Who is American Today? Is an ongoing research project that aims to investigate what and who students consider "American" to be, and how digital media skills play a role in their civic identity.
Project
Leveraging the technological abilities of today's students who have been raised with digital technology and tools, this participatory arts-based project asks high school students to use digital storytelling to express their lived experiences in America today.
Seeking to investigate the relationship between creativity and democracy, this ongoing study seeks to promote skills that are necessary today in a democratic society, especially the complimentary ability of articulating one’s own perspective and as well as being able to respond to others.’ In a community of learners, high school students, art educators, and a researcher explore the central question of “How can art education prepare students to be critical digital citizens?”
This project uses widely-available creative digital tools to articulate student voice in ways that may surpass polarizing issues and create shared understandings about citizenship, and the pursuit of a common good.
Our Questions
How do current High School students view American identity?
What does Critical Digital Citizenship look like, and how does it play a role in their lives?
How can art education prepare students to be critical digital citizens?
Goals
Through the participation of educators across the United States and their students' work, our team gathers data from Digital Stories that are produced as a result of this project.
Our aim is to use information and critical insight gained from these narratives in order to further understand what students today are thinking, and how they approach critical thinking within digital media.
The Digital Stories generated by students as a result of this project live online, in our Galleries, and occasionally travel in exhibitions across the country.
Keep up with Who is American Today? through our Events page, or on social media!