Interview with Jack Santino

Isabel Machado interviews Jack Santino on Public Performances: Studies in the Carnivalesque and Ritualesque (2017). Interview Date: Sep 17, 2020 Dr. Jack Santino is professor of folklore and popular culture and has served as director of the Bowling Green Center for Popular Culture Studies. He was the Alexis de Tocqueville Distinguished Professor at the University of Paris, Sorbonne, 2010–2011. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Northern Ireland and has conducted research in Spain and France. His documentary film on Pullman Porters, Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle, received four Emmy awards. His research centers on rituals and celebrations, with a particular focus on carnival and political and public ritual as reflective of political, social, and cultural identity. He is the author of numerous books and articles. (Maybe also mention that he is in the JFS board?)

Culture, Identity and Actor Training: Indigeneity in New Zealand's National Drama School

How can indigeneity be understood through training actors in a colonial context? Do ‘Western’ acting schools misrepresent and exploit indigenous practices and cultural traditions towards reinforcing the settler state? Or does a given school's integration of such praxis and customs demonstrate inclusivity, equity and progressivism? At what point does incorporating indigeneity in actor training become a tokenistic appropriation of marginalized cultures? Drawn from fieldwork as a 2019 Fulbright scholar at Toi Whakaari, New Zealand's National Drama School, I intersect training with culture and society. Using the Acting Program as a case study, I deploy an ethnographic methodology to address the aforementioned questions by investigating Toi Whakaari's bicultural pedagogy while positioning it as a reflection of New Zealand's national identity. I especially explore the school's implementation of Tikanga Māori, the practices and beliefs of the country's indigenous peoples. I argue that while some questions remain, Toi Whakaari integrates Māori forms in a manner that is culturally responsible and pedagogically effective, thereby providing a model from which other drama schools can learn.

POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION IN UKRAINE

Discussion of observations and interviews as to the state of postgraduate medical education in Ukraine during an informal discussion of author’s time as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar for the 2018-2019 academic years for the project titled Postgraduate Medical Education In Ukraine. The interviews with interns (85); attendings, program directors, hospital administrators (75), several medical students and others were recorded during numerous author’s visits and observations (50) to various Ukrainian hospitals. The conclusions made herein are my own and serve to report my observations on the state and quality of postgraduate medical training in Ukraine, reference to that in the United States and the author’s over 45-year practice as a surgeon in Illinois. This mainly concerns internships in the surgical specialties and subspecialties. Some suggestions as to how to change the system are presented.