The Curio Challenge
The CoP community is finding effective ways of integrating ‘sustainability’ into the curriculum at the UoM. This post on the Curio Challenge briefly summarizes key themes covered thus far. You can participate in the Curio Challenge by going to the Forum link and clicking the link Curio Challenge.
The Curio Challenge
The Curio Challenge was conceived as a means of conceptualizing and conveying the links between sustainability and different disciplines, particularly those disciplines not ordinarily associated with sustainability.
People choose an artefact or symbol that, for them, epitomizes the connection between sustainability and their discipline. The activity offers the ‘thinking space’ for people to work out how they are interpreting the notion of sustainability. The idea is that the curios act as prompts which others will use to try to guess the link between sustainability and the academics’ discipline as perceived by the academic. This activity we hope, will engender interdisciplinary discussion, offering academics new perspectives on their own disciplinary area and a basis for interdisciplinary course design. The activity will take place in a number of stages. In the first stage we are simply trying to get examples of artefacts or symbols from people with brief reflections on the connections they see between the artefact and their discipline or work.
In one of our first meetings, academics and a member of Manchester Museum staff talked about their Curio ( Click here for notes on the meeting). Examples of the curios can be found in the ‘Forum’ space under the Curio Challenge link. The challenge is being taken up also by individuals beyond the academy.
We’re hoping that easy access to the forum area, where people can load their curios, will enthuse people to engage in the challenge.
