Student-Led Critical Discussion

Week 2

Reading 1: Cvetkovich, A. (2003). “Introduction.” In An Archive of Feelings: Trauma, Sexuality, and Lesbian Public Cultures (pp. 1–14). Duke University Press.

Reading 2: Caswell, M., & Cifor, M. (2016). “From Human Rights to Feminist Ethics: Radical Empathy in the Archives.” Archivaria, 81, 23–43.

Artist and artwork: Félix González-Torres [Cuba–USA], Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) (1991)

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Week 3

Reading 1: Haraway, D. (1988). “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective.” Feminist Studies, 14(3), 575–599.

Reading 2: Tuck, E. (2009). “Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities.” Harvard Educational Review, 79(3), 409–427.

Artist and artwork: Mónica Mayer [Mexico], El Tendedero/The Clothesline Project (1978–ongoing)

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Week 5

Reading 1: Hall, S. (1990). “Cultural Identity and Diaspora.” In J. Rutherford (Ed.), Identity: Community, Culture, Difference (pp. 222–237). Lawrence & Wishart.

Reading 2: Azoulay, A. A. (2019). “Unlearning Imperialism: The Shutter: Well-Documented Objects / Undocumented People” In Potential History: Unlearning Imperialism. Verso.

Artist or collective: The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives [Canada]

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Week 6

Reading 1: Russell, L. (2020). “Glitch Refuses.” In Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto (pp. 15-37). Verso.

Reading 2: Noble, S. U. (2018). “A Society, Searching.” In Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (pp. 15–63). New York University Press.

Artist and artwork: Rosa Menkman [Netherlands], The Collapse of PAL (2010–2012)

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Week 7

Reading 1: Hamraie, A. (2017). “Introduction: Critical Access Studies.” In Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability (pp. 1–23). University of Minnesota Press.

Reading 2: Sins Invalid. (2015). “10 Principles of Disability Justice.”

Artist and artwork: Christine Sun Kim [USA], Face Opera II (2013) and selected sound drawings

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Week 8

Reading 1: Simpson, L. B. (2014). “Land as Pedagogy: Nishnaabeg Intelligence and Rebellious Transformation.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 3(3), 1–25.

Reading 2: Mignolo, W. D., & Vázquez, R. (2013). “Decolonial AestheSis: Colonial Wounds/Decolonial Healings.” Social Text.

Artists and project: Jackson 2Bears [Kanien’kehá:ka] and January Rogers [Mohawk/Tuscarora], For This Land (2015–2023)

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Week 9

Reading 1: Lorde, A. (1984). “Introduction” and “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power.” In Sister Outsider (pp. 8-12; 53–59). Crossing Press.

Reading 2: Anzaldúa, G. (1987). “La Conciencia de la Mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness.” In Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books.

Artist and artwork: Jenny Granado/Kebra [Brazil], Desculonización

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Week 11-A

Reading 1: Rodríguez, J. M. (2003). “Divas, Atrevidas, y Entendidas: An Introduction.” In Queer Latinidad: Identity Practices, Discursive Spaces (pp. 1–36). New York University Press.

Reading 2: Muñoz, J. E. (1999). “Introduction: Performing Disidentifications.” In Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics (pp. 1–34). University of Minnesota Press.

Artist and artwork: Carmelita Tropicana/Alina Troyano [Cuba–USA], Your Kunst Is Your Waffen (1994)

Week 11-B

Reading 1: Stryker, S. (1994). “My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix: Performing Transgender Rage.” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 1(3), 237–254.

Reading 2: Buolamwini, J., & Gebru, T. (2018). “Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification.” Proceedings of Machine Learning Research, 81, 77–91.

Artists and artwork: Jake Elwes in collaboration with Me The Drag Queen [UK], Zizi & Me (2020)

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Week 12-A

Reading 1: Muñoz, J. E. (2009). “Introduction: Feeling Utopia.” In Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity (pp. 1–18). New York University Press.

