Cultural Heritage and the Student of the Pre-Modern

TueApr3
- University Library — Mary Tefft White Cultural Center

By drawing cultural heritage parallels, we can emphasize with our students those connections and the shared need for preservation and the study of the past. Participants in this session will rethink the pedagogical implications of the concept of cultural heritage and consider the benefits of bringing instructor hobbies/passions into the classroom. More important, however, is the development of projects based upon active/authentic pedagogical principles that ask students to become collaborators in the photography exhibit as curators and researchers. In this way, they are both learning to connect their local cultural heritage to global cultural heritage and communicating what they learn to local communities, empowering them in terms of their world context and in terms of their relevance to their own environments. Participants will also get the opportunity to participate in the exhibition! For further details see: http://culturalheritagethroughimage.omeka.net/

During this presentation, participants will:

  • consider the motivation of students to invest in courses;
  • rethink the pedagogical implications of the concept of cultural heritage;
  • consider the benefits of bringing instructor hobbies/passions into the classroom;
  • explore methods to encourage investment in students;
  • design materials and resources to use with cultural heritage in mind.

Kisha G. Tracy is an Associate Professor of English Studies and Co-Coordinator of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. She received her Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from the University of Connecticut in 2010. Her first book was published by Palgrave in 2017 and is entitled Memory and Confession in Middle English Literature. In addition to this topic, her other research interests include medieval disability, particularly mental illness, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and cultural heritage.