DEPAUL UNIVERSITY - "CREATIVE TOOLS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE"
NEW COURSE - MAY 2007 - PAX 250
- A 2-credit hour course, meeting from May 1 to May 31, Tues & Thurs 3:10 - 4:40pm
- Theater and political protest. Media activists and anti-globalization. Online Flash movies for sustainable development. Hip Hop and voter registration.
- These are just a few of the ways art and social change are coming together. Artists and activists are blending their approaches, strategies and tactics in a creative stew for progressive social change.
- This class will examine how social change activists are using creative tools and methods to achieve their change agendas. The class will:
- Give students a foundation understanding of the principles and practices of direct action organizing.
- Expose students to cutting edge, innovative and non-traditional strategies and tactics for mobilizing for social change.
- Provide a hands-on opportunity for students to create a theater-based or arts-based intervention designed to help an existing student social change organization.
Readings
- We will use “Organizing for Social Change” by the Midwest Academy (Bobo, Max, Kendall) as the primary text, with supplementary reading from “The Interventionists” (Thompson and Sholette) and “Recipes for Disaster – an anarchist cookbook” (CrimethInc. Workers’ Collective).
About the instructor
Tom
Tresser is a former actor, theater producer and community
organizer. Based in Chicago, he has been working since 1990
to involve cultural workers and creative professionals in
politics and civic affairs. He has spent the last two years
organizing the Creative America Project (www.creativeamerica.us),
a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan effort which aims to inspire
and train creative professionals to seek leadership positions
in public life. Tom has produced and facilitated a number
of training sessions for artists on how to enter community
organizing and civic engagement work. He's written a book
based on his cultural organizing, "Win
With Creativity! Why and How Creative Professionals Should
Run for Local Office." He has presented for the League
of Chicago Theatres, Arts Midwest, Arts Wisconsin, ArtPride
New Jersey, ArtServe Michigan and the Detroit College of
Creative Studies. He believes that many of our creative
peers are already leaders who possess values, skills and
experience desperately needed in the public sector. Information
about his work in arts
and community development, arts
and politics and community
organizing. In 2003 he was appointed Visiting Fellow
in Arts and Culture at the DePaul University College of Commerce’s Ryan
Center for Creativity and Innovation. Tom was elected
to the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School's Local School Council
in April 2004. He is teaching "The Politics of Creativity"
for DePaul's Political
Science Department and "Building
An Online Catalog for Civic Activism in Chicgo" for the School
for New Learning and "The
Artist as Activist" for Loyola University's Theatre
Department.
