PROJECT
the
“The importance of this project should not be understated; graffiti is dynamic in nature, meaning that it can be painted over and later invisible. It is therefore imperative to preserve the metamorphosis of societal shifts that are often forgotten or unnoticed by those who do not live in a specific place at a certain moment in time.”
“The importance of this project should not be understated; graffiti is dynamic in nature, meaning that it can be painted over and later invisible. It is therefore imperative to preserve the metamorphosis of societal shifts that are often forgotten or unnoticed by those who do not live in a specific place at a certain moment in time.”
This project seeks to bridge international relations theory, policy and practice by documenting graffiti around the world and facilitating an international interchange to interpret its significance. This cohort intends to provide a concrete database to preserve the counter-dialogue that citizens have with their governments, visitors or with their neighbors about their lives and the factors that impede their ability to outwardly vocalize their grievances. While the project hopes to capture the unconventional political dialogue between citizens and their governments, inevitably the data will also contain social, religious and economic considerations. The importance of this project should not be understated; graffiti is dynamic in nature, meaning that it can be painted over and later invisible. It is therefore imperative to preserve the metamorphosis of societal shifts that are often forgotten or unnoticed by those who do not live in a specific place at a certain moment in time.
the purpose
The purpose of this project is to provide scholars, academics, government officials and other interested parties with the tools to conduct their own sociopolitical interpretation of speech channeled through graffiti. In this specific project, the tools will include the photographs of graffiti and applicable political, social and legal information to provide context for the observers. The cohort hopes that the pictures and supplemental information will motivate observers to think more deeply about how a government portrays its people in the media and what the citizens in those places say about themselves, their governments and their situations.
Another important aspect of this project is the collaborative effort involved in creating a database of graffiti from around the globe. This project relies on active collaboration between locals and foreigners alike to translate messages and deliver an informed analysis of the situation on the ground. With our online platform, others will also be able to comment and contribute their own perspective underneath the photographs. Facilitating a dialogue between an array of participants is an important aspect of the project and its intended goals.
the program
This project is part of Webster University's 11-month Global Master's in International Relations (GMAIR) program. The Security Studies Cohort c/o 2018 completed five eight-week terms, rotating locations after the completion of each term. Their cohort went as follows: Greece, Cuba, Switzerland, China and Austria.
While in each location for two months, the cohort members collected pictures of graffiti found around the cities in which they lived, as well as in other parts of the country. They got an in-depth look into the history and culture of each country and chronicled their adventures and what they learned about the political climate there. Ancillary trips were also included in this repository, but the additional locations were covered in less detail.