During the spring semester 2000, I changed the requirements of the self-portrait assignment . As before, students had studied various views of the self in psychology (Freud and Jung) and their application to literature (Rilke), Asian views of the self, and the self-portrait in art prior to completing the project. Student were required to apply these ideas and to create a non-representation self-portrait with found objects. In addition, for the first time I required a formal essay with the project which synthesized the various ideas of the self they had studied and also discussed the ways in which their portrait expressed or not those ideas. The applied portion of the project was worth 40 percent of the grade, while the written component was worth 60 percent of the project grade.
Students presented these projects in class, and were required to explain the use of color, line, shape,texture, and the ways in which they integrated materials from the unit on Art as Self-Expression. The presentations in the class were as successful as in other semesters. Even more importantly, the level of analysis, synthesis and integration of ideas was considerably improved. Obviously, the formal written requirement produced better results than the online survey of fall 1999 which was much more informal in nature.
In the spring 2000, I also substituted this project for an in-class final. First, the presentations often took longer than a single class period; the three-hour format of the final gave the class time to adequately hear everyone's presentation. Although I lost the opportunity to have students write for the final time on the question "What is art?", this project forced students to address that question in a different context. I was more than satisfied with the results of having this project serve as the final exam. Students always seem to have a very special experience during the presentations; the self-revelations of their peers create bonds that continue beyond the classroom. In many ways this assignment was a very fitting end to the course, and I continued to use this project as the final for the next three terms.
To explore the students' projects, click on the links below.
Explorations in Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning Home Page