Racism and Social Phobias – Video Clip Project
Courtney and I have been hard at work on our Video Clip project, and here is what we’ve come up with! Because Courtney and I share another class, we’re both currently reading (actually, just finished) Othello, The Moor of Venice by Shakespeare. We decided to use this play as the basis for our video clip project.
Because Shakespeare is often something students find inaccessible, we thought that using technology to bring the play into this century would really help students grasp the concepts better, and to just relate to the story in general. Racism is a major issue in the play, and since it’s still a big deal today, we thought that was the perfect launching point for this project.
So, without further ado, the video!
And without further further ado (about nothing…ba-dum-CHING!), our project assignment sheet and rationale!
Enjoy!
(edit: I can’t seem to make stupid wordpress attach the file to the post, so I’ve linked to it. It’s uploaded to my own website.)
September 17, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Now there’s a great looking project
September 17, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Hey guys, your project was great, thanks for showing it to us in class! I think that cultural relevance and awareness is really important to incorporate in a classroom setting. It has the potential to really help students take another look at how they’re treating one another.
September 17, 2009 at 7:07 pm
I really like the video you chose! I think it addresses so many issues that need to be talked about in class, but that teachers seem to be afraid to bring up.
I think your assignments are really original and creative. Even if they might not be able to be used in a classroom, they are still wonderful ideas that would really get people to step outside their bubble.
September 17, 2009 at 7:09 pm
I really enjoyed this video, and think that this type of assignment is needed in today’s society. I am all for talking about controversial subjects in the classroom, because I believe that ignoring these topics is ignorant. These problems do exist and are prevalent. Also, students love to express their feelings and opinions towards controversial topics, and it can lead into great class discussion. However, I also believe that these topics and discussions should be handled with great care. There are so many ways to easily offend others, even if that is not the intention of the assignment. In this day and age people are just looking for something to raise hell about. That is the ongoing problem we have to face as teachers, and its unfortunate that our ideas and intentions often get misconstrued. But, that’s reality. With that being said: great video, awesome idea, and with a few tweaks its an awesome assignment!
September 17, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I agree with what you guys are saying about it possibly being too controversial. Courtney and I talked about that while we were working on the project. I think it’s totally true that the assignment needs a bit of tweaking before it can be used in a classroom, but I don’t know how we could get that tweaking without showing it for some review. Thanks everyone for your comments!
September 18, 2009 at 1:11 am
I really like the general idea of this assignment. The topic I think students will find interesting and engaging. The only issue with this assignment would be what we discussed in class, the sensitivity of the issue and assignment. I think if you could find an assignment that would be appropriate this could work out to be a very creative assignment.
September 20, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I loved the video. I think controversial assignment are needed every now and then in classrooms. You can’t sugarcoat everything.
September 20, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Great video and great way to lead students into the ever-heated conversation of racism in America. I still have a problem with the posting of something controversial on something as public as facebook, but you are definitely headed in the right direction.
September 22, 2009 at 5:46 am
Your attempt to address racism was bold, and courageous. However, I would advise you to contact your department chairperson, and/or your principal of the school to avoid controversy and/or liability.
September 24, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I really enjoyed this project. A lot of the time, students look at Shakespeare and say holly crap. This video really help students to see the traces of racism in that time.