The Argument From Setting: Theatre in the Liberal and Fine Arts

Authors

• John Gronbeck-Tedesco, University of Kansas

Abstract

This essay analyzes how the institutional setting of theatre programs within either the liberal arts or the fine arts shapes the assumptions guiding administrative argument and decision making. The author contends that academic leadership operates through the exchange of reasoned claims and that coherent argumentation requires shared first principles. Program location provides such grounding by offering distinct philosophical orientations for justifying resources, curriculum, and program direction. The essay distinguishes liberal arts education as centered on generating interpretive knowledge about the human condition through evidence based inquiry, while fine arts education focuses on creating artistic analogues of human experience that communicate beyond ordinary language. Theatre, positioned between these traditions, can be justified differently depending on its academic home. The author argues that liberal arts theatre programs require connection to high level professional practice to sustain interpretive credibility, and likewise that fine arts programs benefit from liberal arts engagement. The essay concludes that program setting offers a valuable but partial foundation for administrative reasoning, functioning as a touchstone when debates become overly pragmatic or inconsistent.

Recommended Citation

Gronbeck-Tedesco, John (1986) "The Argument From Setting: Theatre in the Liberal and Fine Arts," Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 55, Article 5.
Available at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol55/iss1/5