Newsletter, October 2022

Save the dates

Renaissance Now launches an interdisciplinary practice to write business schools type cases for artistic interventions. More info at Renaissance Now

Educating The Gambia’s Next Generation of Change Makers

2 October, Sona Jobarteh opened the Enjoy Jazz festival. She is the first female kora player – a traditional griot instrument played exclusively by men – in West Africa. She keeps the tradition and history of her country of origin relevant as an “educator” in her home country. This activist stance resulted in 2015 in the founding of The Gambia Academy.

Nicolas Prevelakis invites us to a talk in the series “Pedagogies for Life” 

Doctor in Latin-American studies, Delphine Grouès is currently Sciences Po’s Dean of the Institute for skills and innovation. After having pursued most of her education in King’s College London, she started teaching in this Institution, and joined Sciences Po in 2008 as a lecturer in history. Her research focuses on memory, expression of protest, and popular movements in Chile and the Southern Cone. In 2020, she launched the Institute for Skills and Innovation. She is currently Dean of that Institute.
Mahindra Humanities talk, Oct 25, 5 pm: in Barker Hall 133. More info here

EDUCON 2022, Brazil

Professor Doris Sommer, and Professor Bernard Charlot talk about Art, Politics and Pedagogy at the XVI Colóquio Internacional Educação e Contemporaneidade, EDUCON 2022.

During July, Renaissance Now held the first application of the Certificate Program in Arts and Policy for Cities in Mannheim with the presence of civic and government leaders from different management areas and institutions.  Find more about this project here.

Museum visits, Argentina

Artist Martín DiGirolamo offered a guided tour through his exhibition “La opacidad de lo evidente” (The opacity of the evident) for the children who participate in the Juegoteca Mugica Pre-Texts Workshop Workshop coordinated with artist Marcela Cabutti  in Buenos Aires. During the visit we made our own works in cold porcelain and integrated them, along with our questions, to the exhibition.  Full report here.

Public Schools in Sergipe, Brazil

“In the last two years, one of my greatest pleasures is participating in the Pre-Texts workshops organized by Cultural Agents in public schools in Sergipe. With the support of Fapitec Sergipe and Harvard Drclas we trained 25 teachers. Now, we are continuing the project, implementing its uses with students. As time goes by and the tensions of the world run high, at Ivo Prado State School we are doing this art education work every Saturday morning.” Matheus Batalha, Brazilian Pre-texts Trainer. Full Report Here

Universidad Mayor, Chile
Physical Education Pedagogy

From August 19 to November 25, 2022, Paulina Núñez Lagos is doing a Pre-Texts workshop for 50 participants in two courses of the Physical Education Pedagogy career: Reading Comprehension and Oral and Written Strategic Communication. Full report here

Philosophical Foundations of Applied Ethics

Another implementation of Pre-Texts has been carried out by Heber Leal, Director of the Diploma in Philosophical Foundations of Applied Ethics, Temuco. The text they worked on with their 77 students was Eichmann in Jerusalem. A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt. Find more about this experience here.

The Heritage School Vasant Kunj, India

“Going the Pre-Texts way has been the beginning of a great journey for The Heritage School Vasant Kunj. Sharing the learnings, practices, experiences and the protocols with Andhra Education Society School ITO was a pleasure. The warmth and the simplicity were unlimited.” said Sunita Swaraj, Indian Pre-Texts Trainer, about the work that has an impact on teachers from all the region.

Maxim Gorky’s My Childhood at Wenlai Middle School, Shanghai

“We are reading Maxim Gorky’s My Childhood, here are some of our Year 6 students’ interpretation based on Chapters 1-3. We have also started to let the learners to start facilitating.  They love it! ” said Clement Chung, Regional Pre-Texts Weaver about our current project at Wenlai Middle School.