2515: American Writers and Painters That Have Shaped Our Culture 

• Instructor: Melanie Home Gun

• Dates: July 23-24, 2025

• Location: Vaughn School - 480 Central Avenue, Vaughn, MT 59487 (cafeteria)

• Time: 8:30-5:00, both days, with a 1-hour lunch break

• Target Audience: K-12

• Special Instructions: Bring a laptop/tablet.

• MSU-Northern Syllabus: 2515 MSUN Syllabus - Melanie Home Gun

America has a unique collection of artists and writers that have worked hard to be the voice of America, creating distinct American styles that represent our culture. Your instructor is excited to teach a class that gives examples of these great literary and visual works of art through art integration, as defined by the Kennedy Art Center. The instructor will also use the educational philosophies of Maxine Greene, John Dewey and Viktor Lowenfield to teach this course and present material through the lens of art integration. Art integration, according to the Kennedy Center “requires that students do more than repeat (a song), copy (an art project), or follow directions. They must create something that is original and of value. The creative process in the arts is a process not a single event. It includes many interacting phases and each phase is related to every other”. Throughout this course, we will do just that. Students will work in cooperative learning groups and create works of art along with writing projects that support one another to learn overarching themes from the writers and artists of American history.