Group Descriptions

Group 1	Exploring Cultural Biases in Media: Changing the narrative through Graphic Design and Visual Media
In our course we will explore how media has caused conflicts and biases throughout the world and within our own communities.Throughout the week we will identify global and local cases of cultural biases and the resulting conflicts. We will help students define and understand what culture is for them as individuals by exploring symbolism, iconography, and graphic art. Students will use ideas from their own drawings and paintings to create and design a one of a kind t-shirt. Students will also confront their own cultural biases and begin to learn ways to reframe their thinking. Through this process, students will create PSA style videos that will be viewed at the final banquet. Videos will utilize humor, drama, and straight talk to blast a message of diversity and unity, challenging the propaganda about culture we see in media today.
Group 2	Queer Liberation Across Space, Time, and Zines!
Across the globe, members of queer communities fight for their right to love, work, and live free from fear and oppression. Through creative, cultural, and political advocacy, they have found ways to flourish despite legal, religious, and social persecution. However, both at home and abroad, high rates of forced homelessness, stigma, exclusion, job insecurity, incarceration, and violence against queer people persist. This course calls attention to these injustices as they exist on local and global scales while also celebrating queer identities, queer joy, and queer activism. The course promotes a complex understanding of gender, sexuality, and justice by exploring many of the pressing issues that queer people have faced at different times and in different parts of the world. The course will also investigate how other oppressions such as racism, classism, ableism, and xenophobia contribute to heterosexism and transphobia. By creating original zines (mini-magazines that combine poetry and visual art with information about a specific topic), course participants will share what they have learned with the rest of the Balfour community and become accomplices in the struggle for queer liberation.
Group 3	Cultures of Migration
There is an old saying that the bird that doesn’t move starves to death! Undoubtedly, one deep-rooted characteristic of human (and perhaps animal) existence is movement. Although there are numerous reasons why people move from one place to another, issues about migration has gained currency in different parts of the world. The forces that drive migration as well as its effects on migrants and hosts may are varied. At Galactic 2019, we’ll focus on the journey of migration – starting with conflicts (interpersonal) and dispute resolutions, exodus, cross-border situations, and end on a more herculean note – the resolution. Unlike the TV show Jeopardy!, issues of migration do not have exclusive “what is…” answers. For each migrant, there are physical and intangible needs, expectations and surprises, as well as perceptions and reality. Eventually, there is embrace or rebuffade! Regardless, each exodus, each person, each emotion, each perception, and each action uniquely requires to be critically examined. At Galactic 2019, using contemporary arts, music, poems, and active group discussions, students will scrutinize perceptions and challenge biases as they explore the complex issues of migration. We, therefore, invite students to critically engage the issues about migration using these active learning activities as they strive to become global citizens!eloping a broader perspective but laser-focused lens to examine issues that impact humanity. It is our expectation that by so doing, our students will take a step further toward becoming global citizens!
Group 4	Connecting the Dots: Exploring Interconnectedness of Socio-Global Issues
How do you define where you stand on global issues? Our suggestion is to think about progressive sustainable world goals focusing on health, education, and institutional structures world-wide. Becoming a global citizen is a constant and conscious adaptation of the way we see, understand and interact with the world. Our journey to global citizenship, will occur through visiting countries in the Mediterranean to draw connections between differing perspectives. We will be expressing this using visual and performing arts to create an enthralling performance. Without delay, join us on our journey to connect the dots.