This course is designed for politically diverse and civic-minded students who are concerned about the deepening divide and fraying social fabric in the United States and who wish to take action by creating courageous and relational spaces in which people who disagree with one another can enter into meaningful, respectful, honest, and relational dialogue. The course will include exposure to artworks, reflective writing, multi-disciplinary readings from social psychology and public policy, and relational conversations. We will explore the ways in which art can be used as a tool and a framework for understanding ourselves, our society and where we belong in it, and how we engage in civic life. The class will emphasize active participation, critical thinking, and learning through direct experience and thoughtful dialogue, rather than through traditional lecture-based teaching methods. We will learn by doing, by curious inquiry, and by experimenting with ideas and actions. Students will learn how to develop a program that invites relational conversations and the course will culminate with the implementation of that program.
This course will be led by social practice artist Philippa Pham Hughes, who is serving as the Visiting Artist for Art & Civic engagement at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. She has produced and curated hundreds of creative activations and multi-disciplinary art exhibits across the United States. Philippa has spoken internationally, including SXSW, TEDxAmericanUniversity, Placemaking Week Amsterdam, University of Michigan's Penny Stamps Speaker Series, Fort Worth Women's Policy Forum, and has been featured by artnet, CNN, PBS Newshour, CityLab, and The Washington Post. The course will be taught in collaboration with the University of Michigan Museum of Art in conjunction with UMMA's Vote 2024 programs. The course will occasionally meet in UMMA's galleries.