Invisible Cities: The Arts and Renewable Community

Activities/Lessons

The section below describes three examples of activities students will experience during the 10 week unit. I have linked the activities to the different sections of the trivium and the quadrivium in parentheses. All of these activities will act as artifacts that will better enhance their response paper at the end of this unit.

Walking the Paseo (Optics, Phonics, Mnemonics, Kinetics)

The neighborhood of Humboldt Park is actually named after the Chicago Park District 260 acre park that lies within these boundaries. Constructed a few years before the great Chicago Fire, the park consists of various lagoons, park district facilities, and a museum (Institute of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture). The park was named after German geographer Alexander von Humboldt. Ironically, while he did travel to the United States, Von Humboldt never visited Chicago. The park has significance in that it is at entrance to the Paseo Boricua.

Before the banderas construction, Humboldt Park had already been established by alderman and relators by physical boundaries. With its northernmost boundary at 1600 North Avenue it stretches one mile south to 800 Chicago Avenue. Starting at its western boundary at 4000 Pulaski Avenue it then expands east two miles to 2400 Western Avenue. This area will create a two square mile classroom equipped with a variety of labs including Humboldt Park (the park that lies within these boundaries), the Paseo Boricua (descriptor stated above), and Roberto Clemente Community Academy (which lies just on the fringe of the Humboldt Park physical boundaries).

After students are familiar with our areas of interaction students will be required to report out on either the visuals, audio, or facts about the Paseo. This can be achieved through a variety of ways whether it is collected in a small research paper, archived in a journal, recorded and edited, etc. When students finish their assignments they will be asked to write a response in which they compare what they saw, heard, or know about their own experiences of their neighborhoods.

Mapping the Paseo (Kinetics, Proxemics, Architectics)

The Paseo is alive with politics and culture. Through this investigation I would like to have students learn from local historians, institutions (PRAA, PRCCA), political officials (Sen. Soto, Alderman Proco 'Joe' Moreno), and local artists. Using a Google maps/Google earth students will first begin by create a map from the raw data interactions. Next, students will be able to go into the Paseo through a series of field trips. I will also allow for outside investigations where students are welcome to do further studies on their own.

During this time it is encouraged that we are to become wanderers of the Paseo in that we can walk anywhere and see anything. Students will have creative choice in how they choose to share their map, but it must include artifacts that give specifics about how art, politics, health are addressed in this particular area of the city. Along with their map the students will create a small writing assignment in which they compare this area of the city with their own personal maps.

The Paseo Talks (Poetics)

One of the stories that drew me to this unit was the powerful words shared with me by a community member about the riots:

I remember that my father told me we had to stay inside and keep the doors locked. He urged us with wild hand gestures to stay away from the windows and that no matter what we mustn't let our curiosity be sparked by the unknown.

As we huddled under a table we were silent. With eyes darting back and forth we tried to silently create a narrative of the unknown world that lay beyond our heavy wooden door.

Glass was breaking, but from where?

Sirens were blaring, but why?

Why were we rushed inside on that blistering June day?

What made this story so powerful was that it was from someone that experienced the riots and not a glossed newspaper article. Students will be expected use exploratory means of discovering people, places, events, things, and ideas to better enhance their understanding of the Paseo, while questioning their own understanding of personal culture and identity. To achieve this students will record ¹⁵ someone of the Paseo telling a story about the neighborhood. Stories can range from personal narrative to the retelling of an event they are familiar with. Students will then write a reflection piece that not only discusses their experience in recording the story, but they will also address how the story applies to their own neighborhoods.

Experiencing the Paseo Through Socratic Seminar (Poetics)

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1493 (Public Intervention at La Municipal Food and Liquor Market)

Illuminating the windows of Humboldt Park's grocery store reveals a brief snapshot of Puerto Rican colonialism through the eyes of artist Josue Pellot. 1493 (Public Intervention at La Municipal Food and Liquor Market) is the narrative of the violence and struggle the Taino Indians faced when Christopher Columbus arrived to the island in 1493. Additionally, the piece acts as a criticism about the consumption of history. Sold in brief moments that are highlighted, 1493 isn't much different than that of the Mickey's and Coors Light signs that surround it. It is to be illuminated, purchased, and consumed. The presentation almost allows it to be featured and hidden at the same time. Using the images before you, the readings we have done in class, and The Smithsonian article ¹⁸ provided as sources: Is Josue Pellot's work is much like a gestalt image it is a unified whole, or does it tell many separate stories? After the Socratic seminar students will analyze and write about their own life ask if their histories/neighborhoods are a unified whole or separate stories.