Thesis Chapters by Alysha Friesen Meloche
The genesis of the early Roman Christian basilica occurred at a moment of historical transition a... more The genesis of the early Roman Christian basilica occurred at a moment of historical transition as the emperor and the empire began the process of converting to the Christian religion. Typically, this era has received scholarly treatment either as the end of a time in which the emperor held supremacy or the beginning of one dominated by bishops. The exact moment of 'redefinition,' however, has rarely attracted attention because of the assertive oligarchies that bookended this transitional period, the Roman emperor and the Christian pontificate. Richard Krautheimer, who focused much of his attention on the historical figure of Constantine, promoted the idea that the basilica was Constantine's way of imbuing the Christian church with imperial authority and connotations; effectively, Constantine forever changed the shape of Christian churches. This explanation of the pivotal moment of genesis has been generally accepted and the moment of transition has not received much attention from scholars since.
Publications by Alysha Friesen Meloche
Art History Pedagogy & Practice , 2019
Art history offers a unique opportunity for students to encounter real, historical examples of th... more Art history offers a unique opportunity for students to encounter real, historical examples of the creative process in action. By showing examples of the complex process through which artwork is created, art history classes can provide emulative examples for the next generation of innovative designers, artists, historians, educators, and creative thinkers. Art history has a tradition of teaching Big-C creativity principles by highlighting creative products and individuals. Therefore, the art object is emphasized at the expense of unpacking the process and everyday, or mini-c, creativity of the work. At a time when the field of Art History is beginning to ask itself what it really wants students to gain from their classes, creativity should be one of those skills. The purpose of this paper is to present a pedagogical framework for reconsidering the way art history material is presented to students in a way that promotes personal creativity growth. The suggestions in this article take advantage of strengths that are already present in the field of art history, while also pointing out new means of bridging the gap between Big-C and mini-c creativity by incorporating principles of design thinking. This article includes a sample lesson of what Creativity-Integrated Art History (Cr-IAH) can look like.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2019
The authors analyzed the multimodal presentation of one student in a seventh‐grade social studies... more The authors analyzed the multimodal presentation of one student in a seventh‐grade social studies class situated in an urban charter school in the Northeastern United States. The student researched a specific problem that existed in his community and located solutions using web‐based sources. The authors analyzed the student's classwork, focus group interview, and final project using Gee's critical discourse analysis approach to examine the use of language tasks. The student used text, design, visual art, and music to build relationships, identity, meaning, and purpose. The findings revealed that the project supported his development of agency, technology use, and multimodal literacies as he purposefully and meaningfully communicated with his audience about the issue of gun violence that impacted his community.
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Thesis Chapters by Alysha Friesen Meloche
Publications by Alysha Friesen Meloche