Group Project

Going Public: A Community Activist Project
 

Good ideas are meant to be shared. In this class, we’ve been having some amazing discussions about gender in our communities – how it’s constructed, defined, enacted. We’ve explored our own gender(s) and the gender(s) and feminisms of our communities. Now, it’s time to start thinking about how to communicate this with a public audience.

This is a semester long project, which means there’s time for reflection, revision, and most importantly, action. In groups of 3-5, you’ll be working on creating a “thing” related to your topic and sharing it with a very real audience outside this classroom.

Then, you’ll be reporting back to us at the end of the semester to let us know how it all went. 

Requirements for the project

• A proposal: this is geared towards me, your instructor, telling me what you plan to do, why it’s important, and how you see it all coming together.
• A public document: A “thing” that represents your findings/ideas about gender
• An event: Making your document public with a specific and authentic audience

A report back: Communicating your achievements with your peers in a presentation

The key to a successful activist project is creating something meaningful for you, your community, and your surroundings. You have a lot of freedom to explore your own talents and interests. Use this to your advantage.  In addition, you have the semester to complete something polished, meaningful, and important.

Throughout the semester, you’ll be reporting to me about your group’s progress and receiving grades along the way.

At the end of the semester, we’ll be PUBLISHING our final projects in a variety of settings (in INQUIRY, an online academic journal, the GENDER(s) Tumblr, Compocon, and more).  

Let’s explore and change our world.

Activist Project Ideas

These are some examples of projects I’ve come up with. You’re free to steal them, modify them, or use them as a jumping off point for your own projects. You can also crumple them up, throw them away, and pretend they didn’t even exist J

Create a documentary

Plan, film, and show a documentary about being LGBTQ in the RGV. Have a public screening debut at the UTPA library with a post-film discussion. Have one team member responsible for writing a review of the event as your “report back” to post on our blog (along with the documentary of course!).

Story Time

Create a children’s book that addresses gender issues for young girls and plan a story time at one of our local libraries. Make a short news story about the event to share with the class.

Work Shop for Teachers

Create a prezi geared towards FYC instructors giving tips and strategies for getting female students to speak up more in class or for engaging male students in reading. Present it to a group of FYC instructors. Create a trifold with quotes and reactions to share with the class.

Slut Walk

Organize and conduct a slut walk on campus. This might take a little footwork, but I think it might be exciting and fun. Research other slut walks from around the nation. Your public document can be flyers advertising the event, and your “report back” could be a photo essay documenting the experiences.

Lesson Plan

Create and teach a lesson about gender and media literacy geared towards high school students. Teach the lesson at a local high school (maybe your old high school!). You’ll need to look at the media literacy TEKS for the specific grade you want to work with.  For your report back, create a prezi documenting the experience to share with the class.

Arts Exhibit

Plan and organize an arts exhibit specifically geared towards men, to encourage men to be more artistic. Take pictures of the event and interview participants for a short blogpost on the event.

Feminist Poetry Reading

Plan, promote, host, and reflect on a feminist poetry reading either here on campus or at another local venue. You can invite local poets and writers to participate. Write up a news story on the event or create a prezi to report back how the experience went. 

Mentoring Through Vidas Cruzadas

Plan a visit to observe the Vidas Cruzadas women’s writing group. Then, as a group, create a writing therapy activity. Create a reflective video chronicling your experiences and illustrating what you’ve learned through volunteering to show to the class.

The possibilities are endless, folks. Use your creativity, talents, and interests to create and implement something that matters to you and your community. Above all, have fun!