Master of Arts in Art Education: Thesis Abstracts
Art Education and Teaching Office
Sharp Building
37 S. Wabash Ave., suite 713
Phone: 312.899.7481
arted@saic.edu
MA in Art Education Program
Drea Howenstein, Director, ghowen@saic.edu
Department of Art Education
John Ploof, Chair, jploof@saic.edu
Kathleen Mary McGrath, Administrative Director, kmcgrath@saic.edu
The Master of Arts (MA) in Art Education is an individualized program designed for art education professionals who are dedicated to understanding, interpreting, and positioning themselves in relation to the language, theory, and social context of the arts and visual culture. Students in the program prepare to become exemplary facilitators and designers of active learning in schools, museums, cultural institutions, alternative community settings, and interactive media.
In keeping with the critical and diverse role that the arts and visual culture play in society, MA in Art Education students investigate the dynamic relationship between personal experience, professional goals, art education, and the public sphere. The students who pursue this degree become versed in current issues in areas such as cultural diversity, critical pedagogy, media literacy, feminist educational practice, arts advocacy, and school reform. The culminating thesis project combines critical inquiry and social engagement with students' past and present experiences. Students approach their thesis through a variety of methods of inquiry and forms of documentation, including organizing exhibitions, developing and implementing curriculum, and using digital technologies.
Each year, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago celebrates the culmination and closure of students' studies at the master's level. In studio areas, the celebration takes place in the form of the thesis exhibitions, while the academic areas complement this with the thesis abstracts publication. This thesis abstract collection gathers and showcases thesis research undertaken in six programs: Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy; Master of Arts in Art Education; Master of Arts in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism; Master of Arts in Art Therapy; Master of Arts in Teaching; and Master of Science in Historic Preservation.
2012 Thesis Abstracts
Vivian G. Alvarez
Where there is hardship, there is critical thought : teen [autobio]graphic novels and healthy dialogue on morbid curiosity
Mary Claire Angle
Museum partnerships with children's hospitals : bringing the enrichment of art to pediatric patients and families
Christine Bespalec-Davis
Defining safe : the role of the personal narrative and artmaking in transformative community education
Catherin Ryan Brody
Globalization in art education : how educators and students respond to visual culture by exploring identity
Kristen Cleaveland
Autophotography and writing
Nathan Adam Dorotiak
Understanding curriculum as sexuality text : a conceptual mapping through theorized autobiography
Jill A. Kramer Goldstein
More than just pretty pictures : critical, meaningful socially engaged printmaking with pre-teens
Lauren E. Goldstein
Photography and autoethnography : the role of currere in processing memories of abuse
Kris Derek Hechevarria
Pedagogical perspective in the museum : the importance of an educator's voice in the creation of wall labels
Bailey Jacobson
Dialogues with visual art educators on social-emotional learning : advocating for art education in a period of increased school standardization
Regina Rathell
Investigating the experiential components within the artist's making process
Abigail Esther Rudner
Building meaning : a critical exploration into 21st century learning through digital design and storytelling practices
Heather Lynn Smith
Re-casting "at risk" : reinterpreting adolescent resistance as an informative act of critical engagement
Mary Gallagher Warbelow
Meaning making through the arts : integrating arts-based programs in juvenile detention
Amber Yared
Eluding identification : defamiliarizing the space of education and the role of educators
2011 Thesis Abstracts
Kevin B. Blake
My place in space : an autoethnography
Joanne K. Easton
Critique inquiry : investigating the pedagogy of doubt and imagination in the first-year art school studio critique
Cheryl-Ann Fakes
Addressing historical amnesia through artistic practice : visualizing trans-cultural narrative art education through a Japanese folding screen
Alexandra Britell Franke
Understanding place through the embodiment of knowledge : a teaching practice for art education
Michelle E. Green
Educate, empower, engage : social justice and community building in youth arts programs
Rachel L. Slusarczyk Harper
I see you, I see me : very young children learning art the encyclopedic art museum
Joseph Gerard Javier
Tagalog(ue) : investigation ethnic identity with Filipino American artists and Filipino cultural programs
Rebecca Lederman
Articulations : a look at elementary school children's engagement and expressions of emotion through an arts integration program
Marvinlee E. May
Exploration of design and digital media in higher education : a journey in comics
Robert Sebanc
The pedagogical self : the teac[h]ing artist bringing pedagogy with the self from the studio to the classroom
Jessica E. Tate
Addressing the casual use of oppressive language in the school environment through critical art making
Elizabeth Yohlin
Pictures in pictures : art history and art museums in children’s picture books
2010 Thesis Abstracts
Ewa Bloch
Talking stories : students' perception of personal history through visual and oral narratives
Meredith Eastburn
Becoming what you practice : re-framing the dynamic work and roles of teaching artists
Misha Renee Ferguson
When the students get it exploring successful pedagogies with art, design, and social justice
Elena Ulias Goetz
The pedagogy of talk : understanding the intellectual kinship between teens and contemporary art
Carolyn Edna-Mary Mullany
Craffiti : craft as a tool for engagement
Manuel F. Sanchez
Art with training wheels : a unique approach to adult art education
Junko Sano
That's not my name : exploring cultural identity and critiquing stereotypes
Lauren V. Yockel
Teens as museum learners : how high school students make personal meaning on docent-led art museum tours
2009 Thesis Abstracts
Heather Dexter Havenga Chelmecki
If they're going to tell me what to see, what's the point? : inviting teenagers to engage with and interpret museum art
Auburn Elizabeth Ellis
The Negro experience : taking a critical look at equity
Meghan E Fritz
A platform for democracy : online visitor voice in art museums
Brianna M. Johnson
More than snapshots : challenging the metanarrative of war through the photography of veterans
Kimberly J. Marshall Pancoast
Inside the box : mobilizing objects, materials and responsiveness
Avital Paul-Benshalom
Social justice education and art programs for seniors : a sea of creative op[p]ortunities
Diana L. Sanderson
Finding an art center's potential in leisure art-making and women's conversation
Matea Varvodic
Theatre as weapon : social justice activism through community-based arts
2008 Thesis Abstracts
Celina M. Aguilar
Collaboration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Katharine A. McLeod
Collective action : understanding working dynamics in collaborative projects offered at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2007 Thesis Abstracts
Margaret Carsello
The spirit of folk art in a changing global market : an ethnographic study of indigenous women folk artists
Elizabeth D. Hoffman
Teaching globalization through contemporary Chinese art
Thomas Y. Lau
Gaming culture : the state of play in video games through race and gender
Carol Ng
Performing identity : experiencing immigration through contemporary performance art practices
2006 Thesis Abstracts
Jennifer Anderson
Co-excavating the past : teaching art through personal stories
Marissa Howard Baker
Wandering restlessly : a collected story of convergence
Jennifer Dominiak
Sharing Chicagoland : women, history, and the built environment
Amy Gerber
Re-presenting : from Chicago to ACCRA : an international exchange of youth self-representations
Rosemarie Garcia Hills
Multicultural Intervention Activism : an introduction and invitation
Glennda Jensen
Teens + museums : giving teens a voice in the museum through teen-centered programming
Kim Koin
The museum as family resource : how families use family art programs at Chicago Children's Museum
Kate Loague
CollaborAction : a conscious unpacking of art educators' intent within collaborative practice
Megan Elizabeth Pahmier
Wandering restlessly : a collected story of convergence
See also: 2004-2005 Thesis Abstracts
