Presentation Type
Oral/Paper Presentation
Abstract
This session explores how visual learning is used in the course Religion in American Culture (HI 4013), part of the Lipscomb Initiative for Education (LIFE) Program, which provides higher education for incarcerated students. The program follows the Inside-Out model, bringing together Lipscomb University students and incarcerated students in a shared learning space. Instead of a traditional research project, this session highlights how the LIFE Program creates a unique learning community where all students engage deeply with course topics. A panel of students and professors will share how the class's creative assignment—drawing comics to illustrate key themes from each course unit—puts students in charge of their own learning. The assignment encourages students to critique religious movements, social and cultural contexts, and historical arguments through art. By combining content knowledge with creative risks, the project helps students think critically and strengthen their understanding of course material. The panel will also discuss how the collaborative classroom environment fostered peer learning and showed how the Inside-Out model can promote dialogue, empathy, and equal access to education.
Faculty Mentor
Robbie Spivey
Josh Fleer
Recommended Citation
Spivey, Robbie; Fleer, Josh; Gilbert, Kynnedy; Chagnon French, Sierra; and Valentine, Cindy, "Visualizing Religion in American Culture: Comics as Tools for Deep Learning in the Lipscomb LIFE Program" (2025). Student Scholar Symposium. 45.
https://digitalcollections.lipscomb.edu/student_scholars_symposium/2025/Full_schedule/45
Included in
History of Religion Commons, Prison Education and Reentry Commons, United States History Commons
Visualizing Religion in American Culture: Comics as Tools for Deep Learning in the Lipscomb LIFE Program
This session explores how visual learning is used in the course Religion in American Culture (HI 4013), part of the Lipscomb Initiative for Education (LIFE) Program, which provides higher education for incarcerated students. The program follows the Inside-Out model, bringing together Lipscomb University students and incarcerated students in a shared learning space. Instead of a traditional research project, this session highlights how the LIFE Program creates a unique learning community where all students engage deeply with course topics. A panel of students and professors will share how the class's creative assignment—drawing comics to illustrate key themes from each course unit—puts students in charge of their own learning. The assignment encourages students to critique religious movements, social and cultural contexts, and historical arguments through art. By combining content knowledge with creative risks, the project helps students think critically and strengthen their understanding of course material. The panel will also discuss how the collaborative classroom environment fostered peer learning and showed how the Inside-Out model can promote dialogue, empathy, and equal access to education.