Joseph Herbert on sun 11 jun 06
My, these two subjects have galvanized our correspondents! By galvanized I
mean it in the original sense where electricity made dead frog legs jump,
rather than the coated in zinc sense. (I do not imply that any of our
correspondents are actually dead frog's legs, but if the shoe fits...) I
suppose that the knowledge of that difference may have been assisted by
having an advanced degree, but it is really hard to tell now, after 30
years.
I must admit having not read much of the exchange about the MFA and will not
comment (too much) beyond noting that the A in MFA is for ART. Most of us
have gotten the message that pottery is not art and certainly not ART. A
potter who is looking for an advanced degree might select some other kind,
like Inorganic Chemistry, or Ceramic engineering, or a number of others and
not have to take that ART abuse. There is a requirement for an advanced
degree to teach at most colleges. What that degree is and how it is
accepted is entirely up to the school. I don't know if Jack Troy has an MFA
but he was teaching college English for some time. I assume, then, that he
had an advanced degree and it was probably in English. Would he have to get
an MFA to teach ceramics? I don't think so. If teaching is the goal and
one has a pile of life experience and reputation in a particular area, any
advanced degree would allow college teaching. If you look at the
requirements they probably say that there has to be an advanced degree that
is acceptable to the department where the person is to be employed.
Probably no mention of what the degree is. An exception could be
engineering or mathematics departments.
I am heartened by the universal rejection of Bamboo, the fact, while there
is a wide spread embrace of Bamboo, the concept. I have a similar feeling.
I best appreciate bamboo in photographs. I have similar feelings about
Honeysuckle (contradicting Mel on this), Wisteria, Trumpet Vines, and that
bane of Texas existence, Crape Myrtle. There are few things that are as
deceptively invidious as the Crape Myrtle. Propagates by runners, drops
flowers and seed pods, and drips sap by the gallon. The sap kills some
plants. The sap kills all car finishes. These plants do have pleasingly
mottled trunks. I am going to see if trunk retains that pleasing mottled
appearance after the plant has been dead for several years. Don't really
care about the appearance as long as the dead part is true.
Thinking strongly about xeriscaping for the house in Texas. People watering
lawns in Los Alamos, NM and the increase in water rationing in Texas (that
would be an increase in decreasing) makes me want to think about
alternatives to that lush but water hungry grass. Bermuda grass is either
lush or dead. Lately ours has been more of the latter. The tell me that
people in Arizona will go out and water their gravel yards to keep the rocks
from looking dusty. Go figure.
Best Wishes to all.
Joseph Herbert
Snail Scott on sun 11 jun 06
At 12:06 AM 6/11/2006 -0600, you wrote:
>...There is a requirement for an advanced
>degree to teach at most colleges. What that degree is and how it is
>accepted is entirely up to the school...
Not really. The CAA (College Art Association)
specifies that the 'terminal degree' in studio art
is the MFA, and it is required for teaching studio
art at the university level. (Art history requires
a PhD.) Adjunct teaching positions and part-time/
temporary positions are more flexible in their
requirements, but full-time positions have quite
strict requirements which are not within the
school's option to change.
While exceptions can be made for excellent artists
with an extraordinary exhibition record, etc, the
emphasis is definitely on 'extraordinary'. You would
really have to be somebody, nowadays.
Back when MFA's were scarcer, this rule did not
exist, but it does exist now. Non-university schools
like community colleges and art academies can indeed
make their own policies, but not universities that
wish to have accredited degree programs.
Such schools cannot exercise very much discretion
in this: too many instructors without terminal
degrees and they could lose their accreditation.
-Snail
| |
|
