Project description
For my project, I wanted to focus on the long going debate about vaccines and their importance. Parents all around the world are expected to vaccinate their children each year. Unfortunately, the number of parents that do vaccinate their children isn't as prominent as it used to be. Nowadays, some parents are choosing to not vaccinate their children as they fear the side effects and theories about vaccination. In my project, I wanted to focus on using perspective to build a strong foundation in educating and understanding both sides.
History
For my history portion, I took a look at how the rest of the world view modern medicine and specifically vaccination. I chose to evaluate Africa and chose the West African region and the South African region. Africa has been working diligently to make sure everyone is vaccinated, with the help of countries like America they are able to provide many communities with excess to proper healthcare. But along the way of eliminating preventable diseases from the continent, many communities still refuse to vaccinate their children despite the governments overwhelming pressure. This is when I came up with the idea to explore how organizations are attempting to bring understanding to certain cultures and perceptions. I began by watching documentaries focusing on the reasons why people chose to or not to accept modern medicine. During my research, I came across the annual vaccination week hosted by the World Health Organization. When I began to look at the types of services the organization provides I decided to make campaign posters mimicking the type of campaign posters that the organization would advertise over Africa. I made sure to translate them to the appropriate language according to the region.
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English
For my English portion, I decided to write an argumentative essay. I really wanted this convey the importance of vaccination and how the decision one makes can effect the the community around you. I wanted this writing piece to not be a another scientific technique, beacuse while researching I came to the conclusion that people
Art
For my art portion, I decided to make a sculpture that could be contributed to both viewpoints. I wanted to embody the fears of both views to again address the importance of being mindful that your decision to vaccinate or not can affect those around you. I decided to create a syringe because it is one of the first objects that come to mind when you think of vaccinations. The syringe is made up of black and colored acrylic disk with holes in the center that is put on to an acrylic clear rod. Each black disk contains the name of a vaccination given to prevent a specific disease. The clear smaller disks have symptoms that correlate with one of the thirteen diseases that a child can have before the age of 2. This information can be taken differently by either point of view. Some who is pro-vaccine can say " Look at how many different diseases a child is vulnerable to before the age of two". While someone who is anti-vaccine may say, "Look at how many vaccines a child is given before the age of two". I wanted my artwork to reflect the fears and the incentives people are using to make parents choosing either side.