Guest Post: Jennifer Fischer, Co-Founder, Think Ten Media Group
Religious literacy and cross-cultural understanding are intimately linked, which means educators have numerous, readily-available options when exploring world religions with their students. Stories, books, and films are routinely highlighted. For example, National Geographic’s The Story of God, with Morgan Freeman, is a documentary film series that provides useful context and background information on the five major world religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. In conjunction with the film, or on its own, the Curriculum Guide from Journeys in Film features lessons on each religion.
But various other art forms can also be used effectively and inexpensively in the classroom. Moreover, many art forms lend themselves to hands-on learning opportunities, which can deepen both creative collaboration and student engagement.
Visual Arts
Because visual arts are important elements in most religions, educators often incorporate them into their world religion lesson plans. But a powerful new documentary, Rebel Hearts, offers a unique opportunity to show the extent to which religious practice and visual arts can be interconnected.
Rebel Hearts highlights the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who bravely stood up to the patriarchy of the Catholic Church in the 1960s. They fought for equality, their livelihoods, and their own freedom against an all-powerful Cardinal who sought to keep them in their place. Sister Mary Corita, who was active in the movement at the time, was also a visual artist and educational innovator.
She had an amazing eye for design that captured the attention of many of her contemporaries. Her artwork, which is both vibrant and eye-catching, reflects both her religious background and her commitment to social justice. Her colorful screenprints were intended for a wide audience, and her Instagram-ready pop-art clearly put her ahead of her time. The serigraph (screen printing) to the right, the lord is with thee, was completed by Sister Mary Corita in 1952, and can be seen at corita.org.
Rebel Hearts is a great way to show students that art can be both depict a religious practice and be a religious practice. It also highlights the diversity found within religious traditions, an important point that is often poorly understood, even by adults. The Journeys in Film free Curriculum Guide for Rebel Hearts can be found here.
Calligraphy
In addition to her serigraphs, Sister Mary Corita was also known for her calligraphic art. Lesson 3 in the Rebel Hearts Curriculum Guide specifically focuses on calligraphy and the ways in which it can be used to communicate a message. (This resource is most appropriate for middle school and high school students.)
A world religions lesson centered on calligraphy could also include information on Islamic calligraphy. PBS Learning Media has a flexible resource on teaching about Islamic calligraphy that can be adapted for Grades 3-12. The lesson plan explores various styles and kinds of Islamic calligraphy and culminates with students creating their own calligraphy style. In pairing the study of Islamic calligraphy with the calligraphy of a Sister Mary Corita, students become familiar with two different religious influence and multiple artistic styles.
Mandalas and Geometric Shapes
The Cup is a beautiful film that tells the heartwarming story of two young Tibetan refugees who arrive at a monastery-in-exile in India. The serene atmosphere is quickly disrupted when one of the boys is unwavering in his determination to see the finals of the World Cup. The film follows his journey as he sets out to organize the rental of a TV set for the monastery. Journeys in Film’s Curriculum Guide for this film features one lesson on the Art of the Mandala.
(via Pixabay)
Students are often mesmerized by mandalas, whether they are creating them or just coloring them. Exploring mandalas with students is a great way to teach them about Buddhism (and other religions that use mandalas), but it can also dovetail with math instruction and STEAM learning opportunities by highlighting the symmetrical nature of mandalas. In the Journeys in Film lesson, students learn that mandalas are a sacred art and that “mandala” is the Sanskrit word for circle.
In expanding the STEAM component and offering comparative learning regarding religious art, a lesson about mandalas could be paired with a lesson on Arabic/Islamic tiles. Kid World Citizen does a great job of highlighting geometric shapes in Islamic art here.
Paper Cutting and Micrography
Jewish folk art is another fun and interesting way to explore the world’s religions with kids. Jews have long created beautiful works of art as a devotional practice. Two traditional techniques are paper-cutting and micrography (creating images out of words). Both are featured in this resource from My Jewish Learning.
The beautiful example to the left is an early 20th century papercut depicting Shavuot found in the Center for Jewish History in New York City. And for great examples of the Jewish folk micrography tradition, check out this blog for the Library of Congress. Both will likely inspire students to create their own works. Learners could be encouraged to use letters as they create art pieces that reflect stories discovered in other religious literacy activities. Or, they could use small versions of the letters in their name to generate those same letters, only larger.
Exploring Sculpture and Self-Portraits
In the Hindu traditions, body postures in depicted deities can be highly symbolic. The Met Museum offers this lesson plan centered on Shiva. It encourages students to dive deeply into Shiva’s body posture, exploring what this posture might mean with respect to Hindu belief systems. Such discussions can also be used as a jumping off point for students interested in learning about Hindu dance, as well. The Met Museum activity culminates with students creating self-portraits and reflecting on their own identities and roles in their communities.
The Art Class Curator also offers this lesson, which guides students through Nepal as they explore Hindu sculptures to learn more about dance.
Conclusion
Exploring world religions through art can be a powerful way to engage students. It also offers another method of offering cultural-responsive teaching and hands-on learning opportunities. Pairing art activities with powerful storytelling tools, like films or books, also helps educators meet the needs of students with various learning styles and interests.
About the Author
Jen Fischer is a writer, film producer, and teaching artist whose work focuses on highlighting shared human experiences to cultivate empathy and understanding. Her films have screened across the United States and abroad and have been featured by NBCLatino, ABC, Univision, Fusion, NBCBLK, Vice News, etc. with her film “THE wHOLE” premiering at Amnesty International’s 50th Anniversary Human Rights Conference. In addition to Video Librarian, you can also read her work in Edutopia, Ms. Magazine, and Parents Magazine, among other sites. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Journeys in Film. She has also developed curriculum for LA’s BEST, the Metta Center for Nonviolence, and AcadeMe+ and has worked in conjunction with the Outreach Center for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University, where she received her M.A. She holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College. You can find her on Twitter @IndieJenFischer.
Leave a Reply