This video traces a semester-long assignment series in an Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies course taught in the Fall of 2018 by Krista Grensavitch at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). The assignment series, titled Object Lessons, asked students to learn through, and with, material things, by continually pursuing a central question: “where do texts fail us, and how are objects uniquely suited to both identify and fill these silences?” In collaboration with Special Collections at UWM’s Golda Meir Library, students drew upon their knowledge of women's and gender studies to investigate the idea of consent. Considering both curricula from Milwaukee Public Schools as well as dolls meant to teach young children about sexual violence and consent, students utilized lenses like intersectionality and privilege in their investigation of creating and maintaining consent.

This video, by Allain Daigle, is meant to provide both a framework and reflective statements for similar kinds of critical thinking skills development within a higher education classroom. The Chipstone Foundation was a proud sponsor of this project.