CIC Datasets: Workbooks

The Covid in Cartoons project engaged 15-18 year olds with political cartoons and cartoonists to foster processes of meaning-making in relation to the pandemic. Working with Cartooning for Peace and ShoutOut UK we engaged young people in building critical narratives of the crisis and its impact on their lives. We aimed to promote an inclusive, socially-responsive curriculum that supports young people's ability to cope in difficult circumstances. We used surveys, focus groups, and records of the participants' experiences in the form of workbooks to gather data. The project was led by Dr Fransiska Louwagie (PI) and Dr Diane Levine (Co-I), with postdoctoral associates Dr Kara Blackmore and Dr Sarah Weidman, and ran between January 2021 and July 2022. These workbooks comprise Covid in Cartoon participants' reflections as they progressed through the minicourse, focusing on: i) introducing political cartoons, ii) reflecting on the pandemic through cartoons, iii) heroes, inequalities and human rights, and iv) live drawing with a professional cartoonist. Many used a workbook co-produced with SOUK and Cartooning for Peace to help structure their reflections.