Pictures, illustrations, satire, comic strips and other visual sources can teach us a great deal about historical events, religious conditions and conflicts in society. Subjects like Norwegian, History and Social Science will often be seen as text-heavy subjects and research disciplines; can visual sources be used more often?

We would like to show examples of how drawings and photography can be brought into the classroom, and thereby inspire pupils to delve more deeply into their own projects by taking alternative approaches. Our aim is to encourage practical lectures and good discussions.

DATE and TIME: Thursday, 7 February, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
VENUE: Room TEO-H1 1.313, UiT, the Arctic University of Norway, Hansine Hansens veg 18, Tromsø

A light meal will be provided, along with coffee and tea. Participation is free of charge, but the schools must cover their own travel expenses. The seminar will be organised by the Holberg Prize in Schools and the Fritt Ord Foundation Competition for Upper Secondary Schools.

REGISTER HERE, BY 1 FEBRUARY.

If you have questions, contact hilde.fidje@holbergprisen.no

PROGRAMME

Drawings in the classroom – by Ingeborg Øvern, lecturer at the Hartvig Nissen Upper Secondary School

Is there room to use comic strips in an already text-heavy classroom? Are comic strips just for boys with weak reading skills? It is high time to debunk some myths and have a discussion about the place of comic strips in the classroom, according to Ingeborg Øvern. She shows how comic strips can be used as a reading strategy and a tool for telling stories in Norwegian and other subjects. Through her presentation and subsequent workshop, together, we will explore the hidden potential inherent in using comic strips in the classroom. Publications by Joe Sacco, Art Spigelman, Marta Breen and Steffen Kverneland will be presented and discussed.

About the portrayal of topics related to refugees through drawings and animation – by Mats Grorud, director and animator

“The Tower” (2018) is a feature-length animated film about 11-year-old Wardi, a fourth generation refugee. Wardi and her great-grandfather Sidi live together in a four-story tower in a refugee camp in Beirut. The creator of the film “The Tower” tells how complex historical material can be conveyed through animated films.

Focus Cinema will show the film “The Tower” at 6 p.m. the same evening, followed by a panel discussion between Mats Grorud and a representative for the Palestine Committee in Tromsø, a former refugee, and a representative from the Tromsø Film Festival.

Gaming media are far more than Fortnite, Fifa and Super Mario. Most people associate the medium with recreation, play and entertainment, but it also has the potential to be a tool for learning in the classroom. Sound, graphics and interactivity offer a proximity to experiences that goes beyond traditional media.

In this lecture, Aleksander Husøy will show how gaming can be used to take pupils on digital excursions that bring them close to situations far from their own reality. Using the games “My: Child Lebensborn”, “This War of Mine” and “Papers Please”, he will demonstrate how pupils can experience a childhood like that of German soldiers’ outcast children in post-war Norway, including what it is like to feel the hopelessness of being a civilian in a city under siege and to determine the destinies of people on the run.