.

S.89-35

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM

To:

?

Senate

?

From: Senate Committee on

Academic Planning

Subject:

Master of Fine Arts Program

?

Date:

?

October 12, 1989

Action taken by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee on July 10, 1989 and by the Senate

Committee on Academic Planning at its meeting of October 11, 1989 gives rise to the

following motion:

"That Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of

Governors the proposed Master of Fine Arts Program as set

forth in S.89-35, including the new courses

FPA. 811 - 5 Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar 1

FPA. 812 - 5 Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar 2

FPA. 883-5 Studio in FPA 1

EPA. 885-5 Studio in FPA 2

FPA. 887-5 Selected Topics in FPA

FPA. 889-5 Directed Study in FPA

FPA. 898 -10 MFA Graduating Project."

c!

.2

.0

---

(

?

L

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

?

g\Q

MEMORANDUM

To ........ ..-F..

?

1vic .

?

çy

?

From......

Subjed.

?

Qf,.

F.iu

.&.ts. Xrp.grxu.

?

Date

Attached is the proposed Master of Fine Arts Program which was approved

by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee at its Meeting on July 10, 1989.

S

11

---

( S

?

t

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

?

MEMORANDUM ?

DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES

TO: ?

Senate Graduate Studies

?

FROM: ?

B.P. Clayman

Committee

SUBJECT:

MASTER OF FINE ARTS

?

DATE: 27 June 1989

PROPOSAL

I am pleased to present

the proposal

submitted by the Centre

for the Arts for the introduction of a Master

of Fine Arts

program.

?

This proposal, the

first draft

of which was received on

11 December 1987, has been

considered by

the Assessment Committee

for New Graduate Programs,

a sub-committee of the S.G.S.C. whose

members were:

Chair

B.P.

Clayman

Faculty of Arts

T.

Perry

Faculty of Education

T.

O'Shea

Faculty of Science

G.

Bojadziev

SGSC (faculty)

M.

Jackson

SGSC (faculty)

M.

Plischke

SGSC (student)

M. Coates

Secretary

N.

Hunter

Registrar's Office

M.

McGinn

The proposal has been sent out for external review. The

external reviewers were:

Dr. W. Benjamin, Director, School of Music, U.B.C.

Prof. D. Keane, Professor, School of Music, Queen's

University

Mr. G. Lewis, Head, Media Arts, Canada Council

Prof. H. Shore, Associate Dean, School of Performing Arts,

U.C.L.A.

Dr. A. Welch, Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of

Victoria

All of the external reviewers supported the proposal and,

after minor modifications based on comments by the external

reviewers, the Assessment Committee for New Graduate Programs

approved the proposal and recommended that it be submitted to the

Senate Graduate Studies Committee.

I recommend approval of this proposal. Simon Fraser

University has an excellent opportunity to establish a unique,

high-quality program at the graduate level.

cc: M. Bartlett

?

(P 0,,-

---

I

Simon Fraser University

?

Centre for the Arts ?

Proposal for a Graduate Program ?

In Interdisciplinary Fine And

?

Performing Art Studies

?

Leading to the Degree of

?

Master of Fine Arts

November 9, 1988

?

(Revised June 21, 1989)

---

1-

.

?

I GENERAL INFORMATION

1.

Title of the Program:

?

Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinaiy FPA

Studies

2.

Credential to be awarded to graduates:

M.F.A.

4.3.

Department

Date of Senate

to offer

Approval:

program:

?

Centre for the Arts

5.

Schedule for implementation: ?

On approval, hopefully September 1989

II PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

To provide an advanced level of professional training for artists, with an emphasis on

contemporary

arts.

interdisciplinary issues and new technologies in the fine and performing

2. Relationship of the Degree to the Role and Mission of the University

The Master of Fine Arts is a new degree for Simon Fraser University. The MFA is

regarded as the completion of an artist's university studies and is customarily a two

year program in which theoretical and critical issues can be pursued alongside

creative artistic work. Introduction of the degree broadens and strengthens the

University's academic base to include art disciplines as subjects of serious inquiry

• beyond the undergraduate level. The interdisciplinary emphasis of the proposed

degree reflects the fact that social, cultural and technological developments have

given rise to new kinds of artists and new modes of art making which provoke complex

interrelations within the fine and performing arts and new issues in the relationship

between the arts and other disciplines. We believe that these issues can most suitably

be examined and acted upon within the university.

Such a graduate program is a natural outgrowth of the research and teaching

presently being carried out in the Centre for the Arts, which has already, attracted

several graduate students by Special Arrangement. The number of such students has

reached the point where formalization of procedures and academic directions is

necessary. This is in accordance with the Centre's long range plans which have

foreseen the establishment of an interdisciplinary graduate program as the completion

of its curricular goals.

The presence of Special Arrangements graduate students (six in fall 1987) is already

providing stimulation and incentive to undergraduate students through collaboration in

productions, exhibitions, performances, and research projects. These students are

also doing useful work as Teaching and Research Assistants. We have in effect been

offering graduate studies for years; the MFA would acknowledge this declared need

within a broader context.

We should mention that the Centre maintains strong affiliations with other

Departments in the university, especially since entering the Faculty of Arts. The

integration of FPA courses into the Certificate in Liberal Studies and the sympathetic

---

IN

2

goals of the MA in Liberal Studies suggest a mutual recognition of the desirability of

broad-based programs. Faculty research projects have promoted interdisciplinary

cooperation with Communications, Engineering, Computer Science, and Kinesiology,

as well as other departments within the Faculty of Arts.

iiiru ?

.iirri

I.I.ITisI11

:I.

UBC and the University of Victoria offer MFA degrees, but both are disciplinary visual

art studio degrees. As well the University of Victoria offers MEAs in theatre. There are

also disciplinary MAs, (such as UVic offers in music, and UBC in music and film).

However, none offers the potential for cross-disciplinary work that we are proposing

and there is not normally an integration of other discipines into their current programs.

We believe this proposal complements and expands current offerings available in the

province for advanced study in the fine and performing arts.

lPIS1I1

There is at present no program in Canada which attempts to unify the arts in an

interdisciplinary way at the postgraduate level. The work of the Centre at the

undergraduate level is unique in the country and consequently there is great pressure

and strong demand

,

for an extension of our offerings. The Centre has a large file of

inquiries from inside and outside the country requesting information about the

possibility of graduate study; this reflects not only the interest and existent need, but

the identification of the Centre for the Arts as a place which could potentially provide

such focus and contribute substantially to Simon Fraser University's reputation as a

centre of innovative curriculum and research.

5. Curriculum

a. Existing Courses

Approved individual programs of study for MA by Special Arrangement candidates

have been endorsed by Graduate Studies within the framework of present FPA

Special Topics and Directed Studies offerings, in conjunction with graduate level

courses from other parts of the university.

b.

New Courses

The MFA is primarily a studio degree, in which the student will be expected to

concentrate on the production of creative work. Consequently the studio component

constitutes a large part of the work and the number of required hours (40) is

proportionately greater than that required for most MA's. At the same time, the

program allows for critical study within an area of concentration. The intent of the

program is to accomodate a broad range of interests, while directing the student's

critical focus through the Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminars (FPA 811 and 812).

These seminars will form the academic core of the program. Since the MFA is

normally a two year program, the Seminar would be offered each fall, focussing on

some major issue in the contemporary discourse of art and society. There would

---

3

. therefore be one course offered in any calendar year, with participation by both years

of graduate students. Those taking the seminar for the second time would be

registered under the higher course number. Some examples of possible seminar

topics are included as Course Outlines in Appendix D.

Since this seminar is conceived as the main academic focus of the degree it is

legitimate to ask whether its intention is to present, each time it is offered, a uniform

body of knowledge, indispensible to a graduate student in the fine and performing arts.

This is not, however, how the seminar is conceived. At present noone has the temerity

to define such a body of knowledge, and were it defined, it would immediately become

the subject of controversy. Teaching at this level will be not by precept but by

example. We cannot say unequivocally "do this and you will become an artist". We

can however direct the student's attention to examples of art-making and

interdisciplinary activity in the arts, and attempt to evaluate the significance of such

examples for contemporary endeavours. Because the nature of the proposed

-program is interdisciplinary, we feel-it is important to use this seminar to- broaden

students' understanding of art-making beyond his/her disciplinary background, and to

develop critical concepts and vocabulary. We feel that this can be accomplished

without necessarily covering the same material each time the course is offered.

The class will meet twice a week: the first meeting will be lecture and the second

discussion. The lectures will provide critical and theoretical context within which the

student's inter-disciplinary program of work can be located and considered, while the

second meeting will focus on texts relevant to the lectures, student projects and

. presentations. Organization of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar will be the

responsibility of the faculty member designated as chairman of the department's

Graduate Program Committee but lecture participation by other Centre faculty as well

as guests and professionals will be a regular feature of the course.

The Studio courses and the Graduating Project represent the focus of the candidate's

creative work and will be arranged by the Supervisory Committee in consultation with

the candidate. The Graduating Project will normally consist of a performance,

exhibition, installation or other public presentation.

Selected Topics and Directed Study courses are intended to allow individuals or

groups of students to pursue specific academic or studio interests that supplement or

enrich the substance of the Project. These will be designed as necessary under the

supervision of the Graduate Program Committee.

c. Supervisory Committee

Upon a candidate's acceptance into the program, a Supervisory Committee will be

struck, consisting of a Senior Supervisor, a faculty member from the individual's main

disciplinary area and at least one representative from another art discipline. This

committee will decide on an appropriate program of work in consultation with the

candidate and will monitor the candidate's progress towards completion of the degree.

0

---

4

d. Degree Requirements

For the degree, candidates must complete a minimum of 40 semester hours work,

including 30 semester hours of course work and a Project which is the equivalent of 10

semester hours. In most cases this Project will be the presentation of an art work,

although the possibility of more research-oriented projects is not ruled out.

The project must be accompanied by appropriate documentation, to be determined by

the Supervisory Committee in consultation with the candidate. Depending on the

nature of the project, this documentation may comprise a written essay explaining the

aesthetic and technical background of the project or describing the research leading to

its completion, video and/or audio recordings, portfolios of photographs, or other

archivable material.

After completion of the MFA Graduating Project an oral defence will be convened

before an examining committee consisting of a chairman, the members of the student's

Supervisory Committee and an Examiner.from outside the Centre for the Arts. The

External Examiner may be a faculty member from another department of the University

or another institution, with research interests relevant to the student's work. The

function of this examination is to question the student on the conceptual and technical

aspects of his work and to evaluate the competence and artistic creativity of the

project. The presence of the Examiner will assist the Committee in determining the

equivalence of the program's scholarly standards with those of other graduate

degrees.

The Graduating Project plus the required Interdisciplinary Seminars account for 20

hours; Of the remaining 20 hours, 15 will normally be from within the Centre. The

course requirements are:

All of:

FPA 811-5

?

Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar 1

FPA 812-5

?

Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar 2

FPA 898-10 ?

MFA Graduating Project

Plus three of the following:

•

?

FPA 883-5

Studio in FPA 1

FPA 885-5

Studio in FPA 2

FPA

887-5

Selected Topics in FPA*

FPA 889-5

Directed Study in FPA*

Plus five units selected from Upper Division or Graduate courses outside the

department.

Descriptions of these courses are attached as Appendix D.

In the case of a candidate whose work involves substantial investigation of another

discipline, a second Upper Division or Graduate level course from another department

could substitute for FPA 887 or 889 with the permission. of the supervisory committee.

0

---

5

. ?

111 NEED FOR PROGRAM

1. Rationale

The programs in the Fine and Performing Arts offered at SFU recognize a number of

important facts about the nature of contemporary artistic activity. In particular, the

Centre for the Arts emphasizes the social, technological and interdisciplinary

implications of current work in the fine arts including music, visual art, dance, film, and

theatre.

We stress art's social implications because art not only reflects the current concerns of

the culture but influences them in a complex manner. Our new situation includes a

view of the contemporary arts as high intellectual adventure, a crucial expression of

our culture, generating profound insights and complex forms of knowledge. This

attitude implies a bond between the scholarly, interpretive and scientific activities

-characteristic of the university, and cultural spectacle and expression resulting -from

-

artistic practice. Within this relationship, the arts create their sensuous and

complicated images which become the occasion for fresh intellectual and critical

discussion, the objects of systematic analysis, and the stimulus for the further

development of interpretive theory. Given this integration of intellectual and expressive

approaches, questions that are central to the theoretical understanding of the arts are

not simply"academic" inquiries. They are crucial to the productivity of the artist and to

the development of the literacy of the audience.

.. We do not regard technology as a panacea, and the proposed program is not

designed to focus on technology to the exclusion of interdisciplinary work that uses

traditional skills of movement, music- and image-making. We acknowledge, however,

that the traditional techniques themselves have been deeply altered by their

repositioning in a world of electronic and photographic communication and

representation, resulting in new expressive possibilities and ambiguous relationships

among the fine and performing arts. Our proposal for an MFA degree is specifically

designed to acknowledge this trend and to provide facilities for those artists who wish

to engage technological issues as part of their creative work.

We understand the term "interdisciplinary" in two senses. First, we recognize and

encourage new work which transcends the traditional disciplinary boundaries within

the fine arts. The use of music by dancers and actors, sculptors moving into set

design, film-makers and dancers collaborating in mixed media performance art; these

are examples of types of interdisciplinary work which already find a congenial

environment in the Centre for the Arts. The second sense of "interdisciplinary"

includes activity by artists or from an artistic perspective in fields that lie outside the

normal frontiers of the fine and performing arts. Examples would be composers who

write computer programs for synthesizer control, dancers working with robotics or

computer graphics, painters investigating the psychology of perception. This work,

also, will be supported in our graduate program if the necessary resources and

collaborative links are available.

The educational implications of the new artistic environment are challenging and

complex. We believe that it is necessary for artists to concern themselves actively

---

6

with new developments, and for universities to devise programs and curricula which

can give artists the technical and critical tools this work requires. The program we are

proposing has, therefore, three main goals: the development of craft and technical

skill, the furthering of artistic creativity, and the development of a critical awareness of

the position of the arts in contemporary society and within the historical perspective.

If we are not to inhabit an artistic and cultural wasteland, serious effort must be made

to develop this critical awareness to improve the level of artistic understanding and

reflection in our society as a whole. New technological developments facilitate the

production of art work in many ways, but are unable to produce the creative perception

necessary to the making of art. Furthermore, although skill and craft training remains

basic to all education in the arts, that training should neither preempt nor be

preempted by critical reflection. These complementary issues must be addressed with

clarity and probity as part of the substance of study of an integrated interdisciplinary

fine arts program.

It is clear to us that the Centre for the Arts addresses these issues in ways other

programs do not. The uniqueness of this program, already firmly established at the

undergraduate level, must now be expanded to accommodate the growing need for

integrated and comprehensive theoretical and practical work at the graduate level. It is

an opportunity for Simon Fraser to establish a decisive position within the international

development of this crucial cultural discourse.

Ii171Int:]i'I

a.

Evidence of Student Interest

'0

The Centre receives between thirty and fifty inquiries a year requesting information on

the availability of graduate programs. Followup suggests that a significant proportion

of these are directly interested in the 'kind of Inter-disciplinary work we are proposing.

Several of our MAs by Special Arrangement chose the Centre particularily because it

offered the interdisciplinary flexibility they sought.

b.

Enrollment Predictions

We envision the proposed program being phased in gradually. Initially it will represent

a solidifying and reevaluation of the existing

ad hoc

Special Arrangements MA. Initially

we will be accepting a maximum of 6 students per year; at any one time, the program

will have 12 to 15 active students. We anticipate accepting candidates only as we

have resources to support their chosen program of work.

The Centre is currently pursuing arrangements and relationships with other institutions

and programs that will have future consequences for enrollments in this program. This

includes the active pursuit of funds and facilities from various levels of government,

business, and the community, a quest which is already producing results.

C

---

VA

.

c. Financial Support for Students

The Centre for the Arts currentl

Graduate Students as Teaching an

number of available TA-ships is

Students. In addition, a number

available as a consequence of th

students in the fine and performing

of the Canada Council.

employs several of its Special Arrangements

J Research Assistants. At the moment, in fact, the

greater than the number of available Graduate

of University Graduate Fellowships will become

e program's approval. Fellowships for graduate

arts are also available through a special program

.

3. Employment for Graduates

The MFA degree has traditionally been regarded as a professional artist's degree and

a teaching degree. Professional artists are usually self employed, often combining

their work with teaching or other cultural employment. The increasing demand for

- broad-based specialization in the various arts industries suggests that students could

tailor their graduate programs to suit their intended career goals. A performance artist,

for example, interested in theatre production, or a visual artist interested in

scenography, or a film maker wanting to work with musicians and dancers in a non-

theatric context, could each be accommodated in the program, as could someone

wanting to combine the various aspects of theatrical production and playmaking

toward the foundation of an independent company. There currently exist situations in

the cultural sphere which call for far more cooperative talents than a disciplinary

training can encompass. Theatre management, gallery special events programs, film

production units all require diverse and flexible skills not previously incorporated

within a single program.

The program encourages flexibility and adaptability and consequently we foresee

graduates developing positions within mixed disciplines that will create employment

opportunities for themselves and others; inter-disciplinary projects are by their nature

usually collaborative. The graduates' ability to respond to current situations and serve

existing markets while developing new ones through their creative work is an

anticipated benefit of this program.

0

---

8

. ?

IV PRESENT AND PROJECTED RESOURCES

1.

Administrative Personnel and Support Staff

We are requesting a half-time secretarial position to deal with the administrative

aspects of the graduate program. With the increased importance of high-technology

media, we will also require additional technical support. We are budgeting for one half

of a Technician's position, to be shared by the Integrated Media Facility.

2. Faculty

The Centre currently has an internationally respected faculty around which the

Interdisciplinary MFA can be developed. Faculty members are distinguished practising

artists in the disciplines of film, music, visual arts, theatre, and dance. Each area has

people with cross-disciplinary interests, and two recent searches for replacement

faculty in Film and Visual Art were conducted with consideration toward the needs of

this program.

Our main recommendation is the hiring of one senior faculty member to supervise the

Graduate Program and organize the Graduate Seminars. It is essential that this person

have the interdisciplinary flexibility that the program will require, as well as the

conceptual and theoretical skills necessary for the seminar. Given the diverse nature

of the students' programs of study, it is important that there be an individual who deals

with the administrative and academic coordination of the program. On him/her would

. ?

fall the responsibility of much of the teaching of the Interdisciplinary Seminar, though it

?

is foreseen that other qualified faculty could undertake this from time to time.

