Blog entry:Theme List

Complete list, plus description, of WORLD Compass 2010 themes. Scroll down to see a list of 2011 themes.
2010 Themes
Dec - LOST & FOUND
House keys. Homelands. Loved ones. Memory. Virginity. Species. Whether a loss is temporary or irreversible, devastating or liberating, finding something – or someone – that has gone missing can be equally complicated. In a world in which energy is neither created nor destroyed, there’s no shortage of things that can be LOST AND FOUND.
Nov - DIASPORA
For a diaspora to exist, there must first be suffering. Across much of modern history, warfare, slavery, colonization, social upheaval, environmental disasters, economic crises -- or some combination thereof -- have led humans to leave the lands of their forefathers and migrate en masse across vast distances. Along the way, the suffering with which the journey began gives birth to other possibilities: that which was foreign becomes familiar, traditions are re-imagined, the impossible becomes possible. Today, in a country continually shaped by immigration and with more people living outside the land of their birth than at any other time in human history, what does it mean to be part of a diaspora?
Oct - VERSUS
While the 24 hour news cycle is good at setting up polarities (black vs. white, blue vs. red, Red Sox vs. Yankees, with us vs. against us), the true story rarely lies with one side or the other but within the myriad shades of gray. With this theme, we offer a range of online and broadcast content that goes beyond well-trod binaries in order to reveal the stories within the story.
Sep - DO-IT-YOURSELF
Well before the recession started bludgeoning job prospects and 401(k)s into oblivion, legions of crafty types were packing heat as a form of financial self-defense. Hot glue guns, that is, as well as knitting needles, bone folders, circular saws and various other potentially-injurious-but-highly-useful implements. A timely answer to the fall in discretionary income, the revival of Do-It-Yourself Culture in the U.S. has also generated a new respect for individuals with the creativity and tenacity to take an idea,bring it to life and share it with the masses. Whether the results be rent money, a Nobel Prize or a new universe, we hope that the stories below will inspire you to get out there and DIY.
Aug - STATE OF OUR UNIONS
At some point in the past five years, unmarried adults quietly became the new American majority. Though bemoaned by wedding planners across the land, this unprecedented shift in the state of our unions reflects the new nuances of nubility: the introduction of gay marriage, the rise in women’s earning power, the paradox of choice presented by online dating, the harsh realities of divorce. For the Generation known as X, "I do" is increasingly just one of many possibilities. All of this and more in THE STATE OF OUR UNIONS.
Jul - THE SKIN YOU'RE IN
Your largest organ also happens to be the most phenomenal fabric known to man. Self-healing, temperature regulating and perfectly tailored to fit each individual, it’s with us from the day we’re born and it lasts throughout our lives. Yet for many of us, it takes a lifetime to figure out how to feel comfortable in it. It’s THE SKIN YOU’RE IN and we’re looking at it from many perspectives: as an epigenetic wonder, a canvas for self-expression, a burden and a blessing.

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2011 Themes
Jan     -   POWER

Feb     -   CHILDHOOD

Mar     -   LAND

Apr     -   OUTSIDERS

May    -   THE JOURNEY

Jun     -   9 TO 5

Jul      -   QUAGMIRES

Aug    -   MAN VS. NATURE

Sep    -   RELIGION RELATED

Oct.    -   CHANGING ROLES

Nov    -   FUSIONS/HYBRIDS

Dec    -    PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS


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