Table Of ContentTHE ARTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
STEM, Theatre Arts,
and Interdisciplinary
Integrative Learning
Bridging the Cultures
Nancy Kindelan
The Arts in Higher Education
Series Editor
Nancy Kindelan
Department of Theatre
Northeastern University
Boston, MA, USA
Nancy Kindelan
STEM, Theatre Arts,
and Interdisciplinary
Integrative Learning
Bridging the Cultures
Nancy Kindelan
Department of Theatre
Northeastern University
Boston, MA, USA
The Arts in Higher Education
ISBN 978-3-031-08906-0 ISBN 978-3-031-08907-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08907-7
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For Esther M. Jackson who insisted I leave my “silo”
A
cknowledgments
Without steadfast support and encouragement from colleagues, students,
friends, and my husband this book about making connections across dis-
ciplines would be an improbable project, unlikely to unfold in a way that
fulfilled its intent and scope. Preparation for writing this book on the
intersection of STEM and theatre arts formally began with my being
awarded a sabbatical to begin my research. Later, I conducted numerous
interviews with STEM, humanities, and theatre faculty, higher education
administrators, and undergraduate students from a vast array of educa-
tional institutions across the United States as well as engaged in conversa-
tions with theatre artists whose work includes bringing theatre–science
intersections to local and national audiences.
In the past two years, faculty members from Olin College of Engineering
entertained my questions, engaged me in thought-provoking conversa-
tions, and welcomed me to observe classes and projects. Their narratives
that appear in the Appendix of this volume are the result of those conver-
sations. I am indebted to Robert Martello, Jonathan M. Adler, Alison
Wood, Yevgeniya Zastavker, Madhvi Venkatesh, Sara Hendren, Sarah
Bloomer, and the students of the User Oriented Collaborative Design
course for sharing their work and insights. Rich Dionne and Mary Pilotte
supported my project by introducing me to the innovative Theatre
Engineering Concentration at Purdue University and allowing me to join
numerous online Fusion presentations. Many thanks are also due to Lance
Gharavi (Arizona State University) and Dan Fine (University of Iowa)
whose work provided me with information regarding their unique inter-
disciplinary projects. The Appendix provides narratives from these
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
individuals and others such as Virginia A. Anderson, Sarah Brownell,
Rahul Bhargava, Debra Wise, Liam Hofmeister, Leigh Witek, and Shane
L. Collins whose works and comments add dimension to this book.
Personal interviews have contributed to my understanding of why insti-
tutions are advocating for new educational programs that involve cross-
disciplinary education. A special thanks to Debra Wise who provided me
with extensive information about the development and work regarding
Central Square Theater and the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT. Many thanks
to Wes Savick, Melinda Lopez, Sandra Shefelbine, Rich Dionne, Virginia
Anderson, Sarah Brownell, Nancy Budwig, and David DiBiasio, whose
engaging conversations and thoughts about the importance of the book’s
topics resulted in recommending playwrights, artists, administrators,
teachers, and students whose work has brought additional depth to the
discussion. I am grateful for follow-up interviews with Alan Lightman,
Alan Brody, Leila Wheatley Kinney, Kristin Boudreau, Mary Pilotte,
Gregory Abowd, Michael Reder, Michael Chemers, Steve Luber, Libby
Friedman, Ted Kraus, Robin Cass, Kevin Hines, Heather Knight, Elliot
Queale, Leigh Witek, Aidan Bradley, and Shane Collins.
My journey was supported by colleagues at Northeastern University
who invited me to join a 2020 curriculum retreat, “Interrupting the
Canon” convened by CAMD’s Center for the Arts fellows in critical cre-
ative practice Amy Halliday, Amanda Reeser Lawrence, Rebekah E. Moore,
and Antonio Ocampo-Guzman. This book would not have been possible
without the encouragement of Dean Elizabeth Hudson as well as my par-
ticipation on a multi-year committee with Sandra Shefelbine, Kathy
Takayama, Mark Sivak, Janos Stone, Dietmar Offenhuber, Laurie Poklop,
Laurie Nardone, and Ann McDonald, on the value of making connections
across the curriculum. Special thanks to my students Amanda Brea and
Des Bennett who introduced me to the interdisciplinary work of Rahul
Bhargava and Ilya Vidrin.
I am especially grateful for my early conversations with Bruce
McConachie about how I might present the book’s ideas and the subse-
quent exchanges with Kim Marra and Inez Hedges whose keen eyes and
interdisciplinary experiences contributed to thoughtful observations about
the book’s topics. Sincere thanks to Milana Vernikova, my editor at
Palgrave Macmillan, and to project coordinator Sujatha Mani, production
editor Brian Halm, and project manager Vipinkumar Mani at Springer for
helping me navigate the unique organization of this book. For her prac-
ticed editorial skill and her deep interest in interdisciplinary education, I
offer my appreciation to Julie Hagen.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
My journey on the importance of interdisciplinary integrative educa-
tion has been enriched by my students from both Dartmouth College and
Northeastern University. Our work together always inspired me to listen
deeply to your ideas, questions, and challenges.
