As part of Wesleyan’s “Feet to the Fire” climate change initiative, Professor of Astronomy, William Herbst and visiting artist, Marion Belanger, co-created a module entitled, “A Photographic Window on Causes of Climate Change”. This course is designed for graduate students in astronomy as well as junior and senior undergraduate majors. Students are very familiar with the basic scientific concepts about global warming, have the ability to evaluate scientific arguments and are versed on the physics of global warming, particularly through their studies of Venus warming. However, they have relatively little, if any, experience with the concept of “visual literacy” and how an artistic approach to (what they see as) a scientific issue can be of pedagogical value. The goal of the module is to introduce students to an artistic approach through a class-collaborative photographic assignment that resulted in an exhibition in the hallway of Wesleyan’s Observatory.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNAAgzCIQEo[/youtube]
