User:Amyehughes

I am an Associate Professor of Theater History and Criticism at Brooklyn College (CUNY). As a teacher, I believe in the transformative power of collaboration, and use a variety of unconventional pedagogical techniques in the classroom. In 2010, Brooklyn College honored me with its Excellence in Teaching Award. As a historian, I investigate the relationship between theater/performance and visual, print and material culture in the US, seeking to understand how spectacle serves as an engine for the circulation of ideas. This is the subject of my first book, Spectacles of Reform: Theater and Activism in Nineteenth-Century America (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2012). With Naomi J. Stubbs, I edited and published (both in print and online) the diary of US actor, playwright, and stage manager Harry Watkins (1825-1894). Our critical edition was published as A Player and a Gentleman: The Diary of Harry Watkins, Nineteenth-Century US American Actor (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2018). Our digital edition, featuring our XML-encoded transcription of the entire diary, is hosted by UM Library Digital Collections. I am currently working on a monograph, An Actor's Tale: Theater, Culture, and Everyday Life in Nineteenth-Century America, exploring how Watkins's diary illuminates gaps in our understanding of antebellum theater and culture. For my full CV and bio, you can visit my web page at Brooklyn College.

I include an assignment based on Wikipedia in my theater history course for MA and MFA students. The Wikipedia Education division asked me to write about my experience on its blog. One of my students was also asked by Wikipedia to blog about her experience with the assignment, which you can read here. With four other CUNY educators, I participated in a panel about Wikipedia and education at WikiDay NYC 2015 -- you can watch a video of our conversation on Livestream (look for "Panel Session A").

In addition to the courses listed at the top of this page, I also assigned Wikipedia projects in the following courses:
 * THEA 7213X Theater History from 1642 (Spring 2015)
 * THEA 7212X Theater History to 1642 (Fall 2014)
 * THEA 7213X Theater History from 1642 (Spring 2014)
 * THEA 7212X Theater History to 1642 (Fall 2013)
 * THEA 7213X Theater History from 1642 (Spring 2013)