A Survey Course: Teaching Artists and/as Producers (2013)

Abstract

At the beginning of the fall term in 2013, I invited the 120 first-year students in the Department of Theatre and Dance to participate in a blind survey titled “Anticipated Career and Education Outcomes.” The survey was part of a pilot study that was designed with curricular intent. As part of a humanities-based seminar for first-year students, “Languages of the Stage” (LOS), students were made familiar with arts education research. Specifically, we read and discussed findings from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project, or SNAAP (2010), a longitudinal study that charts the professional outcomes for students trained in fine arts higher education programs. In my section of the course, comparing students’ stated anticipated career objectives to SNAAP’s findings opened dialogue on the students’ values and desires and the diverse postgraduate outcomes they may encounter. My class’s use of the survey, combined with a study of Austin’s working theatre artists, contributed a policy-informed version of the course. The course also supported a reconsideration of my own teaching, in particular a materialist approach to a humanities course, while my colleagues and I prepare to redesign LOS to support a new undergraduate curriculum.