Open AccessPotential in Play
Author(s) -
Jamie Sandel
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
critical studies in improvisation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1712-0624
DOI - 10.21083/csieci.v13i1.5794
Subject(s) - scholarship , improvisation , liberal arts education , the arts , context (archaeology) , value (mathematics) , relevance (law) , sociology , performing arts , liberal education , adaptability , epistemology , political science , higher education , visual arts , art , management , philosophy , computer science , law , history , machine learning , archaeology , economics
Liberal arts pedagogy, characterized by its emphasis on adaptability and breadth, thrives on the input of fresh perspectives; arguably, it requires them to maintain its relevance. In this paper, I engage theoretical and applied scholarship on improvisation pedagogy to illustrate how integral improvisational thought is to the spirit of the liberal arts. Considering the liberal arts ‘toolkit’ as, essentially, that of an improviser—a rounded, context-dependent and hybridizing approach that is well-suited to novel and sometimes unforeseeable scenarios—reaffirms the liberal arts’ value in the shifting academic climate of the 21st century, in which such skills are increasingly necessary. In order to explore that potential, I synthesize the foundational works of Lev Vygotsky, Stephen Nachmanovich, and Ed Sarath with newer scholarship on 21st century education.