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Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is centered on a holistic approach to learning. Inspired by neurocognitive researcher Mark Bracher’s theory of “radical pedagogy” and bell hook’s notion of “teaching to transgress,” I believe that the purpose of teaching and learning is to support and develop students’ identities—their mind, body, and spirit—so that they can have a sense of self and be an active force of change in the world.

Marian Mullin Hancock
Teaching Award Winner

Awarded by the Gender Studies Program, University of Notre Dame, 2022

Learning Goals

While the content of my courses vary, my core learning goals of cultivating intellectual curiosity, as well as strong analysis, theorization, and communication skills remains constant. As a theatre historian, I conceptualize theatre, performances, and dramatic texts as historical documents that help us understand history and culture. Together, we analyze how these historical documents participate in conversations about religion, race, class, gender, sexuality, and representation. Short writing responses encourage students to theorize, independently, about the ways in which primary texts and performances reflect the social, cultural, historical, and or/political environment of their time and continue to hold meaning. By the end of the semester, students enrolled in my courses are able to communicate, both orally and through writing, the major issues, themes, and concerns of the course topic. Finally, I foster a communal environment wherein students feel comfortable asking questions as we engage with unfamiliar critical frameworks during class discussions.
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A Scene from French Neoclassicism Lecture 
"World Stages II," Spring 2019
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  • Pictured: Dr. Forsgren as King Louis XIV (yes, that's a gold tablecloth on my shoulders; yes, I bought contacts just to make the performance more "authentic"; yes, my awesome students played along and had a blast!)
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  • Not Pictured: Awesome Students as Courtiers
 

Courses Taught

General 
  • Collaboration
  • Introduction to Theatre
  • World Stages II
  • Dramaturgy
  • Introduction to Playwriting
  • Advanced Playwriting
 
Special Topics Seminars
  • Black Feminist Drama
  • African American Theatre History
  • The Black Arts Movement
  • Performing Blackness: From Othello to Jay-Z
  • African American Musicals in Theatre, Film, and Television
  • Professional Development
  • Major's Seminar (theatre majors)
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For Further Reading
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  • Bracher, Mark. Radical Pedagogy: Identity, Generativity, and Social Transformation. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006. 

 

  • Forsgren, La Donna L. “Dramaturgy and the ‘Walls of Whiteness’: Strategies for Teaching About Race and Social Justice in a ‘Very Black Year,’” Theatre Topics 27 no.2 (2017) pp. 151-162.

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  • hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge, 1994.

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