Culturally Competent and Trauma-Informed Teaching in the Age of MAGA and Brexit

Abstract

Culturally Competent and Trauma-Informed Teaching in the Age of MAGA and Brexit Sylvan Baker (bio), Stephen Buescher (bio), and Kaja Dunn (bio) The prompt for the following conversation originated in a session at the ATHE conference in Orlando that centered around teaching culturally competent pedagogy in the age of Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Brexit. This piece is a recording of a curated discussion among the three scholars from that panel, which took place on Skype across three time zones. In the wake of massive political transition in both the United States and the United Kingdom, we discuss what it means to have a culturally responsive, culturally competent curriculum on both sides of the pond (figs. 1–2). Click for larger view View full resolution Fig. 1. Sylvan Baker (top), Stephen Buescher, and Kaja Dunn on Skype. [End Page E-29] Click for larger view View full resolution Fig. 2. Stephen Buescher, Kaja Dunn, and Sylvan Baker (l-r) at the 2019 ATHE conference in Orlando, Florida. How do we start/continue to push forward ideas of equity, inclusion, and decolonization in our actor-training programs, while also dealing with a changing political climate and the increasingly partisan grouping of issues around race, ethnicity, and culture? This piece considers effective ways of changing both curriculum and culture on campus. Looking at practice and culture in BA, BFA, and MFA programs, the panel explores the barriers and strategies to implementing change in academia and advocating for the theatre world that students will enter. Drawing on critical race theory, decolonizing methodologies, and sociological and psychological research, the panel also looks at the unique barriers affecting faculty of color in theatre institutions that are working to implement change. To view the video, click here: https://www.jhuptheatre.org/theatre-topics/online-content/issue/volume-30-number-1-march-2020/culturally-competent-and-trauma. [End Page E-30] Sylvan Baker Sylvan Baker is a researcher, practitioner, and lecturer at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He has experience in a range of applied arts contexts. He is an Artist Fellow at QMUL and an Education Fellow for the UK’s Royal Society of Arts. His research enables individuals to explore social issues through diverse artistic practices. His current projects are working with young people with experience of care and practice aimed at disrupting racial exclusion for students and staff members in higher education. He was elected a member at large of the Black Theatre Association for ATHE. Stephen Buescher Stephen Buescher is a teacher, choreographer, director, and actor. He is a professor of movement at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and has taught or created curricula in various graduate acting programs, including the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), Dell’Arte, Yale and Brown universities, University of Missouri–Kansas City, and University of Connecticut. He has choreographed at theatres including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, A.C.T., Old Globe, Long Wharf, and Trinity Repertory Company, and has directed in the graduate acting programs at A.C.T. and UCSD. He has performed nationally and internationally with Dell’Arte International for over a decade, and is a graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater and Calarts. Kaja Dunn Kaja Dunn is an assistant professor and head of acting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as well as a director, actor, and activist. She has presented her work on Training Theatre Students of Color at Goldsmiths, University of London, Southeastern Theatre Conference, Black Theatre Network, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and ATHE, among other places. She is on the national board of the Black Theatre Association, and has performed in over forty shows and taught and performed internationally. She was previously a lecturer at California State University San Marcos and toured with Ya Tong Theatre in Taiwan. Other teaching credits include working with homeless and foster youth in San Diego. Follow her on Twitter where she frequently posts about EDI issues under the handle @KajaDunn. Copyright © 2020 Johns Hopkins University Press