We may require additional faculty assistance to reach our full projected strength, in

particular to provide some relief for senior faculty who are extensively involved in

graduate teaching. Because of the flexibility of the program, demand for different

areas of faculty expertise may be encountered from year to year. We have included

budget projections for visiting faculty or sessional positions to strengthen graduate and

undergraduate teaching as required. If, as we project, the acceptance of graduate

students is to be carefully controlled in relation to available resources, this should not

represent a major expense in the foreseeable future. The presence of graduate

teaching assistants in the undergraduate program will also facilitate the concentration

of work in the graduate program.

Although the library at Simon Fraser University does not by itself provide the level of

support that advanced study in the fine arts requires, the excellent inter-library loan

system gives faculty and students rapid access to other collections. Recently, a grant

was received from SSHRC to improve the library's collection of books on film, and we

will continue to solicit external funds to augment our library resources. Further funds

need to be committed to extend the The Fine Arts Room collection of slides, tapes,

recordings and scores. The library's collection of periodicals will require a resource

---

9

commitment, and maintaining currency in this rapidly developing field requires

continuing support. A report on the library's preseritlineaft holdings and an estimate

of immediate and continuing needs has been prepared by the Fine Arts Librarian and

is attached to this proposal as Appendix E.

?

is

UWWWOME

The Centre already has space and facility resources within the university. The theatre

is a well equipped multidisciplinary performance space for music, thöatre and dance;

music has an internationally known electroacoustic studio; film is developing its

production and postproduction facilities; and visual art is in the process of establishing

a downtown exhibition and research space. Development plans for the SFU

downtown campus include improved studio facilities for the Centre fOr the Arts. The

Centre for Image-Sound Research (q.v.) will also be housed in the downtown campus.

With the additional resources of the Praxis studio and the Centre for Image-Sound

Research we believe that our studio space will be adequate for the small number Of

graduate students proposed.

The planned rescheduling of space and equipment to take advantage of periods of

lower demand will allow for a more consistent distribution of resources to both the

graduate and undergraduate areas.

Equipment resources are presently seen as sufficient for the introduction of the

program. However, the increased demand on present resources will require some

augmentation of systems which will be phased in over a period of three years.

Specifically, we foresee increased demand for video, an area the Centre has already

identified for development, as well as general incremental upgrading in the various

areas.

MiTere rrriri i.iiiir*

Since the final product of a candidate's study will be the presentation of a completed

work, generally an exhibition or performance of some kind, funds must be committed to

support these productions on a modest level.

The present faculty's ability to attract Canada Council and SSHRC funding as well as

provincial government funds has been clearly demonstrated. We are including here a

brief description of two major externally-funded recent extensions to the Centre for the

Arts' facilities and their links to the Graduate Program:

0

---

10

•

?

a. PRAXIS

The Praxis Film Development Workshop received funds from the provincial

government's Fund for Excellence in Education in 1986, and has also received a grant

from the Foundation to Underwrite New Drama for Pay Television. An office, with

facilities for workshops and film viewing, has been established in downtown

Vancouver. Praxis' primary goal is to offer professional film writers, directors, and

producers assistance in creating original dramatic films, with an emphasis on script

development. This is done through a program of workshops, guest professionals, and

general advice and assistance to filmmakers involved in the writing process. Links

have been forged with a number of community institutions such as the Pacific

Cinematheque and the Vancouver Film Festival. Participation in the Praxis programs

is adjudicated on a project basis, and Centre for the Arts graduate students would be

invited and encouraged to participate. Furthermore, the funding of Praxis has both

raised the profile of the Centre for the Arts in the national and international film

communities and has provided valuable additional resources to a film program that

had suffered from recent financial stricture.

b. The Centre for Image-Sound Research

In the spring of 1987 an application was submitted to the federal Department of

Communications for funds to establish this facility, hopefully in the downtown campus.

In September 1987 this application was approved in principle by the Department of

Communications. The proposal calls for substantial capital expenditures to create

. ?

facilities for advanced digital image and audio processing, video, recording, and allied

technologies.

Additional fund-raising is being undertaken to provide salaries for a Director,

technicians, and programmers. Access to these facilities will be on a project basis,

primarily for faculty, graduate students, and independent artists. The goal is to create

enhanced opportunities for research in the relationship of art and high technology in

collaboration with science and industry, and also to provide an environment for the

production of art works and performances using this technology. The value of these

facilities to graduate students and the usefulness of such students to the institution is,

we hope, obvious.

We intend to phase in the program over three years, from 1990-1993. The figures

given below represent what is, in our view, a realistic projection of the costs of the

program, but we do not expect these sums to be forthcoming entirely from the

University's base budget. The technician position may be included in fundraising for

the Integrated Media Centre, and much of the equipment required may also come from

coordination of the needs of the graduate program with those of the Integrated Media

Centre. Other avenues for external fundraising will continue to be explored.

0

---

11

-Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

TOTAL

Recurring

Senior Faculty

60,000.00

60,000.00

60,000.00

180

0

000.00

60,000.00

Other Faculty

1

14,000.00

14,000.00

28,000.00

56,000.00

28,000.00

Staff2

27,000.00

27,000.00

27,000.00

81,000.00

27,000.00

Equipment

35,000.00

35,000.00

35,000.00

105,000.00

Productions

10,000.00

15,000.00

15,000.00

40,000.00

15,000.00

Library

15,000.00

10,000.00

5,000.00

30,000.00

5,000.00

161,000.00 161,000.00 170,000.00 492,000.00 135,000.00

1 Visiting faculty or sessional lecturers

2Half time secretary and half-time technician

.

0

---

12

APPENDIX A

Suggested Calendar Entry

The program leading to the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies is

designed to provide an advanced level of professional training for artists in the fields of

music, dance, theatre, film, and visual art. Its goals are the furthering of cross-

disciplinary research, technical skill and artistic creativity, and the development of

critical awareness of the relatedness of the arts both in contemporary society and

within an historical perspective.

Course offerings are designed to preserve as much flexibility as possible to

accommodate individual differences in background and artistic goals, with the

emphasis throughout the program being on the production of creative work in an

interdisciplinary context.

Admission Requirements

a. The degree of B.F.A., B.A., B.Mus. or B.Ed. in one or more of the art disciplines, with

a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better. In special cases a candidate may

be admitted who does not satisfy this requirement but who either possesses

comparable certification (an art school or conservatory diploma) or has exceptional

experience as a practising artist.

. b. Demonstrated creative competence. This requirement may be satisfied by the

completion with high standing of undergraduate courses in music, dance, theatre, film,

or visual art, or substantial experience in these fields outside the university. All

students applying to the program will be required to submit for the consideration of the

committee a portfolio of examples of their work in the form of tapes, scores, slides,

films, videotapes, plays or academic papers. Performing artists may be asked to

undergo an audition.

Candidates whose qualifications are deficient will be required to take undergraduate

courses to remedy the deficiency during a qualifying year. These courses will be

specified by the Admissions Committee. Foreign students may be required to

demonstrate their proficiency in the English language, which may be done by attaining

a score of 570 or above in the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

0

---

13

For the M.F.A. degree, candidates must complete a minimum of 40 semester hours

work, including 30 semester hours of course work and a Project which is the

equivalent of 10 semester hours. In most cases this Project will be the presentation of

an art work, accompanied by appropriate documentation. Completion of this project

will be followed by an oral defence. The Project plus the required Interdisciplinary

Seminars account for 20 hours; of the remaining 20 hours, 15 will normally be from

within the Centre. The course requirements are:

All of:

EPA 811-5

?

Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar 1

EPA 812-5

?

Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar 2

FPA 898-10

?

MFA Graduating Project

Plus three of the following:

EPA 883-5

Studio in FPA 1

FPA 885-5

Studio in FPA 2

EPA 887-5

Selected Topics in FPA*

EPA 889-5

Directed Study in EPA*

Plus five units selected from Upper Division or Graduate courses outside the

department.

In the case of a candidate whose work involves substantial investigation of another

discipline, an Upper Division or Graduate level course from another department could

substitute for EPA 887 or 889 with the supervisory committee's permission.

?

0

S

1-1

---

14

Appendix B:

Faculty

Faculty CV's are attached as an appendix to the proposal. Areas of research and

availability as potential senior supervisors(1), committee members(2), and

instructors(by course number), are summarized below: This list reflects a currently

(October 1988) representative sample of faculty and is not exclusive.

MUSIC

Martin Bartlett, Professor,

Electroacoustic and computer music, composition, music of non-western cultures

1,2,811/2,883/5,887/9

Owen Underhill, Associate Professor,

Composition, conducting, contemporary ensembles

2,883/5,887/9

Barry Truax, Associate Professor, (joint appointment with Communication)

Computer music, world soundscape studies

1,2,883/5,887/9

THEATRE

Marc Diamond, Associate Professor

Directing, playmaking

1,2,883/5,887/9

Penelope Stella, Assistant Professor

Directing, playmaking

2,883/5,887/9

FILM

Jacqueline Levitin, Associate Professor (Joint appointment with Womens' Studies,

effective 1 August 1989)

Film Theory, Directing, Womens' Studies

1,2,811/2,883/5,887/9

Patricia Gruben, Assistant Professor

Directing, Scriptwriting

1,2,883/5,887/9

Henry Jesionka, Assistant Professor

Video, Integrated media

2,883/5,887/9

---

DANCE

Santa AIoi, Professor

Choreography, movement

1,2,883/5,887/9

Iris Garland, Professor

Choreography, Dance History and Criticism

1,2,883/5,887/9

Grant Strate, Professor,

Choreography, ballet

1,2,883/5,887/9

VISUAL ART

Allyson Clay, Assistant Professor

Painting,

2,883/5,887/9

Greg Snider, Assistant Professor

Sculpture

1,2,883/5,887/9

Anne Ramsden,Assistant' Professor

Painting, video

2,883/5,887/9

INTERDISCIPLINARY

Evan Alderson, Associate Professor

Critical Theory,

1,2,811/2,883/5,887/9:

15

.

.

0

---

16

WW.

o.

R.

r

The people who we propose as external assessors were chosen with two main criteria

in mind: first, they are people of high academic reputation with wide experience of the

international scene in contemporary cultural and educational directions. Second they

are themselves representative of the different disciplines which are taught in the

Simon Fraser University Centre for the Arts and can adjudicate the proposal from the

point of view of the relationship of those disciplines to the interdisciplinary context.

They are:

Gladys Bailin,

Professor and Chair,

Dance Department,

-Ohio University,

Athens, Ohio

Ms Bailin was a founding member of the Alwin Nikolais Dance Theatre in New York

City and remained with the company for 20 years as leading dancer. She has been

guest artist and teacher at many universities including UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, UC

Long Beach, and Simon Fraser University. As a dance educator of unparalleled

experience, she is familiar with graduate and undergraduate programs throughout

North America, and is therefore highly qualiflied to assess this proposal.

Glenn Lewis,

Head,

Media Arts Section,

The Canada Council,

Ottawa, Ontario

Mr. Lewis has a distinguished background as sculptor, media artist, and arts

administrator. The Media Arts section of the Canada Council gives grants to

individuals and organizations involved in film, video, and interdisciplinary

technological art. As Head of this section, Mr. Lewis sees work from all over the

country and travels widely to meet representatives of arts organizations. Noone in

Canada therefore has a more comprehensive view of the current state of media arts,

whether from the artistic, technological, or educational standpoints. Since before

taking up his current appointment he worked in Vancouver as an arts administrator for

twelve years, he is exceptionally well acquainted with the British Columbia situation.

Gerald O'Grady

Director,

Educational Corn munications Cen ter,

300 Wende Hall

S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo,

Buffalo, N.Y.,

14214

---

17

Dr. O'Grady is former director of the Center for Media Study at SUNY Buffalo, has

taught film and media at the New School for Social Research, New York University,

Antioch College, and many other institutions. His career has many parallels with that

of Marshall McLuhan--beginning with work in English literature (particularly mediaeval

studies) and continuing to research in film, educational technology, and the impact of

commercial and experimental media. He

has

done

a

great deal of consulting,

including membership in the the New York State Advisory Committee on the Arts,

consultant in educational media program development at Ryerson Polytechnic, and as

Director and coordinator of many, conferences, summer institutes, and special

programs.

David Keane,

Associate Professor,

Department of Music,

Queen's University,

Kingston, Ontario

Professor Keane is a well-known Canadian composer, primarily of electroacoustic

music, with extensive experience in mixed media work. His work is widely presented

throughout North America and Europe, including many performances at major

international festivals, including the Holland Festival and the International Festival of

Experimental Music at Bourges. He is active in many national and international

organizations, such as the Canadian Electroacoustic Community, and the International

Society for Contemporary Music. He serves regularly as a member of Canada Council

juries and arts advisory boards. His experience and reputation as a widely-travelled

creative artist and educator have givôn him, a broad perspective on, current issues in

advanced education in the arts.

Herbert Shore,

Associate Dean,

School of Performing Arts,

University of Southern California,

Los Angeles, Calif.

90089

With a background in drama, film and television as writer and director, Professor

Shore has moved on to engage the larger issues of the role .ofthe arts,-in technological

society and the process of cultural .transformation in the global context. As a

consultant on cultural development and the performing arts he has worked for

UNESCO, the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Australia Council, the ministries of

culture of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, and in Ethiopia, Zambia, :Nigeria and

Mozambique. His long list of publications include works on cultural policy, the arts in

developing nations, and specific studies of African, American and 'Asian writers and

dramatists.

n

---

r ?

I

18

• ?

Appendix D:

New Course Proposal forms and course outlines (attached)

!,I:1iluiI

Librarian's report. (attached)

Faculty CV's (attached)

?

Note: Faculty CV's are available in the Office

of the Dean of Graduate Studies, AQ 6035

0

---

SIHON FRASF.R UNIVERSITY

New Graduate Coura.. Pronocal Form

CALENDAR INFflRMATION:

D

e par

t

men

t:

e_for the

?

Course Hur.,er:

FPA.

811

litic; Interdisciplinary (raduate Seminar

I

Description: Critical study of contemporary issues in the fine and performing arts, with

emphasis on concerns common to diverse artistic disciplines and the interaction-between

art and society.

Credit Hour!;:

5 ?

Vector::

2?0

?

Prerequisite(g) if any:_________

ri

ENROLLMENT AND SCHEDULING:

Estimated Enrolloept:_ M ax

8 ?

When will

the

course first be offered:

1990 — 3 or later

How often will the course be offered:

_Annually

JUSTIFICATTOi:

This course

is

the academic core

of

the

M.F.A.

program, as discussed in the

woo

?

M.F.A.

proposal

?

.

RESOURCES:

Which Faculty member will normally teach

the

course: It

Is

anticipated that the new

g

raduate program

director '

s

position

will

teach this course.

What are the budgetary implications of mountinR the course:

Are there sufficient. Lib

?

rary resources (annend detatla):

Yes

Aipcniie;t: al Outline of the Course

h) An Indication of

the

cor3p etencc of the Faculty member

to gtvc the course.

c)

Library resources

Approved: Departmental Graduate Studies Cormitte(

?

Date November

15, 1987

)atulty Graduate

?

Lea 'jtittce.:

tacit I ty:

?

D.itc

-L'r ?

,f1f.1z

Senate (r;;tltustc Stu(hjce Coist tee:

?

S

Senate:

?

Date:

---

6

4.

The avant-garde and the voice

of

the other

5.

The avant-garde in relation to tre miss-meaia and Popular culture

The content of the course would be drawn extensivel

y

from the bibliography

below.

Theodor W. Adorno. Aesthetic Theory. Poutledge and Kegan Paul, London,

-l984

Minima Moral ia Verso Editions, London, 1978.

"On the Fetish Character in Music and

the

Regression

of

Listening." The Frankfurt School Reader. edited

by

Andrew Arato and Ewe

Gebhardt, Contini:um, New York, 1

98

.

2

0

??

The Philosoph

y

of flodern Music. 5eatury Press. New

York, 1973.

Prisms. MI T- Press, Carnbridge,Massacnusetts, 1981.

Theodor Adorno and Max Horkhelmer. Dialectic of Enlightenment, translated

by John Cumming Continuum, New Yor$ 1982.

Aesthetics and Politics: Ernst BlochG.org

Lukacs. Bertold Brecht. Walter

BenJamlnTheodor Adorno. with an afterword by Fredric Jameson. Verso,

London, 1977.

Jacques Attali. Noise: The Political Economy of Music. Theory and History of

Literature,

Volume 16, University of Mnnesota Press, 1985

Stephen Bann, editor. The Tradition of Constructiornsrn

The Viking

Press,

New York, 1974.

Walter Benjamin. Reflections: Essays, Aohorisms, Autobiograühical

Writings, edited by Peter Demetz. Harcourt Brace Jovanovicri, New York,

1978.

I

---

Illuminations, edited by annah Arendt. Schocken Books,

John B Bowit, ed. Russian Art ot the Avant-Garde. Viking

Press, New

York,

1976.

4

S

Benjamin H.D. Buchlor. Figures of Au"horiy, Ciohers of Regession.'

?

t

After Modernism. RethinkInQ Represerktation. edited by Brian Wallis.

Andre Breton Surrealism and Pa1ntng. translated by Simon Watson Taylor.

Harper and Row, New York, 1 972..

Peter Burger. Theor

y

of the Avant-garde. Theory and Histori of Literature.

Volume 4. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 198.

Victor Burgin, The End of Art Theory

..

Criticism and Postmodernity.

Humanities Press International, Atlantic-Highlands, New Jersey, 1986.

Michel de Certeau. Heterologies. Discourse on te Other. Theory and History

of Literature ,Volume 17. University of Minnes-ta Press, Minneapolis, 1986.

Herschel B. Chip, editor. Theories of Modem Art, A Sourcebook by Artists

and Critics, with contributions by Peter

c

elz and Joshua C. Taylor.

University of California Press, Berkley, 1968.

Helene Civous and Catherine Clement. The Newly Born Woman. translated by

Betsy Wing. Theory and Literature,

Volume

24 University of Minnesota

Press, Minneapolis, 1986

Gu

y

Debord. Ib.,Society of the Spectacle. Black and Red, Detroit, 1970.

'Femiist Film Practice and Pleasure A Dscussion' (inducing Dee Dee

3l.jss, Ciselda Pollock, Laura Muivey, Jud

i

th Williams). Formations of

Pleasure. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1963.

Hal Foster, "LArnourFaux'. Art in Amric, Jan:ar

y

, 1986.

Recodings. Art SDectacie. ultural Politics. Bay Press, Port

Townsend, Washington, 1985.

• editor.

T

he Anti-AesthetL Essays on Postmodem Culture. Bay

Press, Port Townsend, Washington, 1183.