Reading 2: Laboria Cuboniks. (2015). Xenofeminism: A Politics for Alienation.

Artist and artwork: Morehshin Allahyari [Iran–USA], She Who Sees the Unknown (2016–ongoing)

Week 12-B

Reading 1: Nelson, A. (2002). “Introduction: Future Texts.” Social Text, 20(2), 1–15.

Reading 2: Benjamin, R. (2019). “Introduction.” In Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code (pp. 1–32). Polity.

Artist and artwork: Tabita Rezaire [French Guiana], Deep Down Tidal (2017)

Use the assigned materials as your primary sources

The two assigned readings and the assigned artist or collective must be the primary materials for both parts of the session.

You may use additional sources or artistic examples when they clarify a concept or provide necessary context. Keep them secondary; they must not replace sustained engagement with the assigned materials.

Focus the presentation

Do not try to summarize every part of both readings. Identify two or three central concepts, arguments, or points of tension. Use the assigned artist’s work to explain, test, or complicate them.

Integrate the readings and artwork throughout the presentation instead of presenting three separate summaries.

Introduce the readings and authors

Briefly identify:

• the authors and titles of both readings;
• the context and general focus of each text;
• why the readings matter for the week’s course theme; and
• a key point of agreement, difference, or tension between them.

Keep this section concise. Do not provide extended biographies or summarize every section of either reading.

Introduce the artist or collective

Briefly identify:

• the artist or collective;
• relevant cultural, social, political, geographical, or historical context;
• the assigned artwork, series, or project;
• its medium, materials, technologies, processes, site, audience, or collaborative structure; and
• the work’s central concerns.

Use clear, high-quality documentation. Include the title, year, medium, creator or photographer credit, and source for every image or media excerpt when that information is available.

Select two or three central ideas

Choose two or three ideas that help the class understand meaningful relationships among both readings and the artist’s work.

For each idea:

1. State the concept or argument clearly.
2. Explain it in your own words.
3. Refer to a specific passage or example from at least one reading.
4. Explain how the second reading supports, extends, complicates, or challenges it.
5. Connect the idea to a specific artwork, detail, method, material, technology, question, or decision by the assigned artist.
6. Explain why the connection matters for artistic practice, research-creation, or anti-oppression work in the arts.

The selected ideas do not need to represent everything in the readings. Prioritize depth, synthesis, and meaningful connections.

Organize the presentation around connections

Use this structure:

• Connection 1: Concept from the readings and specific artistic evidence
• Connection 2: Concept from the readings and specific artistic evidence
• Connection 3, if used: Tension, limitation, or further question and specific artistic evidence

Artistic evidence may include:

• materials and technologies;
• process and production methods;
• image, sound, movement, language, or performance;
• site, scale, duration, and audience experience;
• collaboration and participation;
• representation and self-representation;
• cultural, political, or historical context;
• consent, access, care, refusal, or accountability; or
• distribution, documentation, or public engagement.

Avoid unsupported statements. Identify where an idea appears in the work, how the artistic decision operates, and what it communicates or makes possible.

Invite engagement

You may ask a small number of open questions during the presentation. Use them to help the class notice an important detail, consider a tension between the readings, or prepare for the discussion activity.

Keep these exchanges brief so the presentation remains within 20 minutes.

Conclude with key takeaways

End by identifying two or three concise takeaways:

• What should the class remember from the readings?
• What does the artist’s work help us understand or question?
• How might these ideas inform research-creation or anti-oppression strategies in artistic practice?

Make the presentation accessible

• Use clear language and explain necessary specialized terms.
• Organize slides using descriptive titles and a logical reading order.
• Use large, readable text and strong contrast between text and background.
• Do not communicate important information through colour alone.
• Do not place important text over visually complex images.
• Include a title, year, caption, and credit for every artwork image.
• Briefly describe images that are necessary to understand your argument.
• Caption video excerpts and provide a transcript or equivalent text summary for audio-only material.
• Give a content notice before showing potentially distressing material.
• Test slides, links, audio, video, and adapters before class.

