Common Question
In 2023-24, CQ asks you: What is repair?
What needs fixing and who says so? What needs breaking and what needs mending?
When is repair a return and when is it a transformation?
And how can we preempt the need for repair altogether?
This year, the Common Question explores these questions in terms of
pandemic-related learning loss, the arts, climate change,
biomedical advances, telling and retelling histories, and more.
Check out the sources below, contribute to the photo essay, and join the conversation!
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Kaufman, Post-Traumatic Growth: Finding Meaning and Creativity in Adversity
Image source: Scientific American
“By embracing psychological flexibility, we face the world with exploration and openness and are better able to react to events in the service of our chosen values.”
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Collective Photo Essay
Image source: The Walters Museum
“This Celadon Box features kintsugi, a Japanese repair technique called kintsugi, which uses a mixture of lacquer and gold, silver, or platinum to mend an object in a way that highlights (rather than hides) the damage.”
This is community project in progress. Check back here throughout the year and submit your own photo for the collective photo essay.
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Hard Histories at Hopkins
“History shows us how we got here. Hard Histories shows us a way forward.”
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Baltimore Museum of Art
Image: Elizabeth Talford Scott’s Quilt, “Plantation”
“The Baltimore Museum of Art connects art to Baltimore and Baltimore to the world, embodying a commitment to artistic excellence and social equity in every decision.”
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National Academy of Engineering, 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century
Image: National Academy of Engineering Website
“All of these endeavors must be undertaken with clear vision for the aesthetic values that go beyond mere function and contribute to the joy of living.”
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The Nation’s Report Card
“For 13-year-olds, over the past 10 years, “the average scores declined 7 points in reading and 14 points in mathematics.“
Collective Photo Essay
We invite you to look for signs of repair wherever you are now and join the conversation. Take a photo, write a caption, and upload here.
Related Coursework
The First-Year courses below explore the question “What is Repair?” in direct and indirect ways.
Please join Common Question in considering the nature of repair both inside and outside the classroom.