?

0

---

Hal Foster, editor. Dia Art Foundation: Liscusslons in Contemporar

y

Culture,

Number

1.

Bay Press, Seattle, Wasringtn, 1987,

Peter Gay. Wiemar Culture, The Outsider as Insider. Harrr and Row, New

York, 1970.

German Realism of the Twenties. The Atist as Social Critic. Exnibitio

Catalogue. The Mneapolis institute

of the

Arts,

l980.

Dan Graham. 'The 3tre, Cinema, Power' Parachute, 3

1

.Jur''.Ju1y/Aug0st,

1983.

Richard Huelsenbeck 'En Avant Dada:

A

nistory of Dadism (1

920)".

The Dada

Painters and Poets: An Anthology, edited by Robert Motherwell, George

Wittenborn, Inc.. New York, 195.

Andreas Huyssen. After the Great Divice. Modernism, Mass Culture. Post

Modernism. Indiana University Press, Eloornlngton, indana, 1986.

it

?

Martin Jay. AdorrQ. Harvard University Press, Cambridge Massachusetts,

1984

Cora Kaplan.

"Wild Nights. Pleasure/Sexual i ty/Femiriism." Formations of

Pleasure.

Routledge and Kegan Paul, Lor:don. 1963.

Rosalind Krauss. "No More Play." The Originality of the Avant-garde and

other Modernist Myths. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1985. p.

"The Photographic Conditions of Surrealism.

?

p.87

"The Originality

of

the Avant-garde." 1.

p

14().

Luce Irigaray.

SDeCU1Jn'1

of the Other Woman. tranlatec by Gillian 6, Gill.

Cornell Universit

y

Press, Ithaca, New York, 1985

Helmut Lethan.

"The Roaring Twenties in Berlin, Sociological portraits

of

a

city." Berlin:

A Critical View, Realism: 20s-70s. Exhibition Cata1oue,

The Institute of Contemporary Art London, 1978.

0 ?

Sophie Llssitzky-Kuppers. El Lissitzky Thames and Hudson, London, 1968.

---

6

org Lukacs. Essays on Realism. edted by Rodney Livingston. MIT Press,

Combridcje, MassachuseT:ts, 1 90.

Euaene Lunn. Marxism and Moaernism, An Historical Study of Lukcs Brecht.,

Adorno. Un1verstv of California Press, Berkley, 1982.

John Mimer. Vladimir Tat] in and the Russian Avant-ga

rde. Yale University

Press,

1983.

Tor1 MOI. Sexual/Textual Politics, Femimst Literary TheorL. Methuen,

London, 1()85,

Robert Motherwell, editor. The Dada Painters and Poets: An Antholo,

George Wittenborn, Inc., New York, 1951.

Rozsika Parker and Griselda Pollock Old Mistressess. Women

? Art a

IdeOlogy. Routledge and Kegan PaUl, London, 1981.

Griselda POflOCK. Art, Art School, Cuture' individualism af:ertheaeath of

the artist,' 81oc I I 1985/86. (also

r

eprinted in Exposure, Volume 24,

Number 3. Fall 1986)

Artists, Mytholoq;es and Media Genius, Madness and Art

History." Screen, 2 1, Number 3, 1980.

Mfflw;]^Ow

e

11

erato Pogqioli. The Theory of the Aant-garde. HarvaraUriiverslty'Press,

flbric

?

M;(h:r:ftc

Ne!ly R1char. Margns and lnst1tutio.s, At in Chile Since '971

Experimental Art Institution for Art and Text, vOlume 21 Melbourne,

A,5 r

3l,a

198

7

Frank

lin

Rosernont, editor and translator. What is SurrealiEni? Selected'

Writings. Monad Press, New York, 1978.

Richard Sherwood, edtor and trans1a:o, Documents from

Lef."

Screen

L.zjj',vo1urne 12,Wnter 1971/1.72.

---

I

Proposal for graduate courses wi

l

rlri

3

,

1

1nteroicioiinary

MF

QioQrarnme

hv f)çirry

7r

A definitive as

p ect

of

tr1e Centre for the Arts underqraduate proaramme

1;

an emphasis on critical discourse

fl

coriunction with studio practce

encourages students to examine 1mmannt values of their own art

production as well as to develop a critical vocabulary about culture an

society. Th

i

s critical-theoret lcal corr'onent is necessarily

interdisciplinary in approach as contemporary discourse on culture is

itself

interdisciplinary (Including, for eamp'e, psychoanalytic tneorv,

sociological analysis, social and political histor

y , literar y

criticism, ?

-

linguistic theory)

Critical-theoretical study would font nue at a graduate level within

carefully defined courses with inthsif led reading requirements.

Examples of course definition m1gt be

• ?

1.

Courses which address a trieoret'cal

r0005

directly

i. by examining some aspect of a arge area of critical inaulry:

eg.

Culture and Technology

Art and Institutions

Theory of the Avant-garde and Avant Garde

Art

Practice

Feminist theory concerning cu'ture

H. focussing on a school

of

theory or 3n individual writer

eg. Frankfurt School

Situationism

Roland Barthes

Theocor Adorrio and Twertetr entur Music Practice

2. Courses that would Indirectly

incorporate

crit1ca-treory withm the

aegis cf a topic which woWd delineat

e

specific cutura! production:

• eg. Vienna and Modernism

r

he L

Tite

Nineteenth Century

Modermsm in Paris

Weimar, culture and poi'tcs

Surrealism

• ?

Marcel Duchamp

---

t

1s

p

ossible to del ineate within western modernism an

.

artpract1ce

that Is

seLf-critical, seLf-conscious of Its poSitonTh relation to society,

and often

in critical opposition to society. This practie is Crftfcal

m'oaernismor'The

3vant -garde

Avant-garde art practice has historically included a sfconscious

consideration of the materials of art oroduction and a demand for continual

originality or renewaL its very premise erefore confronts

theaccepted

concept of Art within bourgeois ideooqy. cs positionwfthin sodty is

3qonstic: separate but also

p

art of the sccial whole. From this

poSlt1ob

avant-garde art has addressed social, political, cultural and ecnomic

arrangements in western society.

Further, avant-garde art practice has formed the cônten't of debate and

theoretical writing on culture througnout tne

twentieth century. Many0f

hA compley

q 'iet.ions raised in conni

L

fti

n

n to

-

the

avarft-qarde

continue in

ostrnodernism

This course proposes to examine selected avant garde art

bracticesand

aspects

of

cr

4 itica l

theory connected o these

art practices ApproØrlate

artworks would be studiec in conjUnction with critical r'eadings.

Material for the course would be chosen and orgnized accordina to the

following topic areas

1.

The historical and social corfiqurati'ons of The avant-garde: theory

of The

avant-garde within western modernism

2.storical examples or avant-garde practice:

i Russian post-revolutionary culture

n 6orman Dada

ll ?

irrea1im

v. The American avart-

g

arde of the fifties and ,sixties

3 The avant-garde as revolutionary CiscoJrse:

the avant-garde in relation to atflnat

.

1ve culture

the avant-garde in relation to cultural ract1te'within tne totalitarian

state

i'i culture as redempton

---

I

?

I

SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

16 ?

Ne Graduate Course

Pronoa1.

Form

CALENDAR INFORMATION:

Centre for the Arts

?

FPA. 812

Departrneat:______________________

Course flur.er:

TLtic:

Interdisciplinar

y Seminar II

Description:

Continuation of EPA. 811

Credit hours:

?

5

,

?

-

?

Vector:

220

Prercqui5lte(a) if tutu:

FPA.811

F.NROLUNT AND SCHEDULING:

Estimated Enrollment:

Max

_8

?

When will the course first be offered:

1990-3ox_ia,ter

How often will the course be offered;

Annual l

y

._

This course is offered at the same

time as FPA. 811.

JUSTIFICATION:

With FPA. 811, this course is the academic core of the M.F.A. program, as discussed

in the M.

FA.

Droposal.

RESOURCES:

It is anticipated that the new graduate program

%

Which Faculty member will normally teach the ?

director

'sposition will teach this course.

What are the budgetary implication of mountinR

the

course:

Are

there nuf(Icicnt Library resources (aonenai detatlr,):

?

Yes

Appended: a) Outline of

the

Course

•b) An indication of the coo p

etance of the Faculty member to gtvc

the

course.

c) Library resources

Approved: Departmental Graduate Studies Committee.

Faculty Graduate

VIOUJLC3

Faculty:

?

C

i

t

Senate Graduate Studies CocniC tee:

Senate: ?

-

November 16, 1.987

I

_ ?

Ttc:

40t _

/987

--___

Date

JO/r/F9

/'

C

Date:

---

.

FPA 811/812

INTERDISCIPLINARY GRADUATE SEMINAR

?

Course Outline

This course forms te academic core of the MFA program. Its

function is to provide a focus for developing a critical awareness

of the position of the arts in contemporary society and within the

historical perspective, with emphasis on issues that are common to

the various art disciplines or are concerned with links between

them. It is a required course for all students in the program.

The class will meet twice a week; the first meeting will be

the presentation of some aspect of the chosen topic by the

instructor, the second will consist of student presentations and

discussion of texts and materials relevant to the lectures.

Students will be asked to complete a term paper. or project

relevant to the material under discussion.

The central topic or issue will be chosen by the instructor

and will change from semester to semester. Three sample outlines

are appended.

Evaluation (typically):

Term project or research paper: 60%

Oral presentation: 20%

Seminar participation: 20%

0

---

FPA, 811/812

?

Interdisci p linar

y

Graduate Seminar

SAMPLE COURSE OUTLINE:

FOUR TWENTIETH CENTURY ENVIRONMENTS FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTISTIC

RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION

Interdisciplinary collaboration in the arts has, in the

twentieth century, been focussed on particular institutions or

groups whose aesthetic and cultural attitudes have given a unique

and significant direction to the efforts of numbers of individual

artists. This seminar is a study of four such significant nodes

of activity, namely:

• The Bauhaus (Germany, 19201s)

Black Mountain College (South Carolina, 1940,$)

Experiments in Art and Technology (New York, 196015)

M.I.T. Media Lab

• (Boston, 19801s)

Although these four eñrironments differ radically in their goals

and resources, they r.éresent significant attempts to construct a

coherent frame of refeçnce for interdisciplinary artistic

activity in the modern 'world. They form part of a connected series

of experiments in creating communities of artists and thinkers who

attempted to reshape not only artistic techniques but also the

formal relationship of art and society. For example, Josef

Albers, one of the Bauhaus artists, became director of Black

Mountain College. John Cage and Robert Rauschenberg, who worked

together at Black Mountain, were amoung the founders of the New

York group E.A.T. Several of the artists and engineers who

collaborated in the New York experimental environment now work at

the M.I.T. Media Lab.

Lectures will consider the political and cultural environments of

these experiments, their economic base, their aesthetic positions,

their major accomplishments, and their shortcomings. Attempts will

be made to understand the different attitudes and goals of these

groups in relation to their historical contexts. Student

presentations will focus on particular works, projects and artists

associated with them.

O

---

A;a' 5te!.).

iLc:,

Wnt C•._.L1aL; ?

'e

?

E:.'

i)uSsei,

?

ii'3i(

j

yñr'

?

ihi' ?

mnflOta

Trp

rsr

pr

m

tn

'Nt ?

'J _)Ct

r

v

!

J

C

1 !'. ?

.-. ?

i•)I

H

oderna1i

j

e . ?

:

5)I:0.

r:1rr.

r :r' Wal'H, -, ?

.41 AZr

1

Ler . .n;

Nev. Museun c

17

C

:rtemrar

Art.

'

e0'.

?

964

W I len,

?

ir

.

or

?

trans.

3tC

?

,.

':rt ?

Th

g

tr

. _

Tr

11ftve1c,Om.r.t

n..csthetic Loron,

John Wfl let:.jj

.

arc PHs

?

±Wmar ?

net,

.19 1 7- 1 93.. Partb1ecr: 3ooks, ?w ':or

Christa Woif.

'A

Letter about

Ur.evca! an

Ambue ?

'eani,

Definiteness ar

?

r cenn!teries;

3LO(Jt

flC1&flt LOflCl t1 r

)

c.

scopes; aoout

Ob'ectvity."

Fern irL Asthencs ?

sea Ec..

.r

aitor

ir

Women's Press, London, 1985.

Janet Wolff. The Social Production of

Art.

The Macmillan Press, London,

19EL

'S

---

DRAFT 11/13/87

?

Evan Alderson

WA. 812-5 Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar?

Sample course outline

The Body as the. Source of Truth in 20th Century Western Art

One of the persistent themes of 20th century art-making has been the

attempt to find an essential ground for expression, beneath the veneer of

civilization, upon which a earch for artistic truth could be based Although

the theme is not original with this century, and its appearance is in many

ways an extension of romantic postulates about artists and the arts, there

has been in this century b. recurrent connection between the search for

-. essences and the human body. This course will examine a series of such

connections, both in theoretical writings and in art work of various kinds, as

a means of studying was the body and bodily experience have been

conceptualized and given aesthetic rendering. The primary intention of the

course is to provide an opportunity for reflection and exchange among

practicing artists.

I. The first section of the course (about

5

weeks) will provide an orientation

•

?

for the subsequent study of specific artists by introducing some historical

and theoretical maial.

1.Antecedents.

A brief look at some pre-twentieth century depictions

of the body and the attitudes toward the body these implied. Possible

examples: Greek statuary, Michelangelos "David", paintings by Ingres.

2.

Some coordinates of theory.

3

or 4 weeks will be spent assimilating

some important 2Othce.n.tury theorizations of bodily experience. These

might include:

a.

Rudolf von Labans vision of the body, in his more abstract

writings, as a cosmic centre, and the relation of his writings to earlier views

of the body as microcosm.

b.

Wilhelm Reich's theory of the body as the central object of

repression and the hope for liberation. A possible extension to the somatic

utopianism of Norman 0. Brown.

c. Merleau-Pontys "lived body," his version of the

• ?

phenomenological attempt to overcome the mind/body dualism by

emphasizing the agency of the body in perception and understanding.

d. Michel Foucault and the social construction of the body,

emphasizing the ways in which both our understanding of the body and our

---

1.

?

.

Bibliara hv

Brán, Stewart, ?

flab, 1987

Cage,

John, SilCnce

191

Dickstein, MàrriS,

the

.

-Gätes ofEdt:Amerian.Cuiture in the

Sixties,

1977

Dub erman, Martin, Bia'ck Moita

.

i

.

ñ.:

.. ?

E*b,lo.rat1bfl. ih Community,

1972

Gopiüs Wáiter,

'

The Thèàtrê :of. the Bauh

?

1'925r,

tr. 161

Koste Ianetz,

Richard, The The'ate:r of

4jëdègns,

1.9t68

Negroponte, N1cho1as, *hë. tchit tuie. ac'h4Tne., 197O

Rosenberg, Harold, Th'e

d

De

iñi . tionO ?

;i91:3

Tomkins, Calvin, Off the Wall

Robe

t

rt 'Rauscherbezg and the Art

World of OurTimé, 1980

Wi 1 lèt't

John, r and Poitcs ihthe êäiPiød, ;19 78

Wthgler, H.M., i'h

'

i •Bauh'ais, 'i9,69

0

---

WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY

Artaud, Antonin. Selected Writings. ed. S. Sontag.

Brown, Jean Morrison, ed. The Vision of Modern Dance. Princeton: Princeton

Book Co., 1979

Chipp, Herschel B, ed. Theories of Modern Art. California, 1968

Duncan, Isadora. My Life. New York: Liveright, 1955.

Foucault. M. The History of Sexuality

.

. Vols 1-3.

Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writing

Fraleigh,. Sondra Horton. Dance and the Lived Body

.

. Pittsburgh, 1987

Kendall, Susan. Where She Dnced

Laban. Rudolph von. Choreutics. London: MacDonald and Evans, 1966.

Principles of Dance and Movement Notation. London: MacDonald

and Evans, 195.

Lawrence, Nathaniel and Daniel Otonner, eds. Readings in Existential

Phenomenology... Prentice-Hall, 1967

.Levin, David Michael. The Body's Recollection of Being. Routledge and Kegan

Paul, 1985.

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. Phenomenology of Perception. Routledge and

Kegan Paul, 1962.

Poihemus, Ted, et al. The Body as a Medium of Expression

S ?

Reich, Wilhelm The Mass Psychology of Fascism

(1933).

Souvenir Books,

1972.

Spicker, Stuart, ed. The Philosopily of the Body.. Chicago, Quadrangle, 1970.

Steinman, Louise. The Knowing Body: Elements of Contemporary_

Performance and Dance. Boston, Shambala, 1986.

Turner, Bryan S. The Body and Society.p1orations in Social Theory.

London: Basil Blackwell, 1984

Wigman, Mary. The Mary jffjgman Book. ed. Walter Sorell. Middletown,

Conn.: Wesleyan Univ Press, 1975.

Wiles, Timothy J

.

The Theatre Event: Modern Theories of Performance.

Chicago, 1980.

3

---

practices regarding it are socially mediated. Some extension of these ideas

toward the experience

of

the body within contemporary media culture,

particularly as articulated by feminist theorists.

II - The second section of the course will examine a series of exemplary

figures or works from different art forms. Faculty specialists in various art

forms will be invited to participate, and students in the course will take

special responsibility for their own disciplines.

3.

Early Modern Dance. An ei ination of some of the writings and

available reconstructions of the pioneers, including Isadora Duncan, Ruth

St. Denis, and Mary Wigman.

4.

Some early 20th century art movements The relationship of

rationality and a body-based spirituality in the Bauhaus especially in the

work of Oskar Schlemmer Automatic writing and other subconsciously based

somatic practices in early surrealism.

5.

The reactionary appropriation of the body. An examination of the

ways in which a culture of the body was promoted within fascism, using Leni

Reifenstahls

QiyrnpJ,

but also examining the ambiguous status of Mary

Wigrnan and Carl Orff in Nazi Germany.

6.

Acting theory. A study of various views of the actors training and

role, with brief attention to Stanislavsky in this context, and focussing on

Artaud, and especially Grotowski. Some attention to body therapies as they

have entered theatre training, e.g. the Feldenkreis Method

7.

Visual Art. A consideration of some somatically based artistic

practices in the contemporary period, including the action painting of

Jackson Pollock and the performance art of Chris Burden.

8.

Corporeality in music. An examination of the work of Harry Partch

together with

some consideration or the ways differing somatic sensibilities

have entered contemporary art through non-western musics.

9.

Recent dance and mixed media performance. An examination of

various orientations toward the body in the work of artists such

.

