Biography Project

Description:

In this project, your team will create a multimedia Biography that addresses a significant social issue related to the concept and practice of citizenship in the United States. Like we saw in the writings of John Dos Passos and George Packer, the individual that you select for the Biography is a symbolic figure who represents this larger issue, but the form of that representation can vary. Your symbolic figure may be a victim of the issue, like Tammy Thomas, associated with the cause of an issue, like Robert Rubin, an icon of a topic, such as Peter Thiel, or even an advocate who is working to resolve a social issue, such as Dean Price or Nelini Stamp. In fact, there could be overlaps in how the figure represents your topic, but your project should use those connections to communicate something significant about your social issue.

Drawing from the structures we studied in The Big Money and The Unwinding, your multimedia Biography may incorporate photography, Camera Eyes, Newsreels, found poetry, music, etc. Keep in mind how each artist we have discussed using different creative decisions to accomplish their tasks. Dos Passos uses a combination of realistic and fictional, narratives, as well as more abstract genres such as the Camera Eye to help us access the complex social issues experienced during the Great Depression. Packer adapts this method to structure his creative journalism, offering multiple ways for readers to consider the problems that he identifies instead of advocating solutions. Similarly, Huey learns that he must look beyond the walls of traditional photojournalism in order to ethically represent the Lakota—adding an oral history project that gives Lakota voices of social struggle more exposure.

Since a major focus of this course has been to recognize HOW artists communicate meaningfully about social issues related to citizenship, the final creative decision on structure and the specific elements you wish to include for this project are ultimately up to you. Look to the models we have discussed for inspiration, and don’t be afraid to push creative boundaries.

Each team will present its multimedia Biography in class on April 29 and May 1. Each team is required to meet outside of class before the presentation.

Activity:

Each team will select an individual and create a multimedia Biography that addresses a significant social issue related to the concept and practice of citizenship in the United States.

Each group will develop a 10 minute presentation of the Biography.

The Multimedia PowerPoint:

This is not a traditional PowerPoint. The multimedia PowerPoint will represent the bulk of the presentation, bringing together the different media elements your group chooses to utilize to construct your Biography. Your PowerPoint may include, but is certainly not limited to: audio clips, movies, text, found poetry, images, photography, music, etc. These elements can be found through research and created by you and your teammates to compose the story your group wants to tell. Whichever elements you decide to include, be thoughtful.

Questions for group proposal:

What is the issue the Biography dramatizes?

What is the perspective on this issue that your Biography will present? Are you raising awareness? Advocating for a position? Proposing some sort of action? Asking a specific question?

In what way(s) does your chosen figure symbolize or represent your issue? Why chose this person instead of other candidates?

Referring back to the second question, how does your chosen figure help you achieve the goal(s) of your project?

What kinds of media do you anticipate using to construct your Biography?

Provide a tentative responsibilities list for each group member and a tentative time schedule for completing portions of the project.

Research and documentation:

Please include a bibliography of at least 5 scholarly sources that helped the group to understand the issue and create the Biography.

An Abbreviated List of Possible Topics and Biographical Subjects:

Race and Citizenship: racial segregation, or Jim Crow, in the 1920s/1930s/1950s/2000s; the experiences of Native Americans or other racial and ethnic groups in America; workplace discrimination; affirmative action

Ex: Martin Luther King, Jr, Malcom X, Trayvon Martin

Gender and Citizenship: the Women’s Movement in the 1900s/1920s/1950s/2000s; equal pay for equal work; birth control; pregnancy termination; domestic abuse; domestic labor; Title IX

            Ex: Susan B. Anthony, Gloria Steinem, RuPaul

Sexuality and Citizenship: the Sexual Revolution of the 1920s/1930s/ 1960s/1970s/2000s; birth control; Roe v. Wade; LGBT rights; the making of modern families; sexual education 

Ex: Mathew Shepard, Steve Endean (HRC), Dan Savage (It Gets Better Project), Ellen DeGeneres, Harvey Milk, Madonna, Marylin Monroe

Economics and Citizenship: the Great Depression of the 1930s; the Great Recession of 2009 to the present; “Bloody Harlan” or other significant episodes of class and labor struggle; homelessness; healthcare;

Ex: Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, Bernie Madoff

Consumerism and Citizenship: Food Stamps; hunger; technology; sustainability; product innovation;  

Ex: Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jimmy Carter, Rachel Carson, Sam Walton

Immigration and Citizenship: the Border; migrant labor; disenfranchisement; civil rights

Ex: Cesar Chavez, the “Dreamers,”

Politics and Citizenship: the disenfranchisement of criminals; the Prison Industrial Complex; the morality of solitary confinement

Ex: Michelle Alexander