Once upon a time

Since 2009, the Seine-Saint-Denis County Council has been backing “la Culture et l’Art au Collège (CAC)”. This project is based to a large extent on the presence in class for several weeks (40h) of an artist or scientist whose mission is to engage the students in a process of research and creation. 

Tutors: Benoît Bréville, Karim Taharount/ historians, Social History Centre, Paris 1-Sorbonne

Project manager: Stéphane Coulaud

Objectives:
Seine-Saint-Denis is a very recent department which will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in 2014. But the historian wants to know how departments are formed and how they develop. What about ours? This approach involved the pupils in a historical investigation based on documents and testimonies showing what has shaped 93. In partnership with the Archives départementales de Seine-Saint-Denis.

Workshop:
What do the pupils know about the history of their city, and more broadly of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis? How and why was it created?

The suburbs, culture of a territory. Study of sources, using popular songs: midway between imagination and political propaganda.

The pupils' perception of their department, compared to the comments made by the first residents. Comparison, analysis and synthesis of sources that tell a story objectively and subjectively.

Outings (selection):
- ARCHIVES DÉPARTEMENTALES DE SEINE-SAINT-DENIS. ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS AS HISTORICAL EVIDENCE.
- MUSÉE DU LOUVRE: WHEN ARTISTS TELL HISTORY.
- PARIS, ILE DE LA CITÉ: IN THE HEART OF AN ASPECT OF FRENCH HISTORY. 

Participating schools: 
- Collège Pierre-de-Geyter, atelier-relais, Saint-Denis
- Collège Henri-Sellier, Bondy