In|Dignity PREAMBLE |
Information about project origins and objectives
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Description
In|Dignity is a mobile and online exhibition prepared by faculty and students at Cal State San Bernardino, as a resource for San Bernardino County schools. The title – “In|Dignity” – is a double entendre, simultaneously reading as the single word “indignity” and two separate words, “in dignity.”
These two meanings capture what the exhibition explores: experiences with oppression, discrimination, and prejudice, and simultaneously the pride and self-respect that we must have for ourselves and for others facing marginalization.
In|Dignity builds students’ understanding of the experiences of individuals different from themselves, and provides assurance for those who themselves feel different that they are not alone. The exhibition, together with this curriculum unit, are envisioned to be useful as a tool for schools to:
The exhibition, along with this curriculum unit, are made available to you as a teaching resource. The mobile exhibition includes 42 pop-up banners that each feature a biographical portrait of Inland Empire community members, where they share personal stories of hurt, frustration, revelation, and hope. The online materials also include audio clips, photographs, and a virtual tour of the physical exhibition on which In|Dignity is based.
The mobile exhibition can be reserved by school principals and district superintendents for two-week blocks (Friday – Thursday) by emailing the Director of the CSUSB Anthropology Museum. Online content can be accessed on this site.
These two meanings capture what the exhibition explores: experiences with oppression, discrimination, and prejudice, and simultaneously the pride and self-respect that we must have for ourselves and for others facing marginalization.
In|Dignity builds students’ understanding of the experiences of individuals different from themselves, and provides assurance for those who themselves feel different that they are not alone. The exhibition, together with this curriculum unit, are envisioned to be useful as a tool for schools to:
- Promote empathy
- Discourage bullying
- Support students with marginalized identities
- Stimulate critical thinking about current events
- Encourage a sense of community
- Inspire civic engagement
The exhibition, along with this curriculum unit, are made available to you as a teaching resource. The mobile exhibition includes 42 pop-up banners that each feature a biographical portrait of Inland Empire community members, where they share personal stories of hurt, frustration, revelation, and hope. The online materials also include audio clips, photographs, and a virtual tour of the physical exhibition on which In|Dignity is based.
The mobile exhibition can be reserved by school principals and district superintendents for two-week blocks (Friday – Thursday) by emailing the Director of the CSUSB Anthropology Museum. Online content can be accessed on this site.
Background
The narratives in this exhibition are written in the first person, using participants’ own words as they were shared with the project team in interviews that ranged in length from thirty minutes to four hours. Participants were recruited at community events, via social media, in CSUSB classrooms, and through existing networks. The only criteria was that participants be a member of the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside counties) community. No one who wanted to participate was turned away. As a result, these narratives represent a rich array of perspectives from a broad cross-section of the Inland Empire. Each participant was given the opportunity to review the resultant narrative to ensure that it accurately represented the opinions, ideas, and lived experiences they shared with our project team.
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Information about the team that brought In|Dignity to San Bernardino County Schools
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In|Dignity was made possible with support from California Humanities, a nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org. Additional financial support for In|Dignity was provided by the CSUSB students through their Instructionally Related Programs Fee, a CSUSB Office of Student Research Faculty/Student Grant, the CSUSB Office of Community Engagement Service Learning Fellowship and Community-Based Research Mini-Grant, the CSUSB College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and a Mervyn M. Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute Research Grant. The opening and closing receptions for In|Dignity were sponsored by the CSUSB University Diversity Committee.
The In|Dignity mobile exhibition has been financed by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools and the CSUSB Office of Community Engagement.
The In|Dignity mobile exhibition has been financed by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools and the CSUSB Office of Community Engagement.