Balance of power

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: Wilfried Serisier/ PhD student at the Institut français de géopolitique, Paris VIII, Guillaume Pallat/ photographer

Project manager: Anna Mezey

Objectives:
What state is the world in? What about the struggle for power over a given territory? Starting from geopolitical questions about borders and exchanges between peoples, "Balance of Power" aims to make pupils aware of the possible frontiers of their city or department, to help them understand how borders are formed and to look at current events.

Workshops :
Geopolitical survey of the pupils' urban environment. The pupils roamed through the city, observing, and collecting evidence in order to construct an original view of life in the chosen area.

The class then worked with their tutor, associating their own experience with their findings and then comparing their project with studies already carried out on the same subject.
Work on mapping, especially on what geographers call a "mental map.

The class constructed their final project, using their mental maps and fitting them into a departmental scale. What are the "forces" at play? How can I describe my city and its position in Seine-Saint-Denis?

Outcome:
Installation of a 2 x 3 metre map of Pantin, made from the pupils' mental maps. The year's work was thus made visible for the whole school. 

Outings:
- CITÉ NATIONALE DE L’HISTOIRE DE L’IMMIGRATION. GUIDED TOUR OF THE PERMANENT EXHIBITION "FRAME OF REFERENCE".
- A WALK THROUGH TWO WELL-TO-DO AREAS: THE 1ST AND 8TH DISTRICTS IN PARIS.
- JEU DE PAUME, GUIDED TOUR OF ANDRÉ KERTÉSZ'S EXHIBITION WHICH GAVE THE PUPILS WORKING ON PHOTOGRAPHY A POETIC LOOK AT THE CITY.

Participating schools:
- Collège Jean-Jaurès, Pantin
- Collège Robespierre SEGPA, Epinay-sur-Seine