Harry J. Elam Jr. An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Dr. Harry J. Elam Jr., who served as Stanford’s vice provost for undergraduate education from 2010 to 2020 as well as the university’s first vice president for the arts from 2017 to 2020, speaks about his education, his teaching and scholarship in theater as a faculty member in the Stanford Department of Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS), and change over time in undergraduate education at Stanford. Elam describes his upbringing in Boston, early exposures to theater and social justice, and his undergraduate experience at Harvard. He discusses his time as a PhD student in Dramatic Arts at University of California, Berkeley, mentorship from Margaret Wilkerson, and his first faculty job at the University of Maryland, College Park. He describes his experiences on the faculty of the Stanford Department of Drama, his research on social protest theater and August Wilson, and directing the Committee on Black Performing Arts and the Institute for Diversity in the Arts. Elam outlines both challenges and accomplishments in the numerous administrative roles he has held, especially the work he did to shape the Introduction to the Humanities Program (IHUM) and its successor, promote high-impact practices in undergraduate education, and increase faculty engagement with VPUE. He ends the interview with reflections on his time at Stanford and his new role as president of Occidental College.
Description
| Type of resource | moving image, sound recording-nonmusical, text |
|---|---|
| Extent | 3 video files; 3 audio files; 1 text file |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | May 19, 2020 - 2020-06-08 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Elam, Harry Justin | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Elam, Harry Justin | |
| Interviewer | Marincovich, Michele | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Elam, Harry Justin |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University Department of Theater and Performance Studies |
| Subject | College presidents |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Summary Part 1 | Part 1 [00:00:00 – 00:30:17] Upbringing in Boston • Parents’ careers • Switching from public to private school • Early exposures to theater • His high school’s Black theater troupe, The Family • Learning about art and activism through his parents • Undergraduate experience at Harvard; interdisciplinary social studies major • Service learning course on recidivism • Theater and residential experience at Harvard • Playwriting and Black history courses; decision to pursue graduate education in theater rather than law school [00:30:18 – 01:00:49] Undergraduate commencement speech • How his Harvard experiences influenced his work in undergraduate education • Impact of protests on college campuses • Thoughts on studying abroad • Decision to attend graduate school in dramatic arts at Berkeley • How teaching with Carlos Morton and exposure to actos inspired his dissertation on social protest theater • Thoughts on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on theater • Relationship between teaching and research • Pressures of unequal funding in UC Berkeley’s graduate program • Friendship with fellow graduate student Stan Lai • Mentorship from Margaret Wilkerson [01:00:50 – 01:47:42] First faculty job at University of Maryland, College Park • Lessons learned about directing at Maryland and their application to administration • Joining the faculty of the Stanford Department of Drama • Charles Lyons • Writing his first book • Collegiality and strength of Drama Department • Directing the Committee on Black Performing Arts; focusing on scholarship • Introduction to the Humanities Program (IHUM) • Stanford University Fellows Program • Stanford Leadership Academy • Thoughts on transitioning from being an academic to an administrator |
|---|---|
| Summary Part 2 | Part 2 [00:00:00 – 00:29:46] Teaching methods and student-centered teaching • Undergraduate capstone requirement • Teaching undergraduate versus graduate students • Favorite course: seminar on August Wilson • Motivation for research and social protest theater • Suzan-Lori Parks • Theater and the process of history making [00:29:47 – 01:03:57] Ritual in drama • Time at the Stanford Humanities Center • Value and ephemeral nature of social protest plays • Quotes from Wole Soyinka and LeRoi Jones on social protest theater • Victor Turner and communitas • Finding primary sources for social protest theater research • Writing about “hot topics” in a scholarly way • Introduction to and relationship with August Wilson • The four Bs in Wilson’s work: Jorge Luis Borges, Amiri Baraka, Romare Bearden, and the blues [01:03:58 – 01:24:34] Writing Black Cultural Traffic: Crossroads in Global Performance and Pop Culture with Kennell Jackson • Changing the name of the Drama Department to Theater and Performance Studies • Work he’s most proud of • Importance of a liberal arts education • Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts [01:24:35 – 01:45:33] Experience as chair of the Theater and Performance Studies Department • Working with Public Theater; additional space for TAPS in Roble; building an “arts gym” • Connection between TAPS and Dance • Serving on the university advisory board • Taking on more administrative roles, including senior associate vice provost for undergraduate education |
| Summary Part 3 | Part 3 [00:00:00 – 00:35:39] Path to position as vice provost of undergraduate education; role of VPUE • VPUE programs; promoting high-impact practices• Improving faculty engagement with VPUE: Undergraduate Advising Council, Bass Fellows • Study of Education at Stanford Committee (SUES) • Introductory Seminars • Influences for his vision of undergraduate education • Faculty College • Student-centered learning, including focus on learning objectives and redesigning course evaluations • Community engaged learning [00:35:40 – 01:19:52] Transforming the first-year experience: Leland Scholars Program, Shift from IHUM to Thinking Matters • Vice provost for education role • Changes in undergraduate residential education and ResX • Becoming vice president for the arts • Goals as vice president of the arts • Reflections on his time at Stanford and becoming the president of Occidental College • Improving faculty diversity at Stanford • Thoughts on the impact of the pandemic and racial justice movement • How to alleviate the extra burdens faced by underrepresented faculty |
| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/bh026dq7259 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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