Presentation requirements

• Present in person for 20 minutes.
• Use slides and appropriate images, audio, or video excerpts.
• Use the assigned artist’s work as the primary artistic evidence.
• Keep additional examples secondary.
• Cite all readings, artworks, images, media, and additional sources.
• Organize responsibilities across all team members.
• Use appropriate content notices when needed.
• Test all presentation media before class.

Define the activity’s purpose

Design one structured activity that helps the class engage more deeply with the selected concepts and the assigned artist’s ideas or approaches.

The activity should be inspired by the artist, not simply followed by questions about the artist. It may adapt:

• a question the artist asks;
• a method or process used in the work;
• a material or physical format;
• a strategy of participation, testimony, care, refusal, translation, or collaboration;
• a way of organizing images, language, sound, bodies, objects, space, or audiences; or
• a tension or ethical problem raised by the work.

Participants might respond to a question used by the artist, analyze the artist’s choices, work with comparable physical materials, reinterpret a process, take positions on a dilemma, or examine how meaning changes through different decisions.

Translate the artist’s strategy into an appropriate classroom activity. Do not copy the artwork or reproduce culturally specific, sacred, personal, or community-held content.

Follow the non-digital requirement

The activity must be based on in-person conversation and physical participation. It must not depend on participants using:

• cellphones;
• laptops;
• tablets;
• online polls;
• shared digital documents;
• websites or apps; or
• digital drawing, editing, or production software.

Assistive technology and personal access tools are always permitted. A participant may use a device as an accommodation even though the activity is otherwise non-digital. Prepare a digital or large-print version of written materials when needed.

The presenting team may project:

• activity instructions;
• discussion questions;
• a timer; or
• images or details from the assigned artwork when needed as references.

Projection should support the activity, not replace participation. The activity itself should use conversation, printed materials, writing, drawing, collage, movement, objects, spatial arrangements, or other non-digital methods.

The presenting team is responsible for preparing and bringing all required materials.

Meet the activity requirements

The activity must:

• have one clear critical purpose;
• connect directly to both readings and the assigned artist;
• apply at least one concept from the presentation;
• be meaningfully inspired by the artist’s questions, methods, materials, or approaches;
• include concise instructions and realistic timing;
• invite interpretation, comparison, analysis, making, reflection, or debate;
• allow multiple supported responses rather than one correct answer;
• give participants time to share and respond to one another;
• include follow-up questions that deepen the conversation; and
• fit within 20 minutes, including instructions and the closing synthesis.

Prepare facilitation questions

Prepare three to five open-ended questions, including follow-up prompts.

Strong questions ask participants to:

• use a concept or passage from one or both readings;
• refer to specific evidence from the artist’s work;
• compare the two authors’ perspectives;
• explain an interpretation or artistic decision;
• consider cultural context, positionality, power, or accountability;
• identify what the artwork makes visible, refuses, transforms, or leaves unresolved; or
• connect the analysis with research-creation or their own artistic practice.

Avoid questions that can be answered with only “yes,” “no,” a definition, or an unsupported personal opinion.

Plan inclusive and ethical participation

Use a structure that gives participants time and more than one way to contribute. Options include:

• individual reflection followed by paired or small-group discussion;
• written or drawn responses before speaking;
• physical sorting or arrangement followed by explanation;
• assigned roles within small groups;
• position-taking with the option to pass or remain undecided;
• whole-class synthesis after small-group work; or
• contributions through writing, speaking, making, or observation.

Do not require participants to:

• speak on behalf of a community or identity group;
• simulate a disability or marginalized identity;
• re-enact violence, discrimination, or traumatic events; or
• touch other participants or be photographed or recorded without explicit consent.

