Defining Moments: An Interdisciplinary Project to Preserve the Historic Present for the Future

The year 2020 was monumental and will have immense historical significance. It seems possible that we are entering an entirely new historical epoch that will present challenges as well as opportunities. How are students facing this defining moment in their lives? Working as a collaborative team, instructors, designers, videographers, and librarians have created a unique interdisciplinary project designed to encourage students from six different disciplines to gain insight into the experiences of others, reflect on their own experiences, and create an artistic response. Students in History reflect on the historical significance of the moment and create a journal. Students in Music will then use the poems as inspiration to create original compositions, while students in Art will work with the same text to produce inspired artistic products. Students in Dance will transform these reflections, poems, and music and art compositions into movement. Finally, students in Architecture, will create a space for students to exhibit their artifacts, virtually first and in a physical environment in the future. Discover how to design an interdisciplinary project for a large number of students, coordinate instructors from multiple disciplines, create the virtual learning environment, and engage students in a unique learning experience.