A four-day summer vacation intercultural appreciation and learning workshop for middle school (11-13 years old) students to discover how imaginary animals and symbolic creatures are depicted and portrayed differently in Western and Eastern cultures, as well as exploring the historical and cultural implications of these differentiations or resemblances.
This workshop aims to use fantastic beasts as an intriguing and relatable starting point to cultivate participants’ interest in appreciating and exploring a new culture as well as endeavouring to better understand it. Participants will compare the existence of imaginary animals in different cultures through comparative study of textual creations such as mythology and folklore, and artistic creations such as films, anime, and TV shows, to discover their different symbolic significance and cultural implications. They will also learn through field-based slow-looking learning, closely observing how those imaginary animals were portrayed in artefacts at museums and looking at their prototypes, the real-life animals that inspired people to create them, at zoos. At the end of the workshop, participants will create their own projects to demonstrate their evolved understanding of chosen fantastic beasts from both Western and Eastern cultures and the corresponding cultural significance.
The journey of designing this workshop was filled with unexpected excitement and consistent reflection, providing me with a more animated and comprehensive understanding of the cycle of learning design. Inspired by the rich exposure to various design thinking and principles in this class, I decided to make this workshop an enlightening, enjoyable, and personalised experience that incorporates field-based learning and creative construction, to encourage participants to more actively explore new or unfamiliar cultures. I wish this workshop can serve as a starting point to prepare participants to better develop their intercultural sensitivity and competence in this increasingly globalised and interconnected world.
