It looks like changes are afoot over at ArtsJournal.com, one of my perennial favorite news sources for arts-related gab and info. I encourage everyone to bookmark the site and look at it daily, but I'm especially keen to see that they are going to be doing some topic-driven group blogging in the weeks ahead, in which invited guests will comment on aspects of a specific subject (it begins with dance).
Frankly, as a discussion forum, this blog has turned out to be something of a disappointment and I fear that one of the worst aspects of UArts' traditional modus operandi continues unabated. I'm referring to the tendency of discourse to be a two-way track between teacher and student rather than a multi-focal dialog among peers (a far and away more appropriate way for things to work in graduate school). So far this semester, I've read literally dozens of papers in which the research and discoveries of one student would have been useful to another. Concluding with presentations is an opportunity to present findings, but I'm concerned that the rush to give everyone time will severely limit discussion and information-sharing.
Seeing as how we won't have a great deal of time to talk in ourt meeting (between the hour and forty minutes alotted for presentations, changing computers a handful of times, loading new PowerPoints, taking a little coffee-or-pee break once, we're going to puch that two hour limit pretty hard) the blog provides a chance for interaction and comment that appears to being high demand (as I read the FUTURES Committee report, the single greatest issue facing the program is the need for improved communication). I urge you all to use this space to hash out how we're going to make better use of the course you're taking.
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