,as Yvonne

Rainer, Anna Haiprin, Deborah Hay, Meredith Monk and Ping Chong.

10 The media body. A brief consideration of some artistic responses

to proliferating visual reproduction of the bOdy, including some attention to

theoretical Issues, and perhaps working from a film such as Antonionfs

B1oyp.

---

a

SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

New Craduate

Coutye Prononal Porm

CALENDAR INFORMATION:

Centre for the Arts

?

FPA. 883

Department:_____________________________

?

Couras ?Jurcr:

Title:

Studio in FPA I

Description:

Intensive studio work, concentrated in a particular art discipline, but

with opportunity to involve interdisciplinary materials

drid

techniques.

Credit

lours:

5 ?

Vector: ?

Prercquiztte(n) if any:

ENROWIENT AND SCHEDULING:

SCHEDU!.INC:

Estimated Enrollment:

Max 8 ?

When will the course first be offered:

.1990 - 3 or later

How often will the course be offered:

Annually

JUSTIFICATION-

See M.F.A. proposal.

S

RESOURCES:

Which Faculty member sL1l normally teach the

?

as designed by student's supervisory committee.

What are the budgetary implications of mounting the course:___________________________________

Availability of studio facilities and equipment.

Are there

sufficient Library resources (aDnend dctntle):

Extensive library resources normally

not required.

Appended: a) Outline of

the

Course

b)

An indication of the coruetcncc of the Faculty member to gIv the course.

c)

Library resources

Approved: Departmental Graduate Studies Coittcc:

?

JDnte

:November 16, 197

Faculty Graduate Std)eo Co

?

te ?

ate:

?

8,jqg7

Faculty:

ILL-__

riatc:

öSenate Graduate Studic

?

/ô

Senate :

?

_Date:

---

Approved: flcpnrtmc

Faculty

Facu I ty

Senate

Senate:

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

WASW

?

New Craduate Courne Pronnnl Form

?

.

CALENDAR

INFORMATT,ON:

Department: Centre for the Arts

?

Coürne nurtier: ?

FPA. 885

Title:

Studio in FPA II

Description:

?

Conti nuat iOfl

Of FPA.883

Credit Hour!;: ?

5

?

Vector:

?

PrerCqui9tte(s) if

cnv:

FPA. 883

ENROLLMENT AND

SCHEDULING:

Eotimated Enrollment:

?

Max 8 ?

When will the

COUtBC

first be offered:

?

1990 - 3 or later

How often will the course be offered:

?

Annually -

JUSTIFlCATTO1:

See M.F.A. proposal.

?

-

RESOURCES:

Which Faculty member will normally teach the course:

as designed by student's supervi sory

committee.

What are the budgctnry implication of mounting the course:_______________________________________

Are there n%I(IICR'nl Library resources (;,poenrl detoUr,):

Extensive 1ibrarL

r e

sources

normally

not required.

Appended: n) Outline of the Couran

b)

An Indication Of the cor

p

etCncc of the Faculty member to give the course.

c)

Library rcourcc:i

!),,,.November 16, 1987

J13

?

iqg

natcqJ. _'

t_(q7

.fltc:

/0/7/P-i

Date: ?

-

---

a

EPA 883/885

Course Outline

This course consists of intensive studio work under faculty

supervision, based on the student's art discipline, but with the

opportunity to undertake interdisciplinary work and collaboration.

The work undertaken in the course will most likely take the form

of artistic production, but may include a research component as

well. The goal is the development of craft and technical skill

and the development of the student's creative ideas.

?

- - -

Evaluation is-based on the supervisor's informed judgment of

the student's productivity, originality and level of

craftsmanship.

O

6

---

SIMON

FRASER UNIVERSITY

Nir

Graduate

Course Pronosnl F

orm

CALENDAR INFORMATION:

Department:

_Centre

for

-

the Art

s

?

_Course

Hurer:

FPA.

887

Title:

Selected topics in FPA.

Description:

Study of particular artistic techniques or issues. ?

The topic

varies from semester to semester.

Credit Hours: ?

5

?

Vector: ? Prerequi

s

ite(s) if env:_

ENROLLMENT

AND

SCHEDULING:

Estimated Enrollment:

Max

6 ?

When will

the

courae first be offered:'

9 90 -

3

or later

How often will the course be offered: ?

As required.

JUSTIFICATION:

See M.F.A. proposal.

RESOURCES:

Which Facully

member w

ill

nornIly

tcach the cnJrs.:

?

as as signed.

What

nrc the

budgetory

implicattona of mountinR

the

course:

__

.

Are there nuffictent. Library reaourcca

(a p nend.

tictntlr.):________________________________________

Aipcnded:

a) Outline of the Courac

h) An Indication of the. cor

p ete.ncc of

the

Faculty

inr.mbe.r

to glve

the

course.

c) Library rcaourcca

Approved: Departmental Graduate Stud tc ConaLtte.c:^

?

Date

:Nn

yp

mh p

r 16, 197

QC(26r-----

._rtate:L

?

I2'

ate:

Date:

Faculty GradttaLe

St

/

id l

es C

?' Lt

tee:

Facu) ty:

Srnatc

Graduate Stucilca Coiattte.c

Senate:

FA

---

S

SELECTED TOPICS IN DANCE

Changing Perspectives: Aesthetic value and perception in dance

The values of modernism may or may not be relevant in an age which takes

what Erich Fromme has called "consensual validation" as the measure of artistic

success. By investigating a series of relationships and intentions from the

choreographer's point of view, shifts from the close of the modernist era to what is

considered the post modernist aesthetic will be explored. Works of selected

choreographers, both contemporary and historical will be analysed.

?

-

This course will be structed as a seminar which meets weekly for three

hours. Discussion will centre around theoretical questions as well as the specific

choreographic devices used by choreographers. To this end, film, videotapes and

live performances will be utilized.

A) ?

General Questions

-Is there a loss or merely a shifting meaning of idealism from the early

modern period to the consumer - market approach of the 1980's.

-Who are today's patrons of art? How do they influence the taste of both

choreographer and audience?

-How have arts funding and the development of a curatorial system in

Canadian dance affected the work of contemporary choreographers? Are there

parallels in these developments with experiences in visual arts?

-Has dance developed from what Elizabeth Kendall terms "spectacle

extravaganza" to art and then back to sensationalism? In what ways can one talk

About an aesthetic impulse or aesthetic response?

-What have been the conditioning impacts of TV, rock video and other

modern media upon choreographers' sensibilities and audience responses?

0

---

FPA 887

Course OutUne

These courses will vary from semester to semester, topics

being chosen on the basis of faculty and student interest and

availability

of re'searh facilities.

Unlike the Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar, the topics in

FPA 887 may have a distinctly

disciplinary

focus providing the

opportunity for detailed theoretical or practical investigation of

areas of study that supplement or enrich the substance of the

students' projects.

Outlines of some sample Selected

Topics.

are attached.

Criteria for evaluation will vary and Will

4g,

established, by the

Instructor at tie time a particular course is. offered.

.

---

W,

Foster, Hal

(ed)

The Anti-Aesthetic Essays on Postmodern Culture

Gablik, Suzi Has Modernism Failed? London Thames and Hudson 1964

Foster, Susan Leigh Reading Dancing: Bodies and Subjects in Contempor7

American Dance University of California Press 1986

Graham, Martha The Notebooks of Martha Graham Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich 1973

Hanna, Judith Lynn The Performer-Audience Connection University of

Tens Press 1983

Kendall, Elizabeth Where She Danced Alfred A Knopf 1979

Langer, Suzanne Feeling and Form: A Theory of Art Scribner 1953

Martin, John The Modern Dance

1932

reprint Dance Horizons 1965

Martin, John Introduction to the Dance 1939 reprint Dance Horizons 1968

McDonagh, Don The Contemporary Guide to Modern Dance Doubleday 1976

Martha Graham: A Biography Praeger 1973

Monk, Meredeth"Cornments of a Young Choreographer" Dance Magazine

June 1968

Poggioli, Renato The Theory of the Avant Garde Harvard University Press

1968

St. Denis, Ruth An Unfinished Life Harper Brothers 1939

Sheets. Madne The Phenomenolo

g

y of Dance University of Wisconsin Press

1966

Sore!!, Walter

The Dance Has Many Faces

World Publishing, New York 1951

Tobias, Tobi "Twyla Tharp" Dance Scope 4

02

(Spring 1970)

---

'. ?

B) ?

Specific choreographers: intentions and responses

-The works and hitorica1 contexts of the

follbwing

individuals or groups will

be discussed:

1)

Isadora Duncan, Ri St. Denis

2)

Martha Graham

3)

Merce Cunningham

4)

The Judson Group

5)

Twylà iharp

6)

Meredéth Monk

7)

Pina Bausch

8)

Seléctéd contemporary Canadian choreographers, for exaniple

Edward Locke, Kaen Jamieson, Robert Desrosiér.

Bibliography

Banes, Sally Terpichore in Sneakers. Post-Modern Dance

Houghton Mifflin 1980

Barthes, Roland Image. Music, Text New York Hill and Wang 1977

Barthes, Roland Mythologies Millard Wang 1957

Barzun, Jacques The Use and Abuse of Art PrincetohUniversity Press 1973

Brown, Jean Morrison ed. The Vision of Modern Dance Princeton Book Co.

1979

Copeland, Roser and Marshall Cohen (ed) Whatis Dance? Readingsin.

Theory and Criticism Oxford

University Press 1983

Copeland, Roger

"Postmodern Dance and The

Repudatión fPrimitivism".

Partisan Review 1983

Cunningham, Merce Changes: Nóteson Choreography Something Else Press

New York 1968

Duncan, Isadora

My Life Garden City Publishing 1927

Fancher, Gordon and Gerald Myers

(ed)

PriilosophicaiEsSays'Qfl Dance

Dance Horizons 1981

Foster, Hal Recordings Art. Spectacle. Cultural Politics

:

BayPreSS 1.985

.

---

Emmerson, S., ed. (1986).

The Language of Electroacoustic Music.

London: Macmillan.

Hiller, L. A., & Isaacson, L.

M. (1959). Experimental music.

New

York: McGraw-Hill.

Manning, P. (1985).

Electronic and computer music.

London: Oxford

University Press.

Mathews, M. V. (1969).

The technology of computer music.

Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.

Moorer, J. A. (1977). Signal processing aspects of computer

music-- A survey.

Computer Music Journal, 1 (1),

4-37.

Roads, C., & Strawn, J., eds. (1985).

Foundations of

computer

-

music.

Cambridge: MIT Press.

Roads, C., ed. (1985). Com

p

osers and the Com p uter. Wm.

Káufmann.

Schrader, B. (1982).

Introduction to

electro-acoustic music.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Truax, B. (1976). A communicational approach to computer sound

. ? programs.

Journal of Music Theory, 20(2),

227-300.

Truax, B. (1980). The inverse relation between generality and

strength in computer music programs.

Interface,

91

49-57.

Truax, B. (1982). Timbral construction in 'Arras' as a stochastic

?

process. Computer Music Journal,

6 (3),

72-77.

Xenakis, I. (1971).

Formalized music.

Bloomington: Indiana Univ.

• ? Press.

9

---

SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMPUTER MUSIC

Course Outline:

This is a graduate level course

covering

topics in computer

composition, sound synthesis and signal processing. It will

consist of a seminar

dealing

with

theQetcal issues in these

areas, and a lab (the SFU Computer Music Facility) where

practical work may be carried out. Particular attention will be

given to the way in which current approaches in software and

hardware change the p.rqcess by which composers deal with sound

and its organiation.

Topics will include:

- a survey of tyeq of a

pproache,

tQ computer-assisted

composition,, including musical gramma,, s.t,o,cha:stic: processes,

automated or rule-bas

.

systems, and interactive high. level

composition languages

- sound synthesis theory, including wavetable, approaches,

linear and non-linear techniques,, and syothes,is; desi.gn

considerations in microcoding such techniques for a digital

signal processor (DSP)

- introduction to digital signal prqces:s:ing as us:ed in

computer music systems,, including, real-time processes, such. as

filter, delay line and modulation techn&q.ies:, and

,

a4

survey, of non-

realtime approaches such as. synthesis. by analysis, linear

prediction, and. the phase vocoder

- psychoacoustic implications: of current, s

.

ynthe:ss and

signal processing techniques, and recent

,

computer-based

psychoacoustic research applicable to compos,:iti'on.

- analysis of specific compositin; that, implement: new idea's

in timbral and structural organization

References:

Bateman, W. (1980).

Introduction to corflput:er music:

New York:

Wiley.

Battier, M., & Truax, B., eds. (1980).

comput;er Music.

Ottawa:

Canadian Commission for UNESCO.

Buxton, W. (1:977) . A composer's. introdu,ct:io,n to. computer. music.

Interface,

6, 57-72.

Chamberlin, H. (1985).

Musical Applications., of Microprocessors,

2nd. ed. Hayden Book

Computer Music Journal,

MIT Press, vo,ls; 1-present;

.

Dodge, C., & Jerse, T. (1985).

Computer music: synthesis,

composition and performance. New.. York:' Schirmer. Books..

---

Date:

1 a

Date:

S,natc C

Senate:

5, 1987

icr

S

SIMON FRASER UNIVES1fl'

New Graduate Course Prononij Form

CALENDAR INFORMATION:

Department:

Centre for the Arts

?

Courae ?Iurther:

EPA.

889.

Title-.

?

Directed study in FPA.

Description:_____________________________________

Credit Uour:i:

5 ?

Vector:

?

Prerequisite(s) if saw:

ENROLLMENT AND SCHEDULING:

Estimated Enrollment:

Max 5

?

When will the course first be offered:

1990-3

or later

How often will the course be offered:

?

Annually

JUSTIFICATTOJ:

I

?

See

_M.F.A.proposal.

RESOURCES:

Which Faculty member will normally teach the course;

as as.si gned by s tudet

'S

supervisory

What nrc the budgetary implication

g

of mounting the course:

?

committee.

Normally none.

Are ther niifflclent. I.[brnry revourccs (annend (Ietail,;):

?

Yes

Appended: a) Outline of

the

Courne.

Li) An indication of the coouetancc of the Faculty member to give the course.

c) Library resources

U

Approved: Departmental Graduate Studies Committee*

?

- ?

Date ?

vember

1

Faculty

t ?

Sud ?

Cosittcc: ?

Grad

ate:

?

-

8

F.acuty:

---

ri

F P

A E37 ?

Electronic Cinera and Vi(. !

eo Production ?

TrISC DeCriOtLQLI

FPA 837 is a graduate-level examinati)n of the conceptual and

technological systems which support contemporary work in video, digital

art, and integrated media. Criti:al, historical and theoretical studies

will lead into the production of work in these various media.

Within the class a discourse will be structured through discussion of

readings and

viewing of work in video and c•ther media;. students will be

engaged with critical issues in aesthetics. cultural codes and deolouy

which compare artistic work in new t€:hncioqes to the ima

g

e systems jr,

use in the mass media.

The course will also investigate new.deveipments in technology -- both

from an historical point of vlev, and from a potential users perspective.

Particular attention wifl be paid to the deployment of a microcomputer-

based 2-D, 3-D and animation s

y stem,

with

a view to integrating

s y

nthetically generated imager with the more traditional film and

OP

I

N

?

vdeo-based Imaging systems.

Students will be required to complete oroj&cts lnvldeo or integrated

media as their

primary coursework. CIa3 members will be encouraged to

extend the boundaries of the medium(s) :hrough collaboration with others

in dance, theatre, music and visual art,

Guy

Debord,

Society

?

98

Ha Fos :er,

IIie Artt-Aesthetic; Essa

y s in Postrnodern Cultro, I

Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Aooaratus, 193

1.

Jerry

Mander,

Four Arguments for the E1imiation of Television, 1982.

0

---

51110$ FRASIR UNIVERSITY

Pe-,j Graduate Coura., Pronoal

VOEfl

CALENDAR INPflRIIATT.0$:

Department:

Centre for the Arts

?

Coursu ?Iurber:

FPA.

898

Title: ?

M.F.A. graduating project

Description:

Credit Hours:

1

fl ?

Vector: ?

Prcrcqui9fte(n) if on":

ENROLLMENT

AND SCHEDULING:

?

- - -

?

- - -

Estimated Enrollment:

?

When will the course first be offered:

1990 - 3 or later

How often will the course be offered:_________________________________________________________

JUSTIFICATION:

See M.F.A. proposal.

RESOURCES:

Which Faculty member will normally teach the course:

Student's senior supervisor

What are the budgetary implications of rnountinR the course:

Funds must be available

to support project costs.

Are there nuffictent Library resources (nonend detntle):

Extensive library resources normally

Appended: a) Outline of the Course

?

not required.

b)

An indication of the cor3pciencc of the Faculty member to gtvc the course.

c)

Library resources

Approved: flepnrtmentol Graduate Studies Committee,!

Faculty

Craf

,L

Stufl.ea CoLttce:

Faculty:

Senate Graduate Studice Connittec:

Dntc:

November

_16, 1987

0atc:AJfb'7

1atc:4J2(

P

Senate:

?

D.tc

---

Library Response to Proposal for a Graduate Programme Leading

to a Master of Fine Arts Degree.

?

Fall 1987

?

V,04y4ro

tA d^00

1W

INTRODUCTION

Usually when a master's programme is introduced,an adequately funded under-

graduate library collection is firmly in place. Unfortunately, the under-

graduate programmes in the Centre for the Arts have never enjoyed full on-going

library funding. The traditional art history print materials required by a variety

of liberal arts and education courses are in place, but collections of books and

journals supporting the experimental avant-garde focus of the Centre are barely at

an initial study level. The collections of non-print materials - slides and

recordings - are less than adequate for the undergraduate programme, and provision

of access to the non-print collections is inadequate in terms of hours of service,

equipment provided, space, or cataloguing.

As the proposal for the MFA programme makes clear, the outlined graduate courses

cover the same areas of specialty as the present undergraduate programme. The

library needs are not different than those of the current undergrad programme, but

while the undergrad courses may be able to operate with less than adequate library

resources, there will be difficulty in attracting and keeping good graduate

students if the library situation is not upgraded. As the proposal suggests, until

the library's collection is expanded, some student needs could be met by access to

other libraries through inter-library loan. In this regard, it should be taken

into account that only UBC Wilson Library recordings circulate; UBC Music Library

recordings do not. Scores, monographs and periodicals are available through

inter-library loan, but heavy reliance on materials in other institutions puts our

students at a disadvantage.

