“Expanding the Canon: Collaborative Timelines in the Theatre History Classroom"
The call to expand the narrative of theatre history has led to exciting opportunities to show students that theatre doesn’t have a single lineage, but rather, a multiplicity of origins. But how does one teach the entirety of Theatre History is one or two semesters? The answer is, we don’t. Rather, we can equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to see out the historical information relevant to their work as artists. To help them develop these skills, in my Theatre History and Historiography class, students contribute to a collaborative timeline in which they contribute two events they think are worthy of inclusion in our class canon.
The result is an expansive lexicon of Theatre History that includes a variety of forms and events from across time and place. Students get to determine what they think is important and get to learn from what their peers think is important. The assignment also asks them to do some research, cite their sources, and write detailed yet concise summaries of their findings, building their skills for engaging in historical research.
I utilize a template that lives in a Google Doc which is linked to our learning management system to allow all students to contribute. Students sign up for a week in the semester in which they will contribute and they are responsible for ensuring that their chosen subjects don't overlap with subjects already covered by their classmates. Here is the assignment sheet which includes instructions and a rubric for how their contributions will be graded. The assignment also includes links for the students to sign up for a week and a link to the template where they will share their entries:
The result is an expansive lexicon of Theatre History that includes a variety of forms and events from across time and place. Students get to determine what they think is important and get to learn from what their peers think is important. The assignment also asks them to do some research, cite their sources, and write detailed yet concise summaries of their findings, building their skills for engaging in historical research.
I utilize a template that lives in a Google Doc which is linked to our learning management system to allow all students to contribute. Students sign up for a week in the semester in which they will contribute and they are responsible for ensuring that their chosen subjects don't overlap with subjects already covered by their classmates. Here is the assignment sheet which includes instructions and a rubric for how their contributions will be graded. The assignment also includes links for the students to sign up for a week and a link to the template where they will share their entries:
I intentionally leave what students can contribute broad to let them dig into aspects of theatre history they find most interesting. This leads to a very diverse array of contributions that is global and often includes things some might not think of as theatre history, but absolutely is, which enriches everyone's learning.
Here is the blank template that I share with students at the beginning of the year. I share this as an editable Google Doc so they can all contribute. I always put in a sample entry as a model for the students to help them get started:
Here is the blank template that I share with students at the beginning of the year. I share this as an editable Google Doc so they can all contribute. I always put in a sample entry as a model for the students to help them get started:
The following are some example entries from students in past semesters: