Heather is trained as a political scientist and Dana is trained as a historian. Our disciplines often focus on the textual, on reading, thinking and writing critically about written primary and secondary sources and classroom assignments that reinforce the power and place of the written word. This approach to understanding and knowledge translation, however, privileges particular learning styles, emphasizes the cognitive over the affective, and places the written word over other forms of expression. Understanding this, we have both independently altered our major assignments in one of our third year classes. In both cases, we introduced a component that provides for alternative forms of expression and, in particular, we have introduced art and art galleries into our curriculum. Our research paper and presentation will share our reflections on the design and delivery of our art and art gallery projects. We will also share feedback we received from the students about the assignment. It will be seen that the use of art in the social sciences and humanities classroom challenges traditional assumptions of what constitutes scholarship, provides the students with learning opportunities that allow them to connect with their research in ways that are often more personal and relevant than the traditional essay and fosters more collaborative learning in the classroom.