---

-2-

6

NEW BOOKS

Approval Plan Profiles

Approval plans with Blackwell's North America and Coutts determine which new books

from major presses will be purchased by the library. The profiles covering the

approval plans currently provide broad coverage in publications on the contemporary

arts from trade and university presses. The only necessary change would be to have

all play scripts and film scripts sent automatically, rather than purchased at the

discretion of the Collections Management Office as at present. Estimated annual

cost of enriching the approval plans: $2,000.

Exhibition Catalogues

The approval plans cover exhibition catalogues published by university and trade

presses fairly well, but are less reliable for catalogues from small galleries and

presses. Worldwide Books, a catalogue distributor, estimated in 1984 that an

approval plan covering all English-text catalogues of post-1970 art, excluding

trade and university press publications, would cost $1600 US. By using even more

selective criteria, the cost could be reduced to ca $500 annually.

Scores

The approval plans bring only a small number of scores into the library, i.e. those

published by Dover Press, the reprint house. No ongoing budget for scores by

contemporary composers has been allocated and discretionary purchases have varied

from Ca. $800 in some years to nil. At Ca. $40 - per average score, at least $400

annually would be required to add even the most important ten scores of the year.

---

-3-

?

Li

SLIDES

No ongoing budget for slides has been allocated. At Ca. $2 - per slide, at east

$1000 - annually is required to maintain currency and rep1ace deteriorating items.

DECflOflT

PJ((

No ongoing budget for recordings has been allocated., At Ca. $10 - per LP, an

annual allocation of at least $300 - is required just to add each year's top thirty

new albums to the collection. Given the contemporary. focus of the programme,

currency is extremely important. As compact disc technology. overtakes traditional

systems, the additions to the collection should, be. purchased in CD. format whenever

possible. The increased. initial, expense ($

16

-

$26 per item), should be offset by

decreased replacement costs., as CDs withstand wear-and

.

-tear better than traditional

recordings.

.

LI

---

1 - 1

?

Conclusion

Annual Amount Required in Addition to Current Allocations::

Books

approval plan

?

$ 2,000 ?

exhibition catalogues

and ephemera ?

500

scores ?

400

Recordings ?

300

Slides ?

1,000

Journal Subscriptions

?

854+

.

?

TOTAL ?

$ 5,050+ per year

Inaugural Purchases:

Books, including exhibition

catalogues and scores

?

$ 4,500 ?

Recordings, including

compact discs

?

4,000

Backfiles

?

2,500

TOTAL

?

$11,000

These figures are not a consequence of added requirements of a graduate programme

in the Centre for the Arts. In fact, as the proposal makes clear, the small number

of participants, the strong studio component, and the very specific focus combine

to ensure that the graduate programme would require no more library resources than

the undergraduate programme. However, as stated in the introduction, current

.

?

library support for the undergraduate programme is less than adequate.

WANG 0231V

10 November 1987

---

RECOMMENDED JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

Prices are approximate and do not allow for varying exchange rates:

DANCE ?

Dance Teacher ?

$21.00

Dance Theatre Journal

?

$24.00

New Dance: Magazine of Experimental and progressive dance

?

$30.00

FILM ?

American Film

?

$20.00

Film History: A New International Journal

?

$75.00

International Index to Film Periodicals

?

$75.00

Spiral ?

$20.00

Velvet Light Trap

?

$18.00

Wide Angle

?

$34.00

INTER- ?

Billboard ?

$166.00

DISCIPLINARY ?

High Performance ?

$24.00

Women and Performance; a Journal of Feminist Theory

?

$15.00

Word & Image: A JOurnal of Verbal/Visual Enquiry

?

$80.00

MUSIC ?

Bulletin CEC Newsletter

?

$40.00

Cinema Score. The Film Music Journal

?

$13.00

Ear; a magazine of new music

?

$20.00

Electronic Musician (formerly Polyphony)

?

$22.00

Hugh Le Caine Project Newsletter

?

$ n.p.

Music Works; Canadian Journal of Sound Explorations

$36.00

VISUAL ART

?

Border/Lines ?

$15.00

Bomb ?

$18.00

C Magazine ?

$16.00

Canadian Art

?

$20.00

Last Issue ?

$12.00

?

.

Oxford Art Journal

?

$40.00

TOTAL: ?

$854/yr.

---

The people who we propose as external assessors were chosen with two main criteria

in mind: first, they are people of high academic reputation with wide experience of the

international scene in contemporary cultural and educational directions. Second they

are themselves representative of the different disciplines which are taught in the

Simon Fraser University Centre for the Arts and can adjudicate the proposal from the

point 'of view of the relationship of those disciplines to the interdisciplinary context.

They are:

Gladys Bailin,

Professor and Chair,

Dance Department,

Ohio University,

Athens, Ohio

Ms Bailin was a founding member of the Alwin Nikolais Dance Theatre in New York

City and remained with the company for 20 years as leading dancer. She has been

guest artist and teacher at many universities including UCLA,

UC Santa Cruz, UC

Long Beach, and Simon Fraser University. As a dance educator of unparalleled

experience, she is

familiar with graduate and undergraduate programs throughout

• ?

North America, and

is therefore highly qualifiied to assess this proposal.

Glenn Lewis,

Head,

Media Arts Section,

The Canada Council,

Ottawa, Ontario

Mr. Lewis has a distinguished background as sculptor, media artist, and arts

administrator. The Media Arts section of the Canada Council gives grants to

individuals and organizations involved in film, video, and interdisciplinary

technological art. As Head of this section, Mr. Lewis sees work from all over the

country and travels widely to meet representatives of arts organizations. Noone in

Canada therefore has a more comprehensive view of the current state of media arts,

whether from the artistic, technological, or educational standpoints. Since before

taking up his current appointment he worked in Vancouver as an arts administrator for

twelve years, he is exceptionally well acquainted with the British Columbia situation.

Gerald O'Grady

Director,

Educational Corn munications Cen ter,

300 Wende Hall

S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo,

Buffalo, N.Y., 14214

.

---

External

,.

Evaluators

?

S

Herbert Shore

University of Southern Cáiiôrniá

Glenn Lwis

Head, Media Arts

Canada Council

Ottawa, Ontá±iO

Gérad ÔGrady

Chairman, Media Cèntré

SUN!

Buffalo

Gladys Bailin

Professor and Chairman

Department

of

Dahce

University of Ohio

Athens, Ohio

?

.

David Keane

Professor, Dóparttheit 61 Music

Queens University

Kingston, Ontario

0

---

CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

?

FACULTY LISTING

0

?

PROFESSORS

Martin Bartlett B.A., B.Mus (Br. Col.), M.A. (Mills) - Music

Composition; electro-acoustic and computer music; music of Asia

Iris Garland B.S. (Ill.), M.S. (Calif.) - Dance

Choreography; dance history; dance analysis (Laban certification)

Grant Strate B.A.. L.L.B.

(Alta.),

Director - Dance

Choreography; dance history; arts administration

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Evan Alderson B.A. (Haverford), M.A. Ph.D. (Calif.), - Interdisciplinary

Dance theory and aesthetics; performing arts criticism; interdisciplinary art

history and theory; sociology of art

Santa Aloi B.A. (Cornell), M.A. (Col.) - Dance

Choreography; performance; directing

Marc Diamond B.A. (W. Ont.), M.A., Ph.D. (Tor.) - Theatre

Directing; acting; playwriting; fiction writing; theatre history

Kaja Silverman B.A..

M.A.

(Calif.), Ph.D. (Brown) - Film, joint appointment

with Women's Studies

Film theory; feminist theory; semiotics

Barry D. Truax

B.

S

c. (Qu.) M.Mus (Br. Col.) - Music, joint appointment

With communication

Composition; electro-acoustic and computer music; sound exploration

Owen Underhill B-Mus (Vic. B.C.), M.A. (S.U.N.Y.) - Music

Composition; performance; contemporary music analysis

Assistant Professor

Monique Giard B.Ed. (Qu.) - Dance

Choreography; performance; performance installations; dance for television

.

I

TiE!

JAN t19

Office

---

Dr. O'Grady is former director of the

Ce

n ter

for

Media Study at SUNY Buffalo, has

taught film and media at the New School for Social Research, New York University,

Antioch College, and many other institutions. His career has many parallels with that

of Marshall McLuhan--beginning with work In English literature (particularly mediaeval

studies) and continuing to research in film, educational technology, and the impact of

commercial and experimental media. He has done a great deal of consulting,

including membership in the the New York State Advisory Committee on the Arts,

consultant in educational media program development at Ryerson Polytechnic, and as

programs.

Director and coordinator of many' conferences, summer institutes, and special

David Keane,

Associate Professor,

Department of Music,

Queen's University,

Kingston, Ontario

Professor Keane is a well-known. Canadian composer, primarily of electroacoustic.

music, with extensive experience in mixed media work His work is widely presented:

throughout North America and Europe, including many performances at, major

international festivals, including the Holland Festival and the. International Festival of

Experimental Music at Bourges. He is active in many national and international.

organizations, such as the Canadian Electroacoustic Community, and the, International

Society for Contemporary Music. He serves regularly as a member

.

of Canada Council

juries and arts advisory boards. His experience, and reputation as a widely-travelled.

creative

advanced

artist

education

and educator

in the arts.

have given him a broad perspective on, current

: issues in

Herbert Shore,

Associate Dean,

School of Performing Arts,

University of Southern California,

Los Angeles, Calif.

90089

With a background in drama, film and television as writer and, director, Professor

Shore has moved on to engage the larger issues of the role of the arts in technological

society and the process of cultural transformation in

.

the global context. As a

consultant on cultural development iand the perfoyming arts he has worked for

UNESCO, the Institute of American Indian Arts, theAustralia Council, the ministries of

culture of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, and in Ethiopia, Zambia Nigeria and

Mozambique. His long list of publications include works on cultural policy, the arts in

developing nations, and specific studies of African, Americanand Asian writers and

dramatists. ?

.

---

Patricia Gruben B.A. (Rice) - Film

Film writing; filmmaking; directing; narrative film editing

Henry Jesionka B.A.A. (Ryerson), M.A.(S.U.N.Y.) - Film

Experimental film; video; new technologies; writing

David K. Maclntyre B.Mus., M.Mus. (Vie, B.C.) - Music

Composition; interdisciplinary performance; music for drama and dance

Anne Rams den

B.A. (Queens), B.F.A. (NSCAD), M.F.A. (Concordia) - Visual Art

Image and text; script writing and video production; post-structuralist

feminist and critical theory

Greg Snider B.S., M.F.A. (Wis) - Visual Art

Sculpture; critical

theory and analysis

• ?

Penelope Stella B.A.

(Ill.) -

Theatre

Directing; acting; playwriting; movement for actors; voice and mask

Other faculty available for graduate committees

Barry Hegland B.A. (Lethbridge),

M.F.A.

(Illinois)

(Lecturer, Theatre Manager) - Technical Theatre

Stage lighting, theatre architecture

John Macfarlane B.A. (Reed Coil),

(Lecturer, Assistant Director

of

the Centre for the Arts)

-Technical Theatre

Stage lighting; arts administration

Maureen McKellar (Lecturer) - Dance

Choreography; performance; Laban movement

analysis

Donna Zap! B. Mus.,

MA.

(Vic. B.C.)

(Lecturer) - Music

Interdisciplinary art history and theory; cultural criticism; contemporary

music theory and criticism

Jerry Zaslove BA.(Western Reserve), Ph.D. (Wash)

(Associate Professor, English)

Film theory; aesthetics; dramaturgy; sociology of art.

---

APPENDIX G:

Re p

orts from External Reviewers:

Dr. W. Benjamin, Director, School of Music, U.B.C.

Prof. D. Keane, Professor, School of Music, Queen's

University

Mr. G. Lewis, Head, Media Arts, Canada Council

Prof. H. Shore, Associate Dean, School of Performing Arts,

U.C.L.A.

Dr. A. Welch, Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of

Victoria

Re p

l

y

to External Reviewers:

Prof. M. Bartlett, Centre for the Arts

S

---

riCaN

, 1

?

15 ?

ACNGP-89-B1

• ?

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

School of Music

6361 Memorial Road

IESj

?

Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T

IWS

Tckpbone (604)228.3113

April 17, 1989

Dr. B.P. Clayman, Dean

Graduate Studies

Simon Fraser University

Burnaby, B.C.

V5A 1S6

Dear Dean Clayman,

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed M.F.A. in

interdisciplinary Fine and Performing Arts Studies. I will deal in order with

the list of concerns provided in your letter of 15 February.

I find the proposed program to be meritorious as to format and content. There

is a good balance between practical and critical work, and the notion of an

academic core of two interdisciplinary seminars is an Innovative yet

convincing response to the challenge of creating the desired interdisciplinary

context. I find the workload realistic for the two-year time frame, and

approve of two-year Mastér

a

S

programs with thesis (as opposed to shorter

programs without thesis), where the intent is that the degree be terminal.

1 think two matters need clarification: 1) the scope of the thesis, and 2)

the nature of the Supervisory Committee. With regard to 1) one can never err

in

providing too much guidance to students as to the intended length, size, or

degree of ambitiousness of the final project; and as to any requirement that

It be performed, installed, exhibited, produced, etc.; nor is it ever

superfluous to provide a list of plausible examples, together with some

caveats. More crucially, it is not clear if the program is meant to preclude

the production: of a work, as a final project, that is not essentially

interdisciplinary. Will the student be permitted to write a film script,

produce some sculpture, or compose a work for chamber group, without

substantial involvement in other disciplines?

40

?

?

theses,

raises 2) since, if the intention is to permit essentially disciplinary

theses, as well as interdisciplinary ones, why insist on a Supervisory

.12

---

,-,F'P-1T-E:' ?

r•ic'•i ?

1:115

-2-

Committee that is interdisciplinary in nature?

Also, it is

not clear, at the

top of

p.

6, If the Supervisory Committee must have a minimum of three, or

only of two, members.

These points aside, I find little to quarrel with in the proposal from a

substantive angle.

With regard to the adequacy of human and other resources, I very much agree

that a senior person on the critical side is necessary. Looking over the

list

of faculty and their areas of strength, I think it

is

fair to say, at the risk

of being thought to have a natural bias, that critical expertise in music may

be the most pressing need, there being no one on the full-time faculty who

claims it. There are an increasing number of excellent non-traditional

musical scholar-critics who might be considered for an interdisciplinary

teaching and administrative role such as is being contemplated.

Two types of resource are, however, a source of concern for me. First, I find

that the need for enhancement of the SFU library collections in the arts and

in art criticism is understated, and I am troubled by the naivete in the

description of projected needs in such areas as scores, slides,, and records;

and somewhat put off by mention of "the most Important ten scores of the

year" )

as If one were talking about the Downbeat Poll or the Juno. awards.

Surely it would be imperative to add at least 0O scores a year, composed

during the last seventy-five years, to the point where one might be said to

have a truly representative collection

of

20th-century and contemporary

scores. Other crucial library needs would be books in criticism no longer in

print, dissertations, and a comprehensive serials collection. I find the

proposed serials list extremely sketchy. In music, for example, one would

expect Perspectives of New Music, Journal of Music Theory, Music Analysis,

Music Perception, Chadian University Music Review and Muslktheorie, all of

which contain important articles on new music, to be included, unless SFU

lriiiu has themIn nnr1, there i'i eYlrlPnc,r in th

?

IIhFniifln

fif II

somewhat cavalier attutuae towara tne neea ror iiorary aeveiopmetlt, aria

I

would recommend that the program's proponents be required to address this

deficiency in a final draft.

The second resource that may have to be enriched is that

of

graduate support.

Since SFU has opted to increase undergraduate enrollment signficantly over the

next few years, and will receive l.argesums to do so, it is unlikely that It

can count on a big increase In available levels of graduate support, except

perhaps in the T.A. area. Also, Canada Council felTsh1ps, while available,

tend to go to students doing doctoral work, or students studying abroad.

S

0

---

.

-3-

While SF1? students will get their share, particularly if the program acquires

a reputation for excellence, this support will become harder to get overall,

and it would be unwise to count on it in a major way. I would suggest,

therefore, that some serious thought need be given to financing fellowships

for students in this program from special University endowments, perhaps from

campaign funds, using the argument that this Master's merits special

consideration as a terminal degree.

I think the proponents of the program give a fair estimate of demand. The

program would be unique in Canada in some

ways,

although it is something of an

overstatement to say that other institutions do not provide for

interdisciplinary graduate degrees in the arts. The point is that this would,

at the present time, be the only degree explicitly oriented toward the

multidisciplinary approach as a norm, and I believe that many artists are

seeking a training context which is non-traditional and In which a focus on

concerns shared with the other art is natural and easily accomodated.

Ultimately, of course, the, question of demand from applicants is inseparable

from that of demand for graduates. Here, one must first say that one does not

start programs of this sort largely with a view to responding to the job

• ?

market, but with regard to the needs of young artists for growth and

stimulation. Nevertheless, some consideration of eventual employment is not

out of place.

The main worry, in this regard, is of course the question of the Doctorate.

It is one thing to declare the Master' a terminal degree, and another to

determine the marketplace's requirements th

various fields. In university

teaching, the Master's suffices only where the applicant for a job has an

established reputation, as everyone knows; so it is likely that graduates of

the MFA who seek university positions will want to complete their educations

at other institutions. And a certain number

of

potential applicants would be

deterred by this, preferring instead to pursue graduate studies in a single

location.

Individuals aiming at other careers, however, will find the program suitable

for their needs: prospective college instructors, secondary school teachers

and coordinators, arts program directors, planners, and executives, and, above

all, freelance artists or artist/teachers. The demand for graduates will thus

be a factor

of

the overall health

of

the arts in this country, and to the

extent that the program could affect this, the program will be a node in a

'''/4

---

F-I

1 ?

-

J. I

-

-

?

UU ? .

•-.• -

-

4 - ?

.

feedback loop, its efficacy contributing to the situation which generates the

demand for it. However, demand for art in a modern democracy being to some

extent artificial, rather than strictly a product of market forces, a lot will

depend on the political atmosphere and the commitment of governments to foster

artistic activity. These are imponderables. In any case, the idea behind the

program is certainly Sound and it should definitely be tried.

