Classroom Activities
Introductory activity:
The goal of this unit overall is to learn to use historical images to learn some unique truths about the past. However, it is always useful to practice the skills involved without the burden of class content at the same time.
Students will be instructed to take a photo from your phone and put it in a google doc. They will then do an OPVL analysis of the image. Rather than learn this strategy while looking at historical images, they will analyze one of their own photos to practice the skills involved.
- The first thing they should describe is the “Origin” of the photo. Who took it, when was it taken, where was it taken?
- The second part of source analysis is the “Purpose” of the photo. Describe in as much detail as possible, why you took this photo/have it taken? Who was its intended audience? Were you posting it somewhere? Sending it to someone specific? Did that intended audience impact the way the photo was cropped, staged, or edited?
- The third part of source analysis is to describe its “Value” as a source. What does the image tell the viewer about you? Your life? Your community? What judgment could be made about the subject of the image?
- Lastly, we analyze the “Limitations” of the image. What does the image not show? This can be things such as describing what is cropped out? What is not shown that you know was there? Was a filter used? If there are people in the image, are they posed strategically? Does the angle of the photo disguise something? Was the image edited in any way?
Possible Discussion Questions for each of the “topics”
The “Natural Man” (Images by John White)
- “How do you think the artist felt about this individual?”
- “Do you think the artist thought this person was beautiful?”
- “What are some visual signs of judgment or stereotype?”
- “Do you think the sitter (the subject) of the image agreed to be painted, and/or posed for this painting?”
The “Noble Savage” (Death of Benjamin Wolf and the Four Indian Kings Paintings)
- Describe details you see about his tattoos, weapons, hairstyle, and accessory —the beaded bag.
- Describe what you notice about the muscular body, the pose, and details that make it seem realistic.
- Do we think it odd that the Indian man is nearly naked while everyone else is fully clothed?
- Point out that most of the people shown in this image were not actually present and that the painting is largely allegorical. What allegorical message is being conveyed with a naked Indian man?
- How does the figure remind us of a classical Greek statue?
- Comparisons between the generic Indian in West’s painting with one of the four “kings” by Jan Verelst can help students consider how the idea of the Greek nude, and the Noble Savage may have influenced the portraits of actual individuals.
The Indigenous Ambassador (Portraits of Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) and Ut-ha-wah)
- “Why is he wearing a white shirt?”
- “Does his coat resemble that of the Haudenosaunee or that of the US ‘founding fathers’?”
- “What is he wearing on his head?”
- “What can we learn from his facial expression?”
- “What is in the background of the painting, or what is he standing in front of?”
The Vanishing Indian (Portraits of David Vann and Sequoyah)
- Do these Cherokee and Choctaw men look like “real” Indians?
- Why might a member of a minority group adopt the clothing and appearance of the dominant group?
- How is this different from the other way around?
- When or where else can you think of times when the clothes people wear, tell you their political opinions?
The Romantic Indian (Paintings of the Mandan and Sauk)
- “What was he trying to convey by the way he is standing?”
- “Do you think the feathers and head-wear meant the same thing to the chief as they did to the painter?”
- “Do you think Catlin respected Mato-Tope?”
- “Do you think the Chief was attempting to look intimidating, or approachable?”
- This was painted right before a large influx of pioneers traveled through Mandan territory. Does this historical context for this painting change the way you feel about it?
Unreliable racial categories (The woman from New Orleans and her daughter)
- If this woman commissioned this painting of herself, how did she choose to be depicted?
- What can her clothes and the background of the image suggest to us about her as a person?
- If it is her daughter in the picture, why does her daughter have lighter skin? What conclusions can be drawn about this?
- We don’t know anything about her, the title is assigned by scholars, but how does this image subvert your expectations about a woman of color in America, in the late 18th century?
Self-Expression and Tignon Laws
- What does it mean to appropriate something?
- Is it different when someone who is a victim of a restrictive regulation uses that regulation to assert themself?
- Is this the same thing as malicious compliance?
Settler Colonies versus Exploitation Colonies: (Brunias’ Dominica)
- Where did the cotton come from to make these really nice dresses etc?
- Why do the lighter skinned women still have their hair covered?
- Who seems to be wearing the more patterned cloth? The white cloth?
Fancy Girls dressed for the White Male Gaze
- Describe each woman in the paintings and what she is thinking, feeling, and wearing.
- I thought enslaved women dressed in rags how are these women different?
- Where did the cotton come from to make these calico dresses? How is this extra insulting?
- In the 19th century “fancy” was a contraction of “fantasize” how does this make the idea of a “fancy girl” auction even more icky than we already thought?
Conclusion activity:
At the end of the unit students should apply what they have learned from these historical images and create a self-portrait in the form of a staged photo with as much editing and filters as they would like. Then they should write an imagined pseudo historical essay about the person in the image. In the third person, the essay should describe the meaning of the clothing, hairstyle, accessories, setting, and any symbolism that they included to indicate parts of their identity.
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