Understanding History and Society through Images, 1776-1914

Introduction

"Why are we doing this?" This rhetorical question asked countless times throughout the year reflects the sense of disenfranchisement students feel in relation to the content provided in their classes. An intrinsic love of learning is increasingly rare among students who have a vast number of responsibilities, concerns and goals unrelated to obtaining a high school diploma. If future success in life is only 20% dependent upon IQ, but 80% resulting from emotional intelligence, is it not the responsibility of an educator to develop individuals skilled in multiple intelligences? The exploration of art engages students, increases self-awareness, utilizes multiple learning modalities, elicits empathy, and motivates them to participate while contributing to emotional intelligence. Additionally, the ability to translate visual literacy into appropriate oral expression and written evaluation promotes the synthesis skills inherent to the Common Core State Standards.

The term civil disobedience describes a deliberate decision by an individual, who is representative of a group, to refuse to obey a law that conflicts with his or her conscience or a higher law. This non-violent act of disobedience to the State also implies that the offender will submit to the consequences of their action because he or she understands that it is sometimes necessary to suffer for one's convictions. Our founding fathers built this country on many admirable principles, one of them expressed by Thomas Jefferson: "If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so." ¹ Embodied in this quote is not only justification for the Declaration of Independence from the British Crown, but also an implied responsibility in members of a republic to be politically active. My goal is to use the theme of civil disobedience to engage students and explore the role of the individual in a democracy, while honoring a pluralistic approach to the content. I further seek to utilize the power of the image to engage students in an exploration of a variety of artworks and to understand how art functions as an expression of social consciousness. ² Living in an increasingly visual society, my students are actually very savvy viewers, but they lack confidence in their opinions and the proper language to express their ideas. Providing students with not only a high-interest topic, but also transferrable skills that help them feel empowered and successful in their academic endeavors, will be invaluable in combating the hardships students endure in their day-to-day existences1}.