Finally, a concluding comment: as some of your

faculty

may know, I have long

wished that SFU would undertake a graduate program of the sort now being

proposed, not primarily in addition to its current offerings at the

undergraduate level, butinstead of them. It seems to me that the proposed

program is just what is called for, providing that those admitted to it are

well trained along (at least partially traditional) disciplinary lines. I do

not see where technical sophistication or secure command of aesthetic approach

are to come from in the absence

of

years of disciplined, In-depth Involvement

with the classical problems of one 'artistic discipline, and therefore with

its

history, its traditions, its arilfactual repertory, its established

techniques, its categories of thought, etc. Always allowing that there will

be mavericks and iconoclasts of one kind or another, not to mention a genius

once every few decades, I am of the view that for almost all serious artists,

the most useful training for today's world starts from within a discipline, an

broadens out to embrace a generality of concern that permits

cross-disciplinar

y

thinking and technical Integration. I would hope,

therefore, that one of the results of this program implementation, over the

next decade or so, would be a rethinking .of the undergraduate training In the

arts now provided at SFU, with a view to extablishing disciplinary majors in

some of the arts, within a B.A. of the liberal arts type. Such majors should

not duplicate UBC'S undergraduate offerings, and need not: In music, for

example, the SFU orientation would pYesurnbly be less toward concert

performance, composition for the concert hall, and preparation for scholarship

in the music journals; and more toward performance and composition applied to

other arts, to media, and to education; and toward informed music journalism

in a generalized intellectual context; a difference corresponding to a

distinction that ought to pertain between the degree citations B. Mus. and

B.A. One could only applaud such a development, which would not conflict in

principle with what you already have, only intensify and particularize It

within each discipline.

---

r•i'j, ?

15:1:: ?

p_CIE.

-5-

I

trust

this has been of some use., and I wish the Centre for the Arts much

luck in its efforts directed at this program.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. William Benjamin,

Director

F-.^

0

---

04/20/89 1025

?

'613 545 6300

SCHOOL OF MUSIC

ACNGP-89-B2.

QUEENS UNIV P 0

?

Ij001i006

DEAN

STVC)IFS

Or

010C"All

Qieervs University

Kingston, Canada

X7L

3N6

0 P Y

C:

0

F: y

G0 P

y

c o p y f: 0 p y C: 0 F' V

C:

0 P V C 0 F' V

24 March, ii€3G

Or ?

B. P.

?

mia

Deri •:' f C

:

i

r dt,i,t e St t'd I

3irnc'ii Fr.er iJriiverity

V5A

Li

U

r ii

156

a ID Y

r

L*i'

Dean Clayman:

P1 eac forgive my delay in maki nçi this report, but

fit the end of February

I

?

ucJden1 y found myiel f ';.ver '-':c'mrni ttecJ (not

for

i.;he

fi

ritt time, al

c'.

s) and

.m

iiIil y ;

i.:iw:1 y 1i.ru:Jin

?

my way cut

?

j.

?

I.IU

fi.;ttt erct

to

hcv€

btcri a5I:ed

csDrngnçnt on t he ::

:

eiit r i for the Arts, pr i::.piDsal and am p1 eased to ?iay that I

find It a very 1 nteretiit I nq ancj w..'r thwhi 1

e

under tak I r

P1 are find my report eric 1 osed ?

I f I can be

,

of

Any

fi.wther ?

ai stance in

?

any way, p1 ease do riot hesii t ate to

&5A-I-oo

Si n : e e 1 y,

David Keane

Professor

P. S.

?

t'Jh 1 ch b ?

1 ncis

?

t;o ?

ml rid an

?

additional

?

small ?

p01 ut

?

(k.ieeru ?

tini

"er Si t y

was ?

c

s

od

?

enciuc]h

to ?

pr '::'mot

me

to

Pro fesor ?

in

1965. ?

it ?

is of no greta

:nsequenc€,

but ?

I ?

wc'ui d ?

a!i.k

?

that ?

Appends ?

E (whi di

?

i. rich ctes that

?

I

ii ?

Asc": i ate

Fr ':' fec

'

r )

?

be

or r ec t id ,

?

h'.t..i], d

any ?

future use be made •:, f

t: lie document.

Thank you

---

.

I

1t,:.0 ?

J(JA)

u' j

u ouv ?

ULL.I) U'I& V

r

U

?

QJ ?

.,.,'-

EVALUATION OF THE SIMON FRASER L)NIVERS1T Y CENTRE FOR THE ARTS PROPOSAL

FOR A GRADUATE PROGRAM IN INTERDISCIPLINARY FINE AND PERFORMING ART

STUDIES LEADING TO THE DEGr:EE OF MASTER OF FINE ART

David

School

Keane,

of

Music

Professor

(uCen'

S

University

Kirigton, Ontario, I(7L 3N6

telephone:

?

:613) .45-2066

email: KEANE

@ QUCDN

i ?

Academic Merit

The program

proposed

by Simon Fraser University would provide a valuable

option for young c:nadiar, artists. The opportunity for serious advanced

study

in

a freely and genuinely interdisciplina

r

y environment is

potentially available at the Banff School

of Fine Arts, but

probably not

el eswhere in

the

country at prsent

?

While there

are

major

di f ferences

in the proposed program and

that at

Banff, there are some marked ri.mjnc'n

objectives that call for

at

least a brief comparasort. One can certainly

ar

g

ue

that young artists

should have opt i oris without

havin g to leave

Canada. but the value of a program

such

as that proposed by SFU goes

beyond 5tmp1y offering an alternative. The lo,;at; ion of the University in

a major metropolitan centre

......

.

one which

is noted for Its fresh and

lively activity in all the arts - offers an experience with an entirely

different complexio n

from the wilderness isc•).at ion (which has its own

groat values, of s:c

'

urse) of Banff. And, despi

te

the strong

focus

on the

practical side

of art

makin g

, the SF'UJ program is nevertheless an academic

course leading to a degree.

The fact that

faculty research projects have, in past

years,

promoted

interdisciplinary cooperation with Communications, Engineering,

c:i:ttnputer

Science, and other departments within the racu:L ty of Arts provi. des

an

excellent basis for

the

graduate program. I

would

urge that, in

preparing the graduate course, efforts to extend and expand

this

cooperatio

n

be commensurate with those to integrate the fine an; areas.

A breadth of

knowledge, especially

in technological

areas, is essential

for today's artists. It is certainly important that the artist-teachers

offering

the Masters program be informed and experienced in the

technologies that relate to their respective artistic work,

but it is

equally important that the students also have alternatives to the filter

of their

immediate

instructors. The fourth paragraph under section III.,

1. in the Proposal does stress the intention of those

administering the

Mastirproiram to draw upon the

"fields

that lie outside the normal

accomplished is not explained, where, on the other

hand,

there

is

extensive explanation of how the program will operate from within the

ar t

S.

One or the most

difficult

problems for

instruction in an

interdisciplinary environment is the

issue of level of

instruction.

If

the students are a mixture of experts from a variety of areas,

they are

.

---

;i

q

'z,,o

J ?

i,j:

LU ?

.010 04D 00i:1l:1 ?

VJ1ZP4 LiDfl V V

U ?

IJUUi/(1Ub

S

also, inversely, non-experts in the majority

of

areas with which an

interdisciplinary course must

deal. Maintaining an academic level

appropriate to

a graduate degree

program while straddling the expert i e

and inexperti

SF?

of the class u,tui,bers in any given area is a formiclible

task.

?

It is there

fore

not comforting

to

the reader of the Prop'::

, sal

to

see that FPA 01 1/812, Xriterdi: ipi i inry Graduate Seminar does not yet

have a designated instructor 1 I . e. the new graduate program director

will

teach the course, and that person is not identified in the document 3.

It is clear

that the compilers of the Proposal intend that FPA

811/012 be

the

corne

rstone of

the Graduate Program. And it is

equally

clear that

there

has

been some serious thinki ny about the difficulties of the

interdisciplinary approach. The concerns raised by the ambiguity of the

staffing are more

than offset by

the imagination

and thoroughness of the

various proposals for this course. With the possible except i on of too

narrow a

focus

on American work

in

the

second of the proposals, the

pY

opc.sal s are excellent. The third

proposal is

certainly

intr

iguing,

though one would like to see more coverage of

the

body' implications in

rnuic. The Partch topic is an interestin g

one, but

there

surely

is a

good deal more that might be b

y

oucjht

into

balance with the more

ext

e

n

s

i

ve

c

'

:;

'

nsi derat i

c'ns of the other areas. For example, the

work of Eaton

and

R':.se,,bc,c.n in musical biofeedback,

or the various influences of Tibetan

musical pra

'

:t i ':es (espe': i al 1 y those coririe

' :teJ with breathing) on 20th

century contemporary

music

might be included.. The first of the three

proposals is exceptionally good and the wealth of

entirely

workable foci

for

int1 legent and effective interdisciplinary

instruct ion

in all the

proposals suggests

that

the problems can be masterfully

overcome.

The program structure is

quite loose

,

and flexible, as it should

be for

the

kind of work it sets out to do, but there is sufficient

integrity in

the stru': iw

e to allow the student, who une5 his/her time carefully

and

intelligently, to

gai

n

a ooc'd deal

from the program. Early in the

proposal there is

considerable emphasis

on

the stress of practical

considerations in the program • I was p1 eased to see,

however, that

the

theoretical foundations will not be neglected. Aesthetics issues, for

example ? appear

as

important c.::.mpc

'

nents of i,c'i only the seminar c':.urse

mentioned above, but in

the majority of course

proposals.

II . Adequacy

of the Resources

I :'j and admire

my

musical •

:ol ]. eaqes at Simon Fraser; Martin Bartlett',

Barry Jr uax , and Owen Underhill. Each haso very different approach to

music and the musical community from the other, but each makes

particularly siurmi licant and notable cc

' ntributions to

the field

nationally

and internationally. Even the local act i vi. ti.s of each at EW1J

and in the Vancouver area are

sufficiently

important that

that these

often have national and international impact . There is no doubt in my

mind that SF(J has more than sufficient staff resources in the music area

to offer an effective procram.

?

1)

I am

not acquainted with the

work of the other staff out5ide

(fly

own area,

with the exception of Iris Oar land whose work I v ei: all from the time I

was briefly associated with Simon Fraser (1969-70). i have no reason t

---

0

.

.

dOUbt, however, that the staffi

?

ng

o

f the other disciplines is inferior

to

that in

?

muic.

s

i::ertainly, at the time I worked at SE1J, I

was impressed

with the caliber of both the

staff and the students asso

'

: i

ated with the

Centre: for the Arts.

I would draw further upon my

exper I en':e at Si mon

Fraser

to

say that ti

le

-

Centre for

tile Arts is an ideal envi r cirierit

for

the pr c.posed

i nterdi s': i ]. I nary

?

.:ourse

Although

WC At

L.!L(E'CII '

5

have aspi

rat

ions

to

dcii nq Of

fe

' :: t I

y

e work in the area of j ntGmrated media i nstrLict ion, we

have some cs::,nsiderabi e cii sacivantacles. }Zi r'

q

an oX der

university with an

evolved stru

' :

ture,

the arts

deparlmerlts

(1-

Fine

i im,

Art, Drama,

and the

Sch':'ol c' f Musi :, operate

ent I

reX y

independent i:'f •::,

'

ne

.ano4;

her

and are

var ic'usl y answer able to two Assc": i ate Dearn

within the Faculty.

The

departments are physi':ai ly widely separated and there is nottiinf. in the

environment to encourage

.

: s

;ioperat ion

e'::ept the will

of

the

L ndi v.iduai

S

concerned

?

I think that if Queen's is iiüt typical, it actually has

a somewhat more coi:

'

perckt I

y

e si

tuat

ion,

than many uni

versi ties in this

country. The sL;ru': ture,

and the e't

ended

exper

I eii'_:e of that structure,

found iii the

Centre for the

Arts at Simon Fraser i ideal for providing

ease of a':cess

to staff

fac:

I ]. t.& e and fe3. low students

from

other

di s': ipi I nes.

?

ii; is esseiit i al that

both

the theory and the pr:t ice of

intordi s

'

: ipl i nary a:

i

:ess be unccsmpi i

'

:ated and immedi. ate arid T. think that

ttle ':.ntre

for

I;he

Arts

offers tiii s.

What I know of

.

...

.

e physical fa'; iii ties i. n the Centre fc

'

the Arts through

vlsi t s to the

Si mont Fraser

c

ampus every t we:.'

or three years, is su f f is: i ertt

to be con ficlent

that these res::'urCeS are appropriate, for the

program ?

I

am a

?

ware

o

f particularly go:Icl

?

I ri

music te

'

::hnol •:

s gy ?

New to me,

however, is the estabi I hment

f the

e d

' ; '

wnt own exh lb I t ion and research

space.

This is

an

excel lent move On the rc.r t i:'f Si mon

Fr.

aser ?

The arts

?

need

to

be ani':'ny people. Whi Xe u.n versii;y staff and

students are

certainly people, they are a

r

at he special i ud

sampi.

0

1

An urban

exhibitiOn spa':e is an i. rival

uahl e asset

for

the

program

f

.

--•r

providi rig

exposure of student (arid staff, prewnab1 y)

work to a general public

and for all owl ny the impact of that exposure tc. ref 1 ect back upon the

work.

The only serious reser vat 1 on aboLit resources that I am i:ompel led t c

'

cite

is an echo of

the

sentiments

Indicated in the library report. I have no

faini 1 iarity with the holdings f

the Simon Fraser ii brar I es, but I am

very sensitive to the

g

reat need for lequate library resources for

artists. BeCaL'SC the

aesthet i.:s, the practice, and the te

'

:hnc'i ociies of

the arts now develop with astc'ni shiny rapidity arid are 9erirat(?d from ••

Wi. de

g

ran

e of sour': * arn':srig an enormous inter nat i onal communi

t

y, it 2

abs':'l ut ely essent I aX that tuden1;

s

and t all have the means to

?

?I.J ?

thernsei

y

es i ri formed. Of part i cul or i mportari':.e are the periodicals.

EJoDkS cannot be published with Sufficient speed to maintain cur r ency.

CcinsCqL.tentlY, it is veEy important that national arid int;ernati':'r"l

periodicals, broadly cover Lug

the field, be at hand.

while I am nt qual i f i ed to pass •:o,nment

on the? recommended .journ].

subscript ions in the i:utheI areas, I would venture to say that the t it 1 es

suggtecl in the music area are certainly esent i al ones. I dcs ni:'t know

what subscript 1 oris are already supported by SFU, but if there are not

---

V

1

1

I

4IL11

OV

?

j;:

/_

tj

?

4jux,. ?

u.js.'u ?

V11

T i '

?

tJ

•-' •-''- ?

'I

.

it ?

rci,,abl

and that this

monographs

And

acquisitions is

present subscriptio

ns

to these rei:cinrnencJc1 publications,

lv

'

)

assume that the current subscriptions are quite modest

list

IS

also quite spartan.. Given the high cost of both

per

iodicals, r

would venture that the proposed budget for

certainly rea5onabley

if not actually too ii ttica.

III.

Est

i mate of Demand

for

the Program by

Prospective

student

We at Queen's

?

seeing definite increases i n the number of our

?

graduate5 sr I cusi y interested

in

integrated media and who are looking

for a course of the type

proposed. Mor

eOver

i

the fact that Simon Fraser

is already unf fi ci al 1 y offering the prUpiDsc?d program under the Special

Arrangements M( certainly demonstrates that there is a market for what

FtJ has to offer.

I am familiar with the work of

at least .::'ne artist who

has completed this program In

the

music area (Paul i)oi den)

?

His ?

achievements in the field, despite his youth, are already

•:.::iiisiderabie,

and I have good reason to bel I

eve' that

his expefience at SFU has

contributed not

insignificantly. I

am

ais

'

:

'

aware that

one of my own

current

students (one of the most promising that

I have encountered in

years at Queen's) is quite interested in continuing

his studies at SFU

for the

very values that are offered

in

the Masters cleçiree proposal

I have no doubt that the program will

easily

reach its target

enrol liner'

V. Estimate

of

Demand for Graduates

o

f

the F:r,:,p, DS

pd Program

The demand

for

graduates of an interdi

sc

iplinary arts program, to be

quite honest, is not large

........

at ].

east in the sense i:::'f avai 1 iabl i ty of

well-paid positions waiting for the new

professionals prc.dw:t•d by the

program.

But

the arts function in a very different way from most

occupations. Artists tend to invent their

'

Dun mode of money making.

While a few will earn their future income through teaching,

most

will

st r

uç4g l

e for years for any substantial sort of

recognition aril, even

then,

may not have subst anti ]. income. Whether successful or not, the

artist is likely

to be self-employed, in the mains

The lack .:.1 well-paid Jobs, however,

is

no reason

not to of

fe y

high level

training to .rt I sts. The training would be valued by the artists, and in

many cases thc: artistswill be valued by society. The fact that our

society has not yet determined an ef fect i

ye

way of encouraging and

rewarding artists should

not daunt educational

institut

i

ons. The more

well-trained, ::apab].e artists

we

have among us, the greater the chance we

will find the means of correcting the situation. The "demand" is in the

form of society's need f.::'r artists. And that need is, and always will

be, great.

---

.

VI. Conclusion

Tho program am proposed is promises t

o

be valuable addition to the

edu':t i oni.1 opportunities for yowiçj artists in Canada.. I sincerely hope

that Simon Fraser University will fully support

the st b]. I hm€nt of this

program and I am looking

forward

with great interest to the future

graduates.

-

?

Davici Keane

Professor

King5tonp 23 Mr:li, 1909

C

---

r

.

p ..,.

The Canada Council Conseil des Arts du Canada

March 15, 1989

ACNR89B3

W2210

CAN OF

GRADUATE ?

-

STUDIES OFFICE

?

J

B. P. Clayman

Dean of Graduate Studies

Simon Fraser University

Burnaby, B. C.

V5A lS6

Dear B.P. Clayman:

I am pleased to assist

y

ou with the review

of

the

proposed Master of Fine Arts graduate program. Iwill

attempt to give you my views on the proposed program

based on the information you sent and my knowledge of

interdisciplinary and media art activity in Canada.

I would agree that the establishment of the proposed

program of interdisciplinary studies at a graduate level

would be unique in Canada. There are more and more

artists working in interdisciplinary ways. Your

undergraduate program is commendable because it includes

an interdisciplinary direction to which many contemporary

artists can relate more meaningfully. Interdisciplinary

work is a fact of life in many university art departments

and art schools but it is rarely recognized as such with

the realism as examplified at SimOn Fraser. I think it is

very timely to introduce a graduate program based in

interdisciplinary studies.

To address the specific points on the proposed program

that you raise in your letter:

- the academic merit and structural integrity of the

proposed program -

The proposed program is a logical and meaningful

outgrowth of the direction of the existing fine and

performing arts programs at Simon Fraser. It is not

merely a good idea; it is integral, serious and relevant.

The undergraduate programs have a strong

interdisciplinary component which should give students

applying to the new graduate program an excellent

grounding in these concerns.

.

