Zydeco: Marcia Gaudet, Why New Orleans Matters: Tom Piazza, All Saints: Brenda Marie Osbey, and Mardi Gras Indians by Michael Smith, Cities of The Dead: Joseph Roach, as well as watching You Tube videos of street personalities and performances, along with the background information presented in this unit. Using the Common Core Standards for Literacy in History / Social Studies and Science and Technology, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas # 7, # 8, and # 9. Gathering relevant information and drawing evidence through analysis, reflection and research, will aid in the exploration of this rich culture and lead to discussions on culture and heritage. In addition students will create a representation of a chosen culture applicable to a school production, personal heritage or an area of interest (including Mardi Gras Indians) in varying forms of three dimensional design.
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes inherited from past generations, presently maintained and bestowed for the future. Preservation or conservation is the act of keeping heritage alive. Intangible heritage are non physical aspects of a culture, social customs, behavior, social values, traditions, costumes, aesthetics, spiritual beliefs, artistic expression and others forms of human activity.
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