Penn Senior Research Scholar and Monument Lab Co-Founder Visits with Seventh Graders

“History is living with us every day.”

As part of the Quest program, on December 3 seventh grade students enjoyed a visit from Paul Farber, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab and Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Public Art and Space at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. The visit was helpful for students as they envision monument designs they will create in the coming weeks.

Students are in the midst of a multi-disciplinary project to explore how stories and portrayals of African Americans have changed over time. In science, they are learning about contributions to the discipline from notable Black scientists and writing children’s books to share with MFS Lower Schoolers later this month. In English and social studies, they are reading Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson and learning how implicit biases and institutions have perpetuated systemic racism. As a culminating project, students are researching important stories of African American history and culture in order to propose and design a monument for a New Jersey town or city. 

“We were so lucky to have Paul join our seventh grade class, as he mostly works with college students and adults,” said History Teacher/Middle School Advisory Program Co-Coordinator Jake Greenberg. “He was able to provide insight into the creative and democratic process that the Monument Lab uses to promote more inclusive and relevant monuments for our communities today.”

The interactive Zoom meeting explored the origins and history of monuments and Mr. Farber stepped the students through the evolutionary processes of monuments. “Paul focused quite a bit on how monuments are spaces to promote engagement and interaction,” said Mr. Greenberg. “Therefore they should reflect the present and the future, not just the past.”

The session wrapped with a Q & A session that included some great questions from students:

• What is there to expect when it comes to making a monument?
• Have monuments always had the same definition since the beginning of time?
• How far do you think we should go when it comes to bringing down monuments?
• How long is the process for a monument to be made?
• Are there any limitations to what a monument is made out of or what it depicts?
• What are some of the difficulties you face being in charge of the Monument Lab?
• Why do you think monuments are significant to society today? What’s the impact they have?
• Why did you choose to study monuments, especially since they didn’t totally captivate you when you were younger?
• Does a good monument benefit or inspire everyone in the community?