Sincere gratitude to my spouse, Charles Combs, for his insights on
Theatre and Higher Education and for the patience to read numerous
drafts of this book in preparation for publication.
Praise for STEM, Theatre Arts, and Interdisciplinary
Integrative Learning
“Set in front of the Einstein statue facing the U.S. National Mall, the final line of
Nancy Kindelan’s STEM, Theatre Arts, and Interdisciplinary Integrative
Learning—Bridging the Cultures clearly and lucidly evokes Tony Kushner’s Angels
in America. Such a connection is apt for this wide-ranging and masterful book
which argues for the importance of a consideration of theatre and integrative
learning in addressing the needs of twenty-first century students and the multiple
crises in Higher Education. Building on and responding to her own 2012 Artistic
Literacy and the 2018 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
report, The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine in Higher Education: Branches from the Same Tree as well as countless
interviews and discussions with colleagues across disciplines and institutions, and
numerous other intertexts, Kindelan’s book frames itself perhaps as a national fan-
tasia on pedagogic themes, but is necessary and urgent reading not only for those
people in theatre arts and STEM fields in a liberal arts context, but indeed for
everyone with an interest and an investment in the future of STEM, Arts, and
Humanities tertiary education worldwide.”
—Joshua Abrams, Deputy Director, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing
Arts; Past President, Association for Theatre in Higher Education
“What do STEM and theater have in common? Evidently a lot. In her newest
book, Professor Kindelan explores the benefits of connecting STEM with theater
in higher ed curriculum and the advantages of inter/trans/multi-disciplinary
learning. Consider theater production and engineering design. Both address soci-
etal problems, understand needs within a context, employ creative ideation, prog-
ress with iterative designs, and assess the outcome. We can benefit from learning
the tools employed by other disciplines. There are challenges to interdisciplinary
teaching and learning but the result is an enriched curriculum, a broadened per-
spective, and a deeper understanding.
Consider the work of a theater director and a design engineer. Both work to
address societal problems through assessing needs in context, creative ideation,
iterative design, and evaluation of the product or production. Should we learn
from each other’s toolboxes? Absolutely. In her newest book, Professor Kindelan
suggests that integrative interdisciplinary teaching and learning should not be a
luxury but an imperative for higher education.”
—Sandra Shefelbine, Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial
Engineering and Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, USA
“Integrative interdisciplinary learning has been a goal of higher education but is
complex to understand and challenging to implement. Kindelan offers a compre-
hensive and highly readable overview that will guide educators as they reflect on
these issues and plan and assess reform efforts taking place on individual campuses.
The book simultaneously offers important tools necessary to join one of the most
important conversations going on in higher education today. It is a must read for
college educators interested in integrating the arts and sciences for the benefit of
student learning.”
—Nancy Budwig, Professor of Psychology, Clark University, USA
“Bridging the Cultures offers a call to action and practical roadmap for educators
interested in forging connections between STEM and theater arts fields. Kindelan
illustrates the vital metacognitive, motivational, and creative benefits of interdisci-
plinary integration. The book’s compelling first-hand narratives are icing on the
cake, offering implementation examples and testaments to the many ways that
disciplinary boundary crossing inspires and empowers both students and teachers.”
—Robert Martello, Professor of the History of Science and Technology, Olin College
of Engineering; member of the Committee on Integrating Higher Education in the
Arts, Humanities, Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, USA
“Kindelan makes an outstanding argument for the necessity of the arts, especially
theatre, in higher education, supporting her argument with a vast array of evidence
and case studies that argue for the undeniable need for integrated education.
Graduates entering an increasingly complex world will need the ability to work
collaboratively, be creative, curious, and empathetic. Current models of education
are not preparing them for real world demands. Kindelan is not suggesting that
funds be redistributed to the liberal arts, rather she calls for a radical revision of
education from disciplinary silos to integrative curricula. In short, taking interdis-
ciplinarity seriously. Cognitive Science recognizes that learning is multimodal, that
the brain works though integrated networks, but our educational models remain
in the past where processing what we see takes place only in the visual cortex.
Understanding that vision involves attention, kinesthetics, perception, and mem-
ory (personal, social, and cultural) makes it clear that traditional current approaches
to educating tomorrow’s scientists, artists, and leaders are woefully out of date and
threaten our place as leaders in the global economy and innovative thinking.
Kindelan’s book is necessary reading for anyone concerned about the state of edu-
cation and the future of civilization.”
—John Lutterbie, Professor Emeritus, Theatre Arts and Art; International
Network for Cognition, Theatre and Performance, Stony Brook University, USA
