Yvonne Liang
Things I’ve learned from doing cosplay: an investigation on incorporating “atypical” creative practices into art education
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the potential of incorporating the less acknowledged – “atypical” - creative practices into art education, using cosplay as the focus. It is an experimental study that looks at how self-motivated extracurricular learning affects comprehensive quality-oriented education. The underlying aim is to establish a positive pedagogical perception in navigating the targeted student group’s existing interest by discussing the research question: How can practicing cosplay contribute to the identity construction of teenagers? The thesis will critically examine the author’s personal experience with cosplay as well as some unusual properties of this fan-based culture and produce a cosplay-focused extracurricular curriculum specifically targeting highschool students, which was practiced in RISD’s teen after-school program, Project Open Door.
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The author dressed as Yor Forger, a female character from the Japanese anime and manga series Spy × Family, doing a demo on wig styling in class.
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Student A and B from Project Open Door(POD) practicing styling a purple wig during Cosplay 101, a POD after-school program.
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The author dressed as Asuka Langley Soryu, a female fictional character from the Japanese franchise Neon Genesis Evangelion, discussing development plans with a student.
