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Climates of Resistance’s third unit uses critical power theories to expand understandings of who is and should be involved in environmental planning and ecological conditions. After discussing a number of non-traditional actors in class and considering how those underrepresented players might affect (and/or be affected by) environmental (in)justice, the Unit 3 assignment invites students to showcase at least one of them through representational art.
Students may highlight any marginalised or underrepresented actor they wish, using any creative medium (e..g, painting, sculpture, poetry, animation, photography, etc.); however, the visual identity of the piece, and the accompanying artist statement, must accentuate the power and agency held by the actor - rather than emphasising victimhood.
The nature of this assignment pays tribute to a rich history of storytelling, singing, painting, and handicrafting being used for knowledge-sharing and activism around the world. While students are in no way assessed based on artistic talent or technique, they are expected to meaningfully engage with the assignment’s creative identity through their approach.
This assignment will support students in achieving Learning Objective 4: Interpret expressions of non-traditional agency produced by underrepresented parties in environmental action and policy.
Assignment Details: the Agency Artwork should summarise student learning on Radical Recognition by:
recognising a community, group, or system that is underrepresented in mainstream spaces;
interpreting some of the ways that actor displays and exerts agency; and
amplifying that party’s “voice” by highlighting them and their power through painting, poem, song, sculpture, digital animation, or another medium of students’ choosing.
Students are expected to spend significant time creating an artistic output that showcases their chosen actor and that actor’s agency. There is no particular format requirement for the creative submission, though students are encouraged to speak with the professor well in advance to discuss their plans.
In addition to the work of art, students are required to write an accompanying Artist’s Statement. The statement should be ~250-400 words describing the creative process and explaining theories of power inspiring the piece.
Rubric: grades for this “Agency Artwork” assignment will be determined according to the five requirements below.
Recognise an actor that is underrepresented in mainstream environmental decision-making (5 points)
Tips for meeting the criteria:
Your actor can be anyone/anything within the purview of this course: a racialised human community, a non-human animal species, the Ocean, future generations, the concept of Nature as a whole, etc.
Be specific and intentional in your focus.
Explicitly name the actor you have chosen in your Artist’s Statement, making it clear whether it’s a general group/species, a specific individual, or a wider symbolic figure.
Be sure to discuss why and how the actor(s) are underrepresented in mainstream decision-making.
You can continue to focus on what you examined for your Statistical Story assignment; it’s a great way to learn more about something you care about. You are, however, expected to take a new angle on things: ‘stretch’ yourself!
For instance:Who and what are also affected by the issue from your Statistical Story, but didn’t get as much attention in that assignment?
Is there a subgroup of the demographic from your Statistical Story you could ‘zoom’ in on? (Consider intersectional identities within the demographic.)
You are, of course, also free to examine something entirely different.
Interpret how the actor displays and exerts agency (5 points)
Tips for meeting the criteria:
In both your creative work and your Artist’s Statement, address questions such as:
What kinds of power does your actor have?
What needs, desires, and right does your actor have?
How does your actor use various forms of power to achieve their goals?
Consider whether there are any situations when this actor isn’t marginalised. Why and how is that?
Your Artist’s Statement should specifically engage with theories of power and agency, making use of course vocabulary. (The theory brief will help!)
Amplify marginalised actors’ “voices” (5 points)
Tips for meeting the criteria:
Your artwork can show your actor ‘in action’ and/or ‘in relation’, demonstrating its agency and capabilities.
Think about how your artwork can teach a lesson, share a story, or make an impact through its depiction of your actor.
Consider representation: Who can the art capture and “speak for”? What can’t it do?
You might challenge the reader to ‘listen’ and ‘hear’ in new ways (...and critique what ‘voice’ is, with the anthropocentric and ableist potentials of this metaphor!).
Respond to how art has been teaching you in this class with a creative work of your own (5 points)
Tips for meeting the criteria:
You are not being graded for your artistic talent...but you are being graded for your approach to the assignment. This includes attention to your artistic medium and what you choose to depict, as well the general level of effort put into making your art piece.
You should also demonstrate how the process of creating your artwork helped you think about power structures and the value of art in fostering empathy, raising awareness, and critiquing injustice.
Your Artist’s Statement can explicitly reflect on what ‘art’ is and how you experienced this non-traditional style of assignment (including an honest reflection if you hated it!).
Share information about environmental racism in an accessible way for diverse audiences (5 points)
Tips for meeting the criteria:
As you did for the Statistical Story, approach this assignment as a ‘public communication’ exercise, and create your work with an external audience in mind.
Don’t assume your audience knows anything about environmental (in)justice: Explain all of the terms, concepts, and references you use in your Artist’s Statement.
Write in an engaging, emotional tone as you discuss your artwork, what motivated it, and what it means to you.
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