Question 1: i am wondering, why a tree? with deleuze & guattari in particular, there is a resistance to the use of a tree as a symbol since, they argue, it is no longer how we operate as a culture - they argue it is a phallic, linear and hierarchical symbol... - not that i think that your use of it necessarily reinstates that paradigm, but i was wondering if you've given any thought to other images/ symbols that might be more non-linear, or matrilinear even, in scope. i keep thinking about winding vines or berries - beautiful weeds (or what one culture calls a weed) that white culture keeps trying to stamp out but that keep resurfacing with stronger more resistant roots.
Answer: Great question. Trees have played a huge symbolic role within the African experience, (especially in America, ie lynchings). When first invisioning the game, the tree came to mind considering Alex Haley's Roots, Pan-African ideologies, and a great many BAM scholars (Black Arts Movement) theories of Africans reaffirming themselves by understanding their lineage (ancestral/family roots). I have thought a great deal about using other visuals to express our history, and am currently researching such.
Question 2:How and are subjugated knowledges informing your research/art project? Is your project informed by young folks of color's take on racism in the US, history, education,etc?
Answer: The empowerment of African descendants through innovative means is my ultimate objective. I am originally from the Washington, DC metropolitian area. For many years while working on my BA, I taught within an array of Baltimore City after school/summer, grass roots, programs. The ideas, and knowledge base (or lack there of) of my students (k-12) inspired me to create the game. Their opinions, discussions, questions are all extremely relevant to my research and creation of the game.
Question 3:_Obviously the biggest problem will be how to avoid using language while still delivering a nuanced experience of learning. In what ways are you thinking it is possible to do this?What are the limitations, if any, to showing only images and sounds in regards to understanding the complexities of history and how can they be overcome?
Is the idea more to offer an experience of history in a more sensory/emotional way, or is it to understand the characters and events of history and their consequences in a more regurgitatable way?
Answer: Avoiding language is going to be a huge barrier in the creation of this game. I feel that it is important to make the interface as inclusive as possible. Though english is a universal language, it is also symbolic of colonization and the assimilation of other cultures into communicating through these means as an access into knowledge. I'm currently researching visual and auditory learning techniques, and how to best use those as teaching tools. There is no concrete answer to your question as of yet, (which is exciting and frustrating). As far as limitations are concerned, being able relate and have this information understood by sensory and intuitive learners alike will be challenging. The idea of this piece is to have the histories of peoples, whose histories are not told, developed in a new and insightful way, ie experimental gaming.
Question 4:You indicated in your presentation an intention to design a non language-dependent interface in your project. What are your motivations for doing this, and to what extent do you intend to see this through?
Answer: Note previous answer.
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