Building Object Labels for your Chosen Representations of Nature
The note-taking questions below will help you gather information about your chosen representation. If the answer to one of these questions is not obvious, your interpretation might focus on addressing that ambiguity (making a guess about the creator of an anonymous work, for example). If the answer is up for debate, this is fine! Try to acknowledge this in your blog post in some way.
- Describe the creator(s) of the representation, starting with the full name(s). If it was created collaboratively, try to include all of the people who contributed in a significant way to the creation of the representation. Include a link to the most reliable source of information you can find about each creator.
- What media form is your representation? Media forms include texts, live performances, films, images, and sound.
- Describe the genre of your representation. If it’s a text, is it a play, a tweet, a novel, a scientific classification, or something else? If it’s a film, is it a documentary, a romantic comedy, a horror film, a tiktok, or something else?
- Describe the technique, process, or methodology that you think was used to create this representation. This might be something you can learn about with a little research (make sure to include a link to your sources!), or this might be something that you do your best to identify by looking at the work itself.
- If you can determine when the representation was created (this may be different than the publication date below), include a link to your source.
- If the version you are reproducing has been published, share information on who published it, when, and where. If it is your creation and it hasn’t yet been published, decide if/how you want to license it!
Interpreting Representations of Nature
- What do you think the purpose of this representation was when it was first created?
- What do you want visitors to this site to notice about this representation? More specifically, are there features you want to draw their attention to in terms of creator, media form, genre, technique, original audience, or something else?
- What is your purpose in sharing this representation? You might not state this explicitly in your blog post, but putting your goal into words can help you accomplish it more effectively.
Myth-Making
Create your own myth for a natural phenomenon
Classification
Find how your favorite animal is classified
Our Place in the Universe
Predict what we will find with more powerful telescopes OR imagine what another being sees from their vantage point in the universe.
Rethinking Predators
Create a representation of an animal that has been represented as a predator, emphasizing some other aspect of its physiology
Rethinking Invasives
Represent an invasive species–either leaning into the representation of them as dangerous or taking a different direction.
