On Monday, Dec. 16, senior students in the honors English program traveled to Oakland to explore the nationality rooms at the Cathedral of Learning. Also, students from many classes traveled to the Carnegie Museum of Art on Friday, Jan. 10 to view the Carnegie International.
The goal of the trip to the Nationality Rooms was to give the students a broader sense of multiculturalism. Also, it was to show the multiculturalism that exists within Pittsburgh.
The field trip fits naturally with the curriculum of the honors English 12, which focuses on literature from around the world. Many of the rooms correspond with areas taught throughout the year including: Japanese, Indian, Turkish, Chinese, and Greek.
The Nationality Rooms were founded in 1938 by University Chancellor John Bowman. Since its founding, the rooms have become an iconic part of Pittsburgh. All of the Nationality Rooms are also classrooms, which Pitt students can use to study and/or attend class.
English teacher Mr. Charles Youngs said, “The focus of the trip is to respond to artifacts related to Pittsburgh’s cultural mosaic, our heritage and the cultures of the literature that we are studying this year: Our focus is ‘What stories do these rooms tell?'”
The goal of the trip to the Carnegie Museum was for students to view the Carnegie International. The Carnegie International is one of the oldest and largest exhibitions of modern art in the world.
Multiple classes toured the Museum. Some of the classes were humanities, literature, art, and creative writing.
Students experienced the best in modern art. Some of the artists included were Pedro Reyes, Nicole Eisenman, Zoe Strauss, and many more.
The field trip was a great way introduce students to modern art and experience culture.
Overall, these field trips have been more than successful at attaining their goals.
Click here for a recent Post-Gazette article on the same topic.
