Theme 2 FIG Courses

Exploring and Examining "Resistance": Perspectives and Approaches Across Eras, Communities, and Technologies

This FIG pairing provides students the opportunity to examine resistance as concept, process, and product as we explore perspectives and approaches across time, communities, and technological devices. We will explore what resistance can look like, how resistance can be enacted, what resistance can lead to, and what can lead to the need for resistance in the first place. We will examine commonly known forms of resistance (marches, protests, unions, boycotts, etc.) as well as explore the wide range of resistance possibilities in our globalized and ever developing multimedia world (street art, social media posting/flooding, hacking, podcasts, micro blogging, etc.). Students will interrogate the role of language, storytelling, and media to better develop an understanding of resistance as the process of amplifying voices and fostering solidarity. We will unpack the concept of resistance and explore the use of voice as a tool for a range of possibilities from individual empowerment to social change.

These courses will rely on the lens of rhetoric (the study of effective communication) to help you delve into the dynamic interplay between resistance, voice, and perspective across various domains: music, literature, art, public speaking, mass media, graphic design, architecture, artificial intelligence, etc. By the end of this FIG experience, students will be equipped with the tools to critically engage with complex issues that are of personal relevance as this FIG pairing asks students to consider the complex subject of resistance based on their own experiences and interests (career, community, academic interests, hobbies, etc.). This course will provide opportunities for students to communicate their new found discoveries of resistance through personal reflections, speeches, scripts, dialogues, social media posts, emails, articles, and multimedia exhibitions. Students will gain critical analytical skills to deconstruct power structures, amplify marginalized voices, and cultivate empathy and solidarity.