Curriculum Circus: Juggling Curriculum, Science, and the Arts
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Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Fall 2012 Curriculum Circus: Juggling Curriculum, Science, and The Arts Domenica Devine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons Recommended Citation Devine, Domenica, "Curriculum Circus: Juggling Curriculum, Science, and The Arts" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 797. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/797 This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Curriculum Circus Juggling Curriculum, Science, and The Arts by Domenica Devine (Under the Direction of Marla Morris) Abstract Education should open the door to better lives and better jobs. The fact is that it does not. In part, there are many causes including rigidity, political interference, and the separation between disciplines that we teach without context and without dialogue with our students. Specifically, I think that we should use education as a way to help students make better choices and have a better life. One way we can do it is by reconciling science with the other disciplines. And that is what is at the heart of curriculum studies. There is a pervasive belief that the Western ideology of knowledge is neutral, and therefore must be good for all peoples in all cases. As a result education here in the West has not changed to address the needs of citizens in the 21st century. We have become a global community, and outsourcing our ideas has met with disastrous consequences. I believe that we have a societal obligation to help our fellow citizens navigate within an increasingly complex world. Curriculum Circus uses the many metaphors of the circus to defend a polymerization of arts and science, a return to their common history. I start with the reconceptualization of William Pinar arguing for a “marriage of two cultures: the scientific and the artistic and humanistic” (W. F. Pinar, 1975/ 2000, p. xv). I then address some of the open wounds of our education system: the lack of purpose, the lack of agreement among educators, the grip of politics, business and government in places where they should not intervene. The circus metaphors present a space for communication and the polymerization of ideas. Circus is a collaborative art in which people can write, produce, and perform stories that are of concern in the public arena. As performers do culture, their curriculum includes the sciences and the arts: acrobatic biology, juggling physics, and wire walking through education. Circus gives us a place where we can play with ideas, and become clowns or acrobats or wire-walkers. Here, I consider culture, community, and circus as integral elements in life’s curriculum. INDEX WORDS: Curriculum, Education, Science, Circus, Theatre, Art, Play, Performance, Teaching, Collaboration, Storytelling, Polymerism, Carnival, Communication, Currere ii Curriculum Circus Juggling Curriculum, Science, and The Arts by Domenica Devine B.Sc. Biochemistry and Chemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1996 M. Sc. Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, 2003 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION STATESBORO, GEORGIA 2012 iii © 2012 DOMENICA DEVINE All Rights Reserved iv CURRICULUM CIRCUS: A LOOK AT CIRCUS, SCIENCE EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM by DOMENICA DEVINE Major Professor: Marla Morris Committee: John Weaver Daniel Chapman Mary Aswell Doll v DEDICATION For Michael vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledging my intellectual debts is my pleasure. Thanking all those who made it possible is important; without the support of teachers, friends, colleagues, and family, there would be scant words on these pages. My gratitude to all is immeasurable. Specifically, I would like to express my thanks my committee. To my chair Marla Morris, whose intellect, passion, and support inspired me to reach beyond the expected. To Mary Doll whose dreamy insight gave rise to many of my own flights of fancy. To John Weaver, whose encyclopedic and laser focused knowledge encouraged me to stretch the boundaries of my own thoughts. To Dan Chapman, I thank you for all the wonderful discussions and for encouraging me during the process. I am grateful to my mother, my first teacher, who taught me how to think, how to question, and who instilled in me the foundation of tireless curiosity. I am grateful to the hundreds of teachers, credentialed or not, who were unselfish in sharing their best ideas and encouragement. I am grateful for having had the opportunity to teach in various ways. My students are some of my best teachers and make the experience worthwhile. I am extremely grateful to the librarians of Georgia Southern University, Armstrong State University, and the Chatham County Public Library: some were anonymous helpmates at odd hours, but specific thanks to Peggy Eighmie, Cynthia Frost, and Tony Ard at Georgia Southern. I could not have done this without the amazingly diverse family of the Pickle Family Circus, whose friendship while sharing our adventures made me feel invincible. I would like to specifically acknowledge Betty, Jeffrey, Rebecca, and Sara, and thank them vii for making the journey so spectacular. Particular thanks to the wonderfully talented Terry Lorant for allowing me to use her amazing photos. I want to thank Judy Brusslan at CSULB for her generosity and friendship and for being the role model for the kind of teacher that makes you want to smile and enjoy the rigor of doing good science. I thank all my lab mates at UCLA, particularly Shawn Bearson, who also helped me develop intellectual precision and taught me how to do some awesome tricks with DNA. I thank my friends Vera, Robert, and Bobbi who provided emotional support and encouragement. Particular thanks to my friend Dr. Claude Lambert, who nudged, cajoled, reinvigorated me, and most importantly who read every version of this dissertation with only small complaint. I thank my sisters for their never ending support and their constant intellectual challenges. My sweetest thanks are to Michael. You have cherished me and nurtured me throughout. You are my breath. viii !"#$%&'(&)'*!%*!+ "),*'-$%./%0%*!+&1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111&233! !"#$%&'(&(3/45%+&111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111&633! 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