Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

If an artist falls at a polytechnic university and no one is around to hear it, does he or she make a sound? How can the arts interact within a polytechnic university model? In particular, what is the difference between the role that the arts currently play within this system, and the way in which that role can and should be changed? While centered firmly in the ethos of liberal arts and its labeled identity as a “service entity” toward the professional, vocationally orientated subject matters, this paper will begin to unpack and explore the ways in which an artistic identity (theatre in tandem with media and other expressive forms) can be reaffirmed, developed, and more appropriately redefined within the given technological/business centered institutions. Harkening back to the battle cry of the 1930’s, this will be an exploration in how once again the “arts” can again find itself as a useful “weapon” in the 21st century to wield in equitable collaboration with the pedagogical forces of business, technology, and science.