Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Open Access Master's Report

Degree Name

Master of Science in Rhetoric, Theory and Culture (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Humanities

Advisor 1

Andrew Fiss

Committee Member 1

Karla Kitalong

Committee Member 2

Laura Fiss

Abstract

This report details a class taught that was an exploration into the value of STEAM or science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics within the confines of Technical Communication as it applies to the business and industry of theatre. It was an experiment in service learning as it could be tied into the Arts via differing technai, as described by John Wild in “Plato’s Theory of Texnh a Phenomenological Interpretation,” demonstrating a necessity for Arts as they pertain to STEM-centric universities. This report discusses a section of Technical and Professional Communication taught at Michigan technological University that consisted of twenty-five students investigating theatre as an industry and business and applying the theory and practice of Technical Communication, specifically in the context of Kelli Cargile Cook’s Layered Literacies to bridge STEM, the humanities, and the Arts. The theatre with which students collaborated worked closely with faculty and staff within various areas of that department. The students in the Technical Communication classroom were predominantly STEM majors. This offered a unique opportunity to demonstrate the potential for the Arts to cross academic disciplines at a STEM-focused university and emphasize the importance of interdisciplinarity through a better community literacy.

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