Financialization of Education: Teaching Theatre History in the Corporatized Classroom
This text originated from the initiative “Promoting Student Learning in Large Classes,” which was launched at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, during the winter of 2004. This was one of many attempts made by large universities across the country to address the problem of overcrowded classrooms. This particular initiative, sponsored by the Archibald Bush Foundation, was distinguished by its simple and very efficient structure. Instead of individual instructors, it asked for teams. The call for proposals stipulated that each team should consist of a lecturer, a graduate assistant, and an undergraduate student. Their task was to study, as it were, the process of learning that took place in the class, identify the problems, and report them in the large gathering of teams that occurred monthly. With the help of counselors from the initiative, the teams would then try to address the problems they identified. The projected length of the initiative was three years, and the courses it included were introductory lecture classes and mid-level survey courses.