S

99 Metcalfe Street

Post Office Box 1047

Ottawa,

Ontario

K1P5V8

Telephone (613) 237-3400

Telecopier (613) 598-4390

99, rue Metcalfe

Case postale 1047

Ottawa (Ontario) KIP 5V8

Téléphone (613) 237-3400

Télécopicur (613) 598-4390

---

.

?

.../2

I think the proposed courses of studies and the balance

between studio or practical work and academic or

theoretical work is sound. The focus on the practicing

serious artist is clear and worthy.

Interdisciplinary studies, by their very nature, are very

demanding. In order to grasp a number of disciplines and

master them enough to be able to work with them, the

student will need at least the 40 required hours to

graduate.

The proposed program's three main goals and the course

work to support them:

a) the development of craft and technical skill. -The

development of skills would probably take place mainly in

FPA 883 and 885, the studio courses. This seems well

conceived. The interdisciplinary work of a large number

of artists today also involves the use of new

technologies. This is certainly not always the case but

for those that do or want to, what will the graduate

program be able to offer students who want to develop

their skills with the new technological equipment. I

•

?

?

realize that the music area is well equipped in this

regard at Simon Fraser, and of course film and video are

available but it is not clear from the information I have

if there is a concerted plan to augment your

technological environment. I noted in the budget

projection a fairly small allocation assigned to

equipment but no details. I also noted in the description

of FPA 837, Electronic Cinema and Video Production,

"Particular attention will be paid to the deployment of a

microcomputer-based 2-D, 3-D and animation system, with a

view to integrating synthetically generated imagery with

the more traditional film and video-based imaging

systems." I do not get the sense from that statement that

the computer imaging system is in place yet. A high

definition system with the necessary peripheral equipment

could be fairly expensive. Computer graphics work for

film and video is very time intensive and it is unlikely

there would be available time for students other than

those working with film and video. An additional system

with image capture and film recorder equipment might be

necessary for those who want to work with graphics

programming and still photographic images. In the

performance area, there is a lot of activity using

various technologies and within electronic environments.

It is not clear from the proposal if or how this kind of

work can be supported. I am familiar with the planned

0

---

./3

Centre

Centre

could

for Image-Sound

well answer

Research.

many of the

When

needs

established,

I have

the

?

S

questioned above as the proposal suggests in the budget

notes.

b)

the furthering of artistic creativity. Judging from

the examples given for FPA 887 and 889, these courses

• of directed study and selected topics should develop

the student's awareness and concepts of creativity.

The student will have the opportunity to explore

particular issues, writers and .artists within

disciplines as well as carry out experiments. There

was no suggested example given for FPA 889 but I

assume it will be similar to 887, only self-directed

under faculty supervision.

c)

the development of a critical awareness of the

position of the arts in contemporary society and

within the historical perspective. The

Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminars, •FPA 8-li and 812

will be the principle vehicule to promote this goal. I

have a little difficulty with some of the examples

given in relation to the stated goal. It seems to .me

that some of the topics suggested could just as easily

fit into FPA 887, Selected Topics, and that the

majority of the examples given might weigh the

Seminars too singularly as studies in art history.

The goal as stated would seem to imply a closer

connection between the need to investigate

contemporary phenomena and the arts along with its

historical roots and nostalgia and the need for the

student to make critical artistic decisions. At a

graduate level, I feel it might be more rewarding to

situate the topics of the seminars as "problems" and

the students in the seminars as "artist/analysts" and

"problem solvers". Interdisciplinary studies, by

definition, attempts to grapple with broad topics and

problems and it might be useful to express this more

directly in the intended course definitions. Without

taking the time to consider fully or discuss what

topics would best outline these goals, Ican venture a

few suggested topics which might indicate better the

points I have raised. Some examples off the top of my

head are: "the problem of art and desire in a consumer

society"; "the problem of the role of the artist and

art in relation to institutions and legislation"; "the

problem of culture, technology and the idea of

progress"; " the problem of

mind/concept/design/illusion versus

0

---

body/feelings/improvisation/reality", etc. This broad

type of topic could then draw upon history, theory and

individual writers and artists ("theory of the

avant-garde and avant garde art practice", "Roland

Barthes", "Frankfurt School", "Vienna and modernism in

the late nineteenth century", etc.) to illuminate and

situate the problems in terms of the student's critical

awareness and practice.

d) The graduating project should enable the student to

bring all the parts together, to forge the goals

together to produce coherent artistic statements. The

examining committee, particularly with the addition of

an outside faculty member to compare the student's

level of achievement with other MA programs seems

seems very well conceived.

- the adequacy of the Faculty and other resources

available to the proposed program for achieving its

intended goals -

The Centre for the Arts has a very respected art faculty.

They would be most capable in all aspects of the proposed

•

?

graduate program.

With only one new faculty position planned to organize

and lead the graduate seminars, the existing faculty at

the Centre for the Arts would have a fair amount of

additional teaching and supervising. I may be

overestimating, but I roughly calculate that with the 21

existing faculty members, 15 of them would need to double

up for the necessary 36 faculty needed for the 12

students anticipated and their 3-member supervising

committees. In addition, 12 faculty would be needed for

the studio courses and 12 for the Directed Study courses

if it is planned that each student have a faculty tutor.

Probably less faculty would be needed for the Selected

•

?

Topics and visiting faculty and sessional lecturers would

be able to help in the other courses as well. A new

faculty member, in addition to the one already planned,

would likely be welcome to lighten the increased load on

existing faculty. The probability of graduate students as

teaching assistants in the undergraduate programs should

also help to free some faculty to devote more time to

graduate teaching.

... /5

0

---

•. ./5

Increasing the library resources to provide more research

depth for the graduate program is essential. As I have

already noted, equipment resources might need to be

increased further but this may not bea problem if the

planned Centre for Image/Sound Research can meet this

need in most respects.

The facilities at the Centre for the Arts and at the

downtown campus should be adequate to accommodate the new

graduate program without the need for additional space.

- the demand for the proposed program among prospective

students -

With the strong undergraduate program at SFU and its

commitment to interdisciplinary courses, I would think

that the majority of applicants to the graduate program

would come from SFU. Others applying may be at some

disadvantage. Not having had such interdisciplinary

courses as the "Arts in Context" historical courses in

particular, in a student's undergraduate years, may make

it necessary for applicants from outside the university

to take further instruction to catch up. In spite of this

possible problem (the lack of suitable interdisciplinary

studies at other learning institutions), I feel there

will be a strong demand on the proposed program from

outside SFtJ. Just as ecology or the interpenetration of

the sciences has become a prime concern in terms of the

condition of the environment, I am aware that

interdisciplinary work has become very important to

artists in their efforts to express the condition of art

and life today. There are not many figures on

interdisciplinary activity that can be reported but I

have a few which might help to give an indication of

possible demand or interest. In my Section, Media Arts,

at the Canada Council, one of the areas we fund is called

"Research and Production Grants in Computer-Integrated

Media. This is the most interdisciplinary of the areas

we fund. In 1987 - 88 we received 68 applications and

awarded 24 grants to artists in this category. In the.

Explorations Section they estimate that 10 - 15% of their

grants are for interdisciplinary projects, which works

out roughly to about 30 - 45 grants a year for

individuals and groups. In 1986-87, with a one-time only

fund, the Canada Council accepted applications for

"Interdisciplinary Projects (Fund)". There were 128

applications accepted and another 55 transferred to other

programs. Of the 128 applications, 48 received grants;

40.1% of the grants went to Ontario, 30.9% to Quebec,

.../6 ?

0

---

15.5% to British Columbia, 4.9% to Alberta, 2.7% to

Manitoba, and 5.8% to the Maritime Provinces. There were

17 grants to individuals and the remaining 31 went to

organizations. Many of the organizations were small and

based in collaborative work and it is likely that a

number of artists in the organizations could be regarded

as potential candidates.

- the demand for graduates of the proposed program -

Beyond self-employed artists wanting to work in

interdisciplinary modes, it is difficult to estimate the

demand for graduates of this proposed program. I would

assume, however, that there would be as much demand at

-

universities, colleges and art schools for graduates from

this program as there would be for graduates of other MFA

programs. Because artists themselves are increasingly

working in interdisciplinary ways, there should be an

increasing demand for teachers who have addressed it in a

more formal manner. A degree in interdisciplinary studies

should enhance this prospect. In this time of financial

restriction, universities and schools may indeed be

• ?

seeking teachers who have a grounding in more than one

discipline in order to have more flexibility over

teaching assignments and the possible reduction in costs.

My general feeling is that this will be a good program

and I am very happy that interdisciplinary concerns are

going to be addressed in such a serious manner. These

studies are crucial in our present age and there is a

real need for discourse on the subject. A graduate

program as proposed will certainly promote these aims.

I hope I have been able to address the points you raised

in your letter satisfactorily.

I will be in Vancouver from March 16 to 29 to meet with

our clients there and have a short break over Easter.

hope to visit Simon Fraser during that time. I will be

contacting Martin Bartlett to arrange a time for my visit

(at the moment I am trying for Tuesday, March 21, in the

afternoon). If you wish to discuss any of my comments

further, please let Martin know so that we can meet

during my visit.

Yours truly,

•

Glenn Lewis

Head, Media Arts

---

ACNGP-89-B4

DIVISION OF DRAMA

AY 2 193

.!AN

OF

C:

$11iDES C-..

27 March 1989

15?

Professor B.P. Clayman,

Dean of Graduate Studies,

Simon Fraser University,

Burnaby, British Columbia,

Canada V5A 1S6

Dear Professor Clayman,

Enclosed, at long last, is my review of the proposed Master of

Fine Arts graduate program at Simon Fraser University. My

apologies for the delay in

,

getting this to you. In addition to

my "normal" university responsibilities, I have been interrupted

during this period by two trips abroad, consulting at. a sister

institution in California, preparations for USC "Southern African

Semester" in the Fall and the consideration of an offer of a

major position at another institution for the arts. All this in

an intensive, almost breathless, couple of months.

In any case, I do hope this review is of some use to you. My

apologies if it seems a.bit rambling in structure. I did. wish to

give the proposal serious and considered thought., for I believe

that the university and Grant Strate are undertaking a most

important program. The overall impact. will, in the long run, be

far greater than any of

U

.

S

can anticipate.. I never cease-to be

stimulated by Grant's fertile, imaginative and innovative:, mind.

I wish you well. If there is anything else that I can to do

assist the SFU Centre for the Arts, please do not hesitate to

call on me.

Sincerely yo s,

tt

Herbert Shore

C

.

[)RAMA CENTER • UNIVERSITY OF SOUTI'IERN CALIR )RNIA • LOS ANGELES, ('ALIR)RNIA 9OO89O7)I • (211) 74-170

---

.

?

Simon Fraser University, Center for the Arts,

Prop

osal for a Graduate Pro

g ram in Interdisciplinary

Fine and Performing Arts Studies (M.F.A.)

I shall try to focus my remarks around four main concerns:

1.

The academic merit and structural integrity of the

proposed program.

2.

The adequacy of the faculty and other resources

available to the proposed program for achieving its goals.

3.

The demand for the proposed program among prospective

students.

4.

The demand for graduates of the proposed program.

INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS

A study program of this kind will genuinely introduce

artists to two of the most powerful driving forces of

transformation affecting culture and creative expression in this

last decade of the 20th century.

--multi-culturalism, meaning not only recognition,

identification and mutual appreciation of diverse cultures,

locally, nationally and globally, but also the understanding of

the dynamics of cultural interaction (the manner in which the

interaction and mutual influence of cultures takes place). It

also means the fine tuning of the student's understanding of what

we mean by cultures when we speak of "multi-cultural" and

"cultural interaction"; an understanding that although culture

means ethnic differentiation, it is by no means limited to that.

Groups, societies and individuals create cultures, aesthetics,

creative processes and semiotic contexts around locales, regions,

the work processes, the workplace, the home and family, patterns

of urban and rural living, etc. as well around ethnic identities.

All these interact with, influence and have impact on the

creative processes, methodologies, approaches and even the media

with which the individual artist or artistic group is involved.

These have a great deal to do as well with the context within

which meaningful artist-audience relationships are formed and

take place.

--the impact of technology and scientific

concepts on the

creative process, on the forms and genres of art and on the

.

04

---

manner in which the artistic experience takes place for both

artist and audience.

?

This includes considerations in the

curriculum and the degree program itself of such matters as

computer literacy, the sound/sight media, the impact of image

processing, image enhancement and holography, the interaction of

live performers and the filmic or electronic image,, robotics and

intelligent behavior, the impact of technologies on modes of

perception and reception, sense responses and sensory emphases,

changes in patterns and processes of cognition, the nature and

characteristics of the "artistic experience," and the use of

technology in the teachin

g

of the arts as well as in the creating

and performing of the arts.

If the M.F.A. is a new degree to Simon Fraser University, then it

should consider the meaning of this degree carefully. In the

United States, and I presume at other universities in Canada, it

is considered a degree which marks the completion of the artist's

university studies or the "terminal deg:ree,"for graduate artistic

study.

In that sense in the world of the artist's studio, the

performance stage, the concert hail,and the film and television

studio, it is considered the artistic equivalent of' the Ph.D. It

is not

.

a research degree, but it is one that, couples' advanced

artistic training, the development of specific. professional

artistic skills, with mature intellectual development and

achievement.

It involves the ability to plan and conduct research,use critical

and analytic tools as well as artistic skills,, to understand the

relationships of theory and practice. Theoretical, critical and

historical issues are pursued in interaction with creative

artistic work. In this sense, it is already an interdisciplinary

study, coupling the practice of art with history, philosophy,

social sciences, humanities and even the natural and, physical

sciences.

The proposal makes reference, to the fact that: the M.F.A. is

"customarily a two year program," but the trend in the United'

States and in similar programs abroad is toward a three year

program for this degree, coupled. with a "thesis project", an

artistic work of professional excellence, evaluated by a team or

committee of internal and external examiners,and. a written essay

that involves the use of historical, analytic, theoretical and/or

critical disciplines.

.

.

2

---

.

The rapid proliferation of M.F.A. programs in the United States,

the limited number of quality faculty available and the two year

time span have combined to make these vocational training

programs. This has lowered the quality of education involved.

The highly-regarded programs now involve three academic years.

The third year is often spent, in whole or in part, off-campus,

working under guidance and supervision in a professional

environment. If this is found to be true for discipline -based

arts education, how much more it seems to apply to those programs

which are interdisciplinary, to avoid either cafeteria-style

fragmentation or superficiality.

Art disciplines are indeed subjects of serious inquiry beyond the

undergraduate level, and it is increasingly recognized that the

processes, forms and methodologies of artistic creation are

themselves modes of serious inquiry, comprehension and

understanding.

The Center's proposal recognizes the need for new

• interdisciplinary studies to deal with the changing world in

which we live, recognizing that the degree program must reflect

the fact (maybe more than "reflect", it must come to terms with

the fact) that contemporary social, cultural and technological

changes are giving rise to new synergies, new kinds of artists

and new modes of art-making and art-experiencing which question

the boundaries of the arts as they exist today, provoke complex

and stimulating relationships within and among the fine and

performing arts,and raise new issues in the relationships between

the arts and other intellectual disciplines. What is happening

among the artistic disciplines today is analogous to a process of

boundary dissolving that has taken place in the sciences since

World War II. Interestingly too, this interdisciplinary concept

is fundamental to the arts as they are found in traditional

societies and cultures.

It is important, therefore, that even as the program focuses upon

the interdisciplinary study of the the arts that it is

intercultural as well, recognizes the vital role that cultural

interaction plays upon the generation of new genres, new modes of

art making and of art presentation. Issues involved here are

matters of cultural identities, processes of acculturation within

the individual as well as groups and societies, the processes of

rupture and evolution by which new

---

S

synergies take place.

?

These too are issues that "can most

?

suitably be examined and acted upon within the university."

The claim that such a graduate program would be " a natural

outgrowth of the research and teaching presently being carried

out in the Center for the Arts" is borne out by an

examination

of

the existing undergraduate programs and activities, although it

should be pointed out that some internal programs of the Center

are stronger (music, film, dance) than others (theatre, visual

arts). The establishment of an M.F.A. in interdisciplinary FPA

studies would, therefore, not only mark the completion of its

curricular goals at this phase of its history, but might well be

an impetus to further strengthen the programs in undergraduate

studies.

The

relations

record

and

of

engaging

the Center

in

for

interdisciplinary

the Arts in

maintaining

cooperation

strong

with

other departments of the University is impressive, and could,

through the graduate program in interdisciplinary studies, be

extended further to include English (especially creative writing

and literary studies), modern languages, anthropology/sociology,

architecture and urban

planning, communications

and others. It

would also strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration among the

discipline-based programs within the Center itself.

I admire the perception, the sense of vision. (and practical

vision it is too) and the courage of Grant Strate and his

colleagues to pioneer in this direction. I find no program

similar to this at any other

Canadian

university, even in the

proposal stage. And most interdisciplinary programs in the

United States are still in rudimentary or exploratory stages,

although the direction is beginning to

.

take shape at some major

centers. For example, interdisciplinary and intercultural,

framing form the bases for new directions at the California

Institute of the Arts, and here at the University of Southern

California, I have been responsible for setting up the Divisions

of Inter-Arts and Cultural Studies.and of Performance Media, and

for creating courses throughout the arts curricula which enable

select graduate student.

, s to create individualized

interdisciplinary programs for themselves under faculty

sponsorship and supervision, both for the M.F.A. and for the

various doctorates that are available in the arts. In proposing

this M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary FPA Studies, the Center for the

.

.

4

---

.

Arts has placed itself once more at the cutting edge of advanced

education in the arts, will attain rapid recognition as an

international as well as a national pioneering center, providing

a focal site for fulfillment of an important need, placing itself

in a position to have an important impact on the arts in Canada

and in other parts of the world, similar to the significant role

played by such centers in the past as the Bauhaus and Black

Mountain College, and contributing most substantially to the

rep

utation of Simon Fraser Universit

y

as an institution of

innovative curricula, research, faculty and methodological

approaches.

I think that Grant Strate and his colleagues are to be

congratulated for the leadership, thorough thought, research,

planning and the confrontation with practical realities that have

gone into this proposal. It augers well for the successful

implementation of this degree program, and I urge that the

Committee for the Assessment of New Graduate Programs grant its

approval.

• ?

With that strong and unhesitating endorsement, I should like to

make some further specific comments dealing with the academic

merit and structural integrity of the proposed program and the

adequacy of the faculty and other resources.

