6 Virtual Exhibitions on Women Artists

Posted by Kaitlin Smith on March 26, 2021

2021 has already been a history-making year for women in civic life with the inauguration of the first woman Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. Along with the continuing importance of women’s political engagement, there are many additional ways that women contribute to society, challenge the status quo, and help to restore humanity and dignity to those denied it. One of these is the domain of art. We have witnessed an upsurge of artmaking inflected with social and political themes explode onto the public stage over the last year, art connected to the Black Lives Matter movement being one prominent example. This Women’s History Month, we have an opportunity to delve into the work and worlds of women artists, in particular. Founded in 1981, The National Museum of Women in the Arts describes itself as the “only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts,” and has curated a plethora of learning opportunities for those eager to explore women’s artmaking.

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Topics: Art, Women's History Month

How One Lesbian Couple Defied the Nazis: An Interview with Dr. Jeffrey Jackson

Posted by Kaitlin Smith on December 2, 2020

In a recent interview, I spoke with Dr. Jeffrey JacksonProfessor of History at Rhodes College and author of Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis. In this interview. Dr. Jackson discusses the untold story of Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe, a French lesbian couple who intervened in the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands through an expansive artistic campaign during World War II. Better known to art historians by their adopted names of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, Schwob and Malherbe’s story of resistance is told for the first time in Dr. Jackson’s new book. Here he shares a first look at their incredible story with Facing History.

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Topics: Art, Europe, resistance, LGBTQ

Facing History Upstanders

Posted by McKinley Doty on February 16, 2017

In February 1968, Thomas “T.O.” Jones led 1,300 black sanitation workers in a citywide strike against Memphis’ abusive treatment of its black employees. Facing History is honoring Jones and 13 other Memphians who chose to confront injustice and defy indifference through our Upstanders Mural. This commnity-driven public art display is located across the street from the National Civil Rights Museum and steps away from where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.  

We spoke with Dory Lerner, Museum Educator at the National Civil Rights Museum and a Facing History volunteer, about the importance of the mural in the community and how the stories of these Upstanders can be blueprints for changemakers today.

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Topics: Art, Memorials, Memory, Memphis, Upstanders, Civil Rights, Community, legacy

Bringing Art into Holocaust Instruction

Posted by Brandon Barr on June 16, 2015

As a teacher, I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage my students.

Before I started teaching my students a unit about the Holocaust this year, I thought a lot about how I could get them to think, process, and reflect meaningfully and critically about this history, and also inspire them to act in a manner that influences the world for good.

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Topics: Art, Books, Choosing to Participate, Facing History Resources, Teaching, Holocaust, Teaching Resources, Survivor Testimony, History, Facing Technology, Chicago

How Can Music Inspire Social Change?

Posted by Andrew Reese on April 12, 2015

Welcome to the fourth and final installment of our four-part blog series exploring the connections between music, history, and social change. In this fourth lesson, students will begin to contemplate the role of music as a social change agent.

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Topics: Art, Teaching Resources, Video, Civil Rights, Sounds of Change, Flipped Classroom, Facing Technology

Six Resources that Honor Jewish Voices on Yom HaShoah

Posted by Emily Weisberg on April 9, 2015

Next week marks Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. While Yom HaShoah affords us the opportunity to honor the memory of those we lost during the Holocaust, it's also a time to commemorate and celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the lives and communities decimated during this dark moment in history.

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Topics: Classrooms, Art, Books, Online Tools, Benjamin B. Ferencz, Memory, Choosing to Participate, Facing History Resources, Teaching, Holocaust, Upstanders, Teaching Resources, Survivor Testimony, Video, History

Soul Music and the Civil Rights Era: Respecting Self and the Other

Posted by Andrew Reese on April 5, 2015

Welcome to the third installment of our four-part blog series exploring the connections between music, history, and social change. In this third lesson, students will learn about two Stax Records recordings that both address respect: Otis Redding's "Respect" and the Staple Singers' "Respect Yourself."
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Topics: Art, Teaching Resources, Video, Civil Rights, Sounds of Change, Common Core State Standards, Flipped Classroom, Facing Technology

Four Resources to Teach About Genocide Awareness and Prevention

Posted by Julia Rappaport on March 30, 2015

In several areas of the United States, April is recognized as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month.
Here are four classroom resources you can use in April, or any time of year, to introduce your students to specific moments in world history while encouraging them to consider the behaviors—such as prejudice, stereotyping, and conformity—that contribute to the proliferation of violence today.
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Topics: Art, Books, Professional Development, Armenian Genocide, Facing History Resources, Holocaust, Genocide/Collective Violence, Teaching Resources, Video, History

Music and Identity

Posted by Andrew Reese on March 22, 2015

This week we're kicking off a four-part blog series exploring the connections between music, history, and social change.

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Topics: Art, Facing History and Ourselves, Teaching Resources, Video, Civil Rights, Sounds of Change, Diversity, Common Core State Standards, Flipped Classroom, Facing Technology

What Role Can Music Play as an Agent of Change?

Posted by Andrew Reese on March 15, 2015

What is soul music?

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Topics: Art, Facing History and Ourselves, Teaching Resources, Video, Civil Rights, Sounds of Change, Diversity, Common Core State Standards, Flipped Classroom, Facing Technology

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Welcome to Facing Today, a Facing History blog. Facing History and Ourselves combats racism and antisemitism by using history to teach tolerance in classrooms around the globe.

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