Introduction
"As the great grandchildren of the industrial revolution, we have learned, at last, that the heedless pursuit of more is unsustainable and, ultimately, unfulfilling. Our planet, our security, our sense of equanimity and our very souls demand something better, something different 1." –Gary Hamel, ranked by The Wall Street Journal as one of the world's most influential business thinker.
Not more than 150 years ago, the students in my classroom would not have had the luxury of waking up at a decent hour, eating a healthy breakfast and finding their way to a seat in a classroom filled with a diverse group of peers and a teacher who facilitated their intellectual and emotional growth in the most comfortable and safe way imaginable. During the height of the Industrial Revolution children along with working class men and women experienced arduous 16 hours shifts, endured decrepit living conditions and were exposed to pollutants and diseases that made life in the city a struggle for survival. As a historical phenomenon the Industrial Revolution almost single handedly changed the social, political and economic landscape of Europe and America from that of an agriculturally based society to industrially and commercially centered. Along with this change came a vast array of social consequences; workers experienced demoralization, degradation, financial strain, physical and emotional exhaustion. To effectively understand the social ramifications of this turbulent transition, we must thoroughly examine the experiences of the working man and woman. As an educator working in an urban, working-class community, it is critical to find an enriching and differentiated way to highlight these experiences of such marginalized groups during the 19th century.
By incorporating artwork in conjunction with primary documents students will be given access to a wide array of enriched content that can be used as a tool to improve students' ability to synthesize information and communicate ideas through multiple modalities while teaching about the struggle of those that came before them.
Students in the 21st century are growing up in a world that is more visual and interconnected than it has ever been before. Students are constantly interpreting imagery and text, often in conjunction with one another. However, this process is mostly occurring passively, and unfortunately, outside of the classroom. This unit is relevant to my students because they will learn to become better visual interpreters and understand how to gather facts, identify assumptions, draw inferences and form conclusions. Students will learn to interpret historical events through artwork and corroborate those events with primary source documents. This unit will demonstrate how subjects like art, social studies and language arts are not self-contained. Rather, many aspects of social science and language arts have tremendous overlap and dual application. In turn, by studying the Industrial Revolution through the framework of art history students will become stronger critical thinkers while learning how art can act as a vehicle to communicate ideas, criticisms, reflections and narrative. Ultimately, the interpretation of artwork will be developed as a tool to better understanding history, its struggles and the human experience.
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