Provide an equivalent way to participate when the activity involves movement, public speaking, sensory materials, or potentially sensitive content. Clearly state that participants may pass on a prompt or activity without explaining why.

Facilitate the activity

The team must:

• explain the purpose and instructions clearly;
• provide written instructions as well as speaking them aloud;
• distribute and collect materials efficiently;
• track the time;
• invite participation without forcing disclosure;
• ask follow-up questions rather than moving immediately to the next prompt;
• encourage participants to use the readings and artwork as evidence;
• connect different responses;
• redirect the discussion respectfully when it moves away from the assigned concepts;
• address disagreement without treating one interpretation as automatically correct; and
• conclude by summarizing what the activity helped the class understand, question, or reconsider.

Suggested activity timing

Stage	Time
Explain the purpose, instructions, and participation options	2–3 minutes
Individual, paired, or small-group activity	7–8 minutes
Facilitated sharing and critical discussion	7–8 minutes
Summarize connections and unresolved questions	2 minutes
Total	20 minutes

Submission deadline

Submit all materials at least one day before your scheduled presentation.

Submit the following materials

• Presentation slides as W#-Presentation.pdf
• Completed discussion activity plan as W#-Discussion-Activity.pdf
• Printable activity materials or handouts as PDFs
• Links to audiovisual excerpts included in the presentation

Replace W# with your assigned week number.

The discussion activity plan must identify:

• the activity’s purpose;
• connections to both readings and the artist;
• step-by-step instructions;
• required materials;
• timing for each stage;
• responsibilities for each team member;
• three to five facilitation questions;
• participation alternatives and relevant content or access considerations; and
• a backup plan if the activity takes less or more time than expected.

Make the submitted files accessible

• Export text-based PDFs, not scanned pages or screenshots.
• Make sure text can be selected and searched.
• Use clear headings and a consistent reading order.
• Use readable text and strong contrast.
• Give links descriptive names.
• Include captions, credits, and text descriptions for important images.
• Include captions or transcripts for audiovisual material.
• Provide printable materials in a format that can also be enlarged or read with assistive technology.

Review the assessment criteria

Criterion	Points	Expectations
Reading synthesis and selected concepts	1.5	Accurately explains two or three central ideas and makes meaningful connections, distinctions, or tensions between both readings without attempting an exhaustive summary.
Artist research and critical connections	2.0	Uses specific works, details, methods, and contextual evidence to explain how the artist supports, complicates, challenges, or extends the selected concepts.
Discussion activity design	1.5	Creates a purposeful non-digital activity that is inspired by the artist and deepens critical engagement with the readings and artwork. Provides clear instructions, appropriate materials, and an accessible structure.
Critical facilitation and participation	2.0	Uses effective questions and follow-up prompts, invites multiple forms of participation, responds constructively to contributions, and concludes with a meaningful synthesis.
Organization, delivery, and collaboration	1.0	Communicates clearly, uses effective slides, shares responsibilities equitably, demonstrates preparation, and respects both 20-minute time limits.
Submission requirements and citations	1.0	Submits all required materials by the deadline using the required formats and filenames, with complete citations and media credits.
Total	9.0

General summaries, disconnected treatment of the readings and artist, unrelated examples, unsupported claims, inaccessible or unclear activity instructions, or exceeding the time limits will weaken the assessment.

Final checklist

• Our presentation focuses on two or three central ideas and connects both readings with the artist’s work.
• We use specific passages and artistic evidence.
• Our slides and media follow the accessibility requirements.
• Our activity has a clear purpose and fits within 20 minutes.
• Participants have more than one way to contribute and may pass without explanation.
• We prepared accessible versions of the activity instructions and materials.
• We included three to five open-ended facilitation questions.
• All team members have clear responsibilities.
• We tested the presentation media and rehearsed the complete 40-minute session.
• All citations, links, captions, transcripts, and media credits are complete.
• All required files use the correct filenames and open correctly.