Heroes and Cultural Identity Project
Project Activities
The project activities fall into three main categories:
- Preparation of material by students on heroes and cultural identity.
- A voting system where students choose their favourite heroes.
- Reflection on the nature of 'heroes', and celebrity and their cultural impact.
A. PREPARATION OF MATERIALS
Students will be asked to prepare materials on appropriate 'heroes'. This concept can include men and women in all fields, living or dead, such as culture - art, music, drama, film, society - race, gender, disability, sport, fashion, politics, science, religion, anti-heroes (like Hitler or Stalin who were heroes to some at the time), role models, icons, idols, figure-heads, collective heroes (social movements), fictional characters.
Research can be done using a variety of research tools - books, newspapers, CDs, films, interviews, etc.. Selecting the heroes and shaping the materials may involve class discussions, essays, role-play and drama, selection and manipulation of images, film and music. 'Living heroes' might be researched with interviews and autograph collecting included. The final phase of this stage will be collating and presenting all the information for inclusion on a website.
Subject specialists that could be involved potentially cover the entire range of an education institution: Media studies, Languages, Art, Drama, Music, History, Modern studies, Science, ICT, etc.
B. VOTING
Students will choose among the various heroes presented and vote using the website on both the quality of the presentation and on which hero they prefer. This can be done according to categories (such as politics or sport). The process will be like a combination of a Nobel Prize, the Olympic Games and a general election.
While preparation of materials will be by a restricted number of students, participation in voting can be made accessible to all students.
C. COMMUNICATION ISSUES
One of the most important, but most difficult elements in this project will be how students with different languages can interact effectively.
One advantage that we have is that at least one teacher in every partner school speaks English and also we have one English teacher in every partner school.
Schools would therefore initially prepare materials on heroes in their own language. When the hero is put forward for inclusion on the website and publication (for voting purposes), the English teachers would complete a standard form.
This form would include the following details:
- Name of hero/Period of History/Nationality
- Which area the hero has contributed to (choosing from list - politics, sport, etc.)
- 200 words maximum in English on why the students think this hero should be voted for.
These forms could then be translated into national languages for inclusion in local publications, on the website, and notice boards. There may have to be some expenditure on translation services if a large number of heroes are put forward. This can be monitored as the work progresses.
D. REFLECTING ON THE PHENOMENON OF 'HEROES'
The students who prepared materials would consider how individuals and groups have shaped the culture of nations, local communities, Europe and the world. They would look at what creates heroes - how heroes have themselves been shaped by the context they live in. They would also consider the phenomenon of celebrity and fame, the cult of the individual.