CURRICULUM

In conception, the curriculum is both carefully structured and

simultaneously flexible. It allows for individual "tailor-made"

programs to suit the needs and desires of the student, allows for

a wide range in substance and method, and at the same time avoids

the random "cafeteria" approach that characterizes so many so-

called interdisciplinary programs. It is clearly oriented toward

specific educational goals. A great deal, however, depends upon

the faculty involved, and the Center's proposed program at the

graduate level genuinely demands a highly capable faculty, each

of whom is interdisciplinary in orientation, background and

experience (both educational and artistic). Such faculty are

rare and hard to find. They need either to be carefully sought

out by the Center or specifically nurtured and developed. To be

successful, a program like this, it seems to me, needs a well-

thought out and active faculty development program accompanying

it. The fact that no one presumes to know what the definitive

subject matter for the seminar is or ought to be,is a clear

.

I

5

---

indication of how necessary continuous faculty development and

collaboration will be. No indication of faculty development plans

are included in the proposal, although I am certain that these

have formed an important part of the discussions that led to the

proposal and are probably on-going even now.

The intei-disciplinary seminar

's, a the proposal indicates, are

indeed the conceptual core of the program. it is here that the

student explores the nieaningof interdisciplinary creation, the

nature of the arts and artistic boundaries, the relationship

between the arts and other disciplines, the historical evolution

of artistic disciplines, media, genres and forms, the

relationships between the arts and the societies and cultures of

which they are a part, etc. Unless the graduate students

entering Simon Fraser University are far more mature,

experienced, knowledgeable and brilliant than those whom I have

encountered in the United States, I doubt whether two one-

semester seminars will do any more than simply scratch the

surface-- unless, of course, the student comes to the program

with a solid undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies.

I would recommend that this seminar be taken in

each semester

throughout the program. After all, it is here that the student

comes to understand art-making beyond the single art discipline

as defined today. It is here that the groundwork is laid for the

development Of analytic and interpretive concepts and vocabulary.

Here, the student begins to discover what "interdisciplinary"

means, how individuals, groups, Oultures and societies approach

and have approached the cOncept, and., to see the interdisciplinary

And cross-disciplinary posibilitiés of his or her own art.

The organization and substance of the seminars are intensely

Eurocentric, and narrowly focused within the European framework.

They are organized more like advanced undergraduate courses than

graduate seminars. Why the split le'cture/ dIscussion pattern?

Why not make 'these genuine seminars, So that each student must

prepare thoroughly in advance. ?

This means reading, the ?

preparation of seminar presentations, and -being solidly prepared

for discussion. If there is need for lecture-type material,

organized by the faculty conducting the seminar, then, in a

program like this, why isn't that material banked in an

interactive computer program and access provided for the student

in a lab outside of the seminar hours.

.

6

---

In this age of technology, a great deal of material which in the

past

had

to be presented in the classroom, can now be available

to the student on the computer, on video tape and on interactive

video disc. It would seem to me that a high-tech

interdisciplinary program such as this would want to make use of

these opportunities.

This latter comment applies not only to the seminars, but to a

variety of other courses, both discipline-based and

interdisciplinary, in the arts. Courses in theatre, for example,

could offer a large body of material in stagecraft, dramatic

structures, directing, etc. on interactive video disc, computer

graphics, and other modes that can be set up and used - like

language labs are today, demanding a great deal of individual

initiative from the student. But a genuinely innovative program

such as this should be highly selective in its choice of

students, and those selected must be capable of this kind of

commitment and initiative. In addition, any program which

intends to be deeply involved with technologies, must itself use

those technologies in the teaching of its courses.

. ?

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

?

-

The course work load for the M.F.A. seems lighter than it ought

to be. In a disciplined based two year M.F.A., such as ours at

U.S.C., the load is 40

plus

the Project which is considered the

equivalent of a thesis. Sometimes it runs as high as 45 units

plus thesis. Where the M.F.A. is athree-year degree, the course

load is even higher.

I can appreciate the value of

maintaining

the "possibility of

more research-oriented projects",but these must be rare

exceptions and a rationale must clearly be developed and defended

for them. Otherwise the focus of the M.F.A. as a degree for the

practicing studio artist could be blurred and the distinction

between the M.A. and the M.F.A. (as a terminal degree for

artists) be lost. In many places, the candidate is required to

do both a creative project and a long paper of a theoretical,

speculative, historical and/or analytical nature which sets his

or ,

her work in some larger research context. This prepares the

candidate further for the oral defense examination.

I

7

---

Degree requirements such as these bring the M.F.A. more in line

with the conception, procedures, processes and standards for a

terminal degree in other disciplines. This enables universities

throughout the country to accept the degree with confidence as

"the artist's Ph.D."

DEMAND FOR THE PROPOSED PROGRAM

Indications are that there is already a substantial interest

among prospective graduate students in programs such as this.

The interest exists not only throughout North America, but in

Europe and the Pacific Rim as well. We at USC receive

approximately 40-50 inquiries per year specifically requesting

information concerning interdisciplinary programs in the arts

and/or individualized degree programs. These have come from

France, Great Britain, both Germanies, Poland, Hungary,

Australia, China, Bali, Japan and

Oanada,

as well as the United

States and parts of Latin America.

There is a rapidly rising interest in programs in music and

theatre (not musical theatre); dance, music and theatre; visual

arts and theatre; theatre, cinema and video; video and dance;

etc., each with a special interest in new technologies and in

cross-cultural studies. The writer of today seems to sense that

he or she will be writing for a variety of media and in a variety

of genres and forms. The actor/dancer, the movement artist, the

raconteur, the sound designer, all these and more are recognized

valid artistic professions. The ability of the professional,

self-employed artist to combine his or her artistic work with

other forms of educational, cultural and social employment is

becoming more and more important at this stage of society. And

equally important, the artistic process and the work of art

itself are coming more and more to be recognized as forms of

knowledge.

In time, there will be even more demands and opportunities for

the interdisciplinary trained artist than for the single

discipline-based artist, for cooperative and collaborative

talents, for diverse and flexible skills not previously

incorporated within a single program.

S

S

8

---

RESOURCES

Faculty

Most of the faculty in the Center for the Arts are themselves

practicing artists, known for their work beyond the boundaries of

the campus of Simon Fraser University and the city of Vancouver.

They form a strong core with which to launch a graduate program

such as this. Nevertheless, in the process of evolution, so that

the program does not suffer from the very success which I would

anticipate for it, that faculty will need strengthening. The two

strongest faculties for graduate study of this kind seem, at

present, to be music and dance. Film (and, I would presume,

video) and Visual Arts seem to be in the process of growing

strength, and Theatre seems to be the weakest of the areas. (This

is not meant to be a commentary on the quality of the existing

faculty members, but rather to point to the need for growth and

development for this kind of education, especially at the

graduate level.

The hiring of a Senior Faculty member to supervise the graduate

• program, organize the graduate seminars, and oversee the

evolution of the program is an important first step. In time

there will be a need for additional faculty to strengthen

graduate teaching and research. These can include, but should

not be limited to, Visiting and Sessional faculty, and the role

of the latter must be clearly defined.

It is important to initiate, develop and maintain this as a

graduate program and not simply an enlargement of an

undergraduate program, as has been the case in many institutions.

It should also be recognized as a university program and not

simply that of a separate professional conservatory or non-degree

training center. It must also be recognized that the M.F.A.

degree is a more-demanding graduate degree than an M.A. and is

not the traditional Ph.D. research-oriented degree. It demands

the dimension of research, but research conducted (and

consciously conducted) through the processes, methodologies and

techniques of art. I would suggest that the number of higher

degrees, experience in interdisciplinary studies and work, and

the years of professional experience before coming to teaching,

all need to be strengthened. Indications are that Grant Strate

and his colleagues are aware of that and that this process is

already underway.

1^1

9

---

Library Resources

Although my knowledge of the library resources at Simon Fraser

University, at the Center for the Arts and in Vancouver

(including the libraries of U.B.C.) is limited, my impressions

accumulated over several years is that their holdings in the

areas of interdisciplinary studies and intercultural studies in

the arts are very limited. Granted the access to interlibrary

loans, these holdings would have to be increased and strengthened

and the access to interlibrary systems, especially in the arts,

would need to be strengthened. For artistic holdings, this would

mean not only such traditional items as books, journals, prints,

etc., but also the greater systematic use of computers, video,

audio cassette, discs, interactive video disc systems, etc. and

access memberships in such systems as the Lincoln Center in the

U.S., the U.S. Library of Congress, the Unesco Cultural Data Bank

Systems, etc. as well as resources in other parts of Canada. This

should involve making the holdings accumulated at Simon Fraser

University available to this network flow. It also means

committing a great deal of work generated in the courses and

projects of the graduate program to video disc, interactive

programs, tape, etc.

Other Resources

The Praxis Film Development Workshop is an important resource for

the graduate program and plans must be developed for its use so

that it does not become an area of adversarial conflict between

film and interdisciplinary students and faculty.

The projected Center for Image-Sound Research is absolutely

essential to the meaningful success of the graduate program in

interdisciplinary fine and performing arts.

?

Without it, this

kind of graduate study would be crippled. Therefore, the

installation and equipping of this Center should be given the

highest priority. I would suggest further that the new Director

and some other members of the Center staff be made faculty in the

interdisciplinary graduate program.

Other technological resources and labs need to be established,

developed and maintained for teaching courses in the graduate

program, for student use in the learning processes and even for

strengthening the work of the traditional disciplined-based arts

C

10

---

-4

4

.

programs; e.g. computer graphic labs for lighting, design,

staging, etc. in theatre, graphics programs for the teaching of

dramatic structures, etc.

Antici pated

External Funds

I would suggest that in addition to those outlined in the

proposal, that the Center for the Arts think about corporate

sources as possible donors of equipment, systems, software, as

well as funds, donors of technical assistance, space research

agencies for access and use donations, individual donors whose

names might grace the various labs and centers, and special

donors of scholarship and financial aid assistance in their names

of the type that might make the explorations of the program more

intercultural, including cultural divisions of foreign

governments for specific projects.

To undertake a program such as this takes a genuine vision, a

sense of responsible leadership for arts education, the courage

to undertake innovation, pioneering exploration and meaningful

risk. For this Simon Fraser University, the Center for the Arts,

. and especially Grant Strate are to be congratulated. You all

realize, I am sure, that what you are undertaking will in time

transform both graduate and undergraduate education in the arts,

and will make of the Center for the Arts a magnet for students

and art educators around the world. Congratulations.

0

MI

---

19

?

':33

?

I0:43

?

FIR')Il I_I ')!':

t'IiiIL

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

P.O. BOX I7( VICTORIA; SIC.. CANADA V8W

2Y2

TELEPHONE 04) 72-7211. TELEX 049.7222. FAX (6()) 72I-3

-

?

BY FAX TO (604)

ACNGP-89B5

iI

'

Of.

1!-

. nsUP''

OfVICE

!

F 'UbVYOF FINE ARTS?

OFFICE OF THE DEAN

?

721-77155

291-3851

.

19. May 1989,

Dr. B.P. Clayman

'an of Gradu1t .'udie

£ -

?

'r Uni.versit'

Burnaby, B'. C. V5'A 1S6

Dear I)e.fl Ciayirtaii,

After far too long a delay I am replying to ..your letter of

February 21 concerning the proposed Master of Fine Arts

graduate

program at

Simon Vkaeor.

I

apologi7P f-hat it hn taken me so

long.

The rationale for the new program is well-stated and

accurate, and the proposal itself is moderate and sensible. It

is based

on the well-known and considerable strengths of the

faculty in the interdisciplinary study of the arts. That Simon

Fraser

has

established a very credible undergraduate program in

this

area and

has

been successfully admitting and training

graduate students by special arrangement are persuasive arguments

for making the graduate program regular. The program is

responding to the interdisciplinary nature of some contemporary

arts,

and I would assume that graduate students from this program

would become either, independent artists or might be sought by the

employers suggested in the proposal.

It is evident that the University should be ready to commit

additional funds for the library and other essential resources in

order to make the program as effective as possible. The proposal

does not conflict with our M.F.A. 'programs in Visual Arts and in

Theatre. Indeed, it would be unique in B.C.,, and, as far as I

can tell, in,

Canada as

well. I trust that Simon Fraser

University will give it the support that it 'needs to grow and

flourish.

Thank you for seeking 'my opiniOn.

AnthonyUl'e ich

Dean

.

L-1

---

- ?

ACNGP-89-B7

.

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

?

CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

MEMORANDUM

TO: B.P.Clayman, ?

FROM: M. Bartlett,

Dean, Graduate Studies

?

Centre for the Arts

SUBJECT: MFA Proposal

?

DATE: June 6, 1989

Thankyou for the opportunity to respond to the concerns

-

raised by -

the Assessment Committee for New Graduate Programs and the

external evaluators of the M.F.A. proposal.

In general, I am gratified by the assessors' responses. All of

them feel that the proposal is academically sound, practical, and,

above all, needed. Several comments stress the proposal's vision

and Its uniqueness in the Canadian university scene. I agree with

many of the concerns the Assessors have raised but do not think

they should stand In the way of the implementation of the

0.

proposal, basically as written.

I would like to comment first on the phrase "artist's Ph.D.",

(Prof. Shore) which I feel Is a dangerous catchword. The M.F.A.

degree has in common with the Ph.D. the fact that it Is oftena

terminal degree, that and no more. If the M.F.A. is an artist's

Ph.D., then perhaps we should refer to an M.B.A. as a

businessman's Ph.D., or a B.C.I.T. diploma as a plumber's Ph.D.

The point here Is that the Ph.D. is a research degree, and the

time-table for academic research is considerably different from

that for artistic production. So also the need for "academic

content", which I presume means formal course work, is different.

We must remember that Professor Shore is writing from the

standpoint of a very large American university. Please do not

forget that our proposal anticipates initially accepting a maximum

of six students per year. Such a small number of students will

receive much more individual attention than is possible in a large

Institution where there may be thirty or forty M.F.A. students.

It may be true that "the trend in the United States.., is toward a

three year program for this degree", however in Canadian

universities the

M.F.A.

program is Invariably two years. A new

master's program conceived on a three year basis would be at a

disadvantage in attracting students in the Canadian context. It

may well be that some students would prolong their studies into a

.

third year, as has been the case with some of our Special

Arrangements students, but I feel strongly that this should not be

the decreed norm.

As to the balance between studio work and academic content, while we

cannot predict at this point that we have got this exactly right,

---

-J

we are basing our plans on our experience with Special

Arrangements graduate students.

?

Speëial Arrangements has a much

smaller "academic component" (no graduate seminars at all) than

the M.F.A. proposal, yet several students have done very well in

the program and one recent graduate has had no difficulty in being

accepted into Ph.D.

?

programs at two major universities, with

offers of financial assistance.

?

It was strongly felt at

discussions at the Department level that students must not be so

encumbered with course requirements that the main goal of the

program, ?

the development of artistic excellence, would be

frustrated. ?

We envision our graduate students as being involved

with adventurous, complex and time-consuming artistic projects and

the research required to support them.

?

Experience with

undergraduate Directed Studies projects and those undertaken by

Special Arrangements graduate students, particularly in the area

of art and technology, has shown how demanding such projects can

be.

?

We may find it advisable in the future to require the

Graduate Seminar in more than two semesters, but if so,

?

it will be

easier to add to the current requirements than to legislate a

heavier course load now (with its attendant problems of support)

and find a need to cut back in the future because students and

faculty are overburdened.

?

Our present plan seems very viable:

?

we

can teach the Graduate Seminar once in each calendar year (in the

fall, say) and have the faculty and resources to offer the

Selected Topics course (also an academic component of the program)

in the other winter semester.

?

To be obliged to offer the Graduate

Seminar in every semester would make additional demands on faculty

time, disproportionate to the scale of the program as proposed.

Professor Shore comments about the substance of the Seminars (I

note that he finds them "too Eurocentric", while Professor Keane

points out "too narrow a focus on American work"); we emphasize

that the course outlines given are examples only. Professor Shore

would like to see the lecture-type material "banked in an

interactive computer program".. So would I; perhaps at USC such

facilities exist--again there is a difference of scale.

Incidentally, the development of such a program would be a good

project for the Centre for Image-Sound Research, with some of our

graduate students working on It as research assistants.

Given the importance of the Graduate Seminar, several reviewers

refer to the need for faculty development plans to Identify the

kind of scholar needed to teach it and to direct the program as a

whole. There is a double-bind here, since we clearly cannot

search for faculty for a program which has not been approved,

while on the other hand the approval of the program seems to

depend on having particular faculty members available to teach.

Informal discussions have of course taken place. The Assessment

Committee should know that funding for the Centre for Image-Sound

Research proposal has been committed by the Western

Diversification Fund, an Acting Director (Mr. Tom Sherman,

formerly of the Canada Council) apppointed, and it is expected

that a search for a Director

1

Research Director, and other staff

for this Institute will begin soon. A new Director of the Centre

---

.

for the Arts has just been appointed, Professor Rudolf Komorous, a

distinguished composer with many years experience teaching

graduate students at the Masters and Ph.D. levels. A new

Associate Professor in Film, Jacqueline Levitin, formerly chair of

the film program at Concordia University, will be joining the

faculty in September 1989. A new position in Theatre has been

approved. And finally there exists the possibility that a present

faculty member may bea candidate for the position of Graduate

Director. I hope this will be considered evidence that faculty

development is an important concern of the Department.

To address some smaller points: Dr. Benjamin (UBC) questions

whether "the intention is to permit essentially disciplinary

theses, as well as interdisciplinary ones". The answer-to this-is

no, the program is conceived as interdisciplinary, though the

broadest possible interpretation may be given of that word. Mr.

Lewis (Canada Council) finds it unclear "if there is a concerted

plan to augment your technological environment". This is a

project to which we are absolutely committed, and we are

progressing as rapidly as funds permit. In the past year, for

example, our inventory of video equipment has more than doubled.

An important concern raised by several assessors is the condition

of the Library. The proposal is frank in acknowledging the need

for resources in this area, and the need for much greater

periodicals support is particularly pressing. These matters are,

however, beyond the control of the Centre for the Arts; we can only

hope and urge that in the recently improved economic climate they

will be properly addressed.

In conclusion I find that the letters of the Assessors are in fact

extraordinarily supportive and the criticisms point out problems

which are generally acknowledged in the proposal. The program is

innovative, and therefore unlikely to be perfect at its inception.

Undoubtedly the experience of running the program will produce

adjustments. I do believe, however, that in the absence of major

substantive criticism the proposal should be implemented in its

present form without further delay. The time is right, the Centre

for the Arts has never been stronger, and the need is

acknowledged. Let further changes to the format of the M.F.A.

degree come as the result of experience

?

d not hypothesis.

cc. Grant Strate,

0 ?

Director, Centre for the Arts

-a.-.-