As part of this initiative, faculty have developed courses exploring Pratt’s relationship to the social movements that shaped the school and community from the time of its founding to the present.
Beyond and Between Pratt’s Gates
is an interdisciplinary course hosted by the Art and Design Education Department and the Historic Preservation Program which investigates Pratt’s silenced histories of activism. Students conduct archival research and oral history interviews with Pratt alumni to uncover and amplify the voices of students, faculty, and community members who participated in actions on campus and in the community, deepening our understanding of Pratt’s involvement in the struggle for social, racial, and economic equity as both an ally and at times an obstacle to the social justice movement.
In the Spring 2020 semester, students in Beyond and Between Pratt’s Gates conducted research on activist movements within the history of Pratt’s founding as well as in the 1960s and 1970s. In the Spring 2021 semester, students are engaged in research about activism during the Post-war Urban Renewal Era of the 1940s to the 1970s. (See a partial list of readings for this course in addition to ongoing archival research).
The Preserving Activism project also includes independent research conducted by student research assistants. Amber Colón (B.F.A. ‘23, Communications Design) is conducting archival and oral history research on the history of the Black Student Union and its relationship to broader social movement activism such as the Black Panthers. Trevor Mark (M.S. ‘21, Historic Preservation) is conducting research on urban renewal and change over time, by exploring how the area surrounding the Pratt campus was subject to redevelopment during the 1950s and 1960s. Maps, photographs, and other material are being analyzed and compiled in order to fully understand the evolution, background, and players involved in this redevelopment which predates, but also coincides, with the activism era.
Throughout the research process, the faculty on the project team support student research both within and outside the classroom. Together we continue to refine and revise broad historical questions such as:
What do we know now, as a result of our research, that we didn’t know before?
How does this change the way we think about historical activism at Pratt?
What silences remain? How do we address them?
What are the key differences between Progressive Era activism and Post-war activism?
As part of their research, students in the course Beyond and Between Pratt’s Gates are creating websites that make their work available to the public:
[The Pratt Community]
[BSU and Activism on Campus in the 1960s and 1970s]
[Activism at Pratt]
[Pratt Institute: A Social Experiment]
[Pratt Institute and Urban Renewal Projects]
[Activism at Pratt]
If you are a student, faculty, staff, or community member who would like to contribute to this evolving research, please contact us at activism@pratt.edu!