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Architecture and the Liberal Arts: A Whole-School Approach to Community Engagement

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Part of the book series: The Arts in Higher Education ((AHE))

Abstract

In 2015 Drury University students competed in the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. Students designed a home to respond to, recover from, and resist a tornado. In 2011 an EF-5 tornado hit Joplin, MO, and left 161 people dead and the town devastated. Design-Build for communities in need has been a continuing interest for Drury students. The Solar Decathlon provided a vehicle for student interest and development of Drury’s unique whole-school approach to Design-Build. The team included more than 100 students from 22 majors in such diverse backgrounds as art history, physics, music, communications, and architecture. The project is an excellent example of an interdisciplinary approach to a compelling community issue and the benefits of integrating liberal arts, arts, professional studies, and civic engagement for student success.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, Central Region Headquarters Kansas City, MO, June 2011. NWS Central Region Service Assessment: Joplin, Missouri, Tornado—May 22, 2011; http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/Joplin_tornado.pdf.

  2. 2.

    Mark Rohr, Joplin: The Miracle of the Human Spirit; (Tate Publishing, 2012).

  3. 3.

    Lynn Iliff Onstot, Fact Sheet—City of Joplin—May 22, 2011 EF5 Tornado. Public Information Office. July 1, 2013.

  4. 4.

    Traci Sooter , Nancy Chikaraishi, and Keith Hedges, (2014) Whole School Design-Build in the Liberal Arts Tradition, ACSA Fall Conference, Nova Scotia.

  5. 5.

    NREL, U.S. Department of Energy, Solar Decathlon, 2013, retrieved July 17, 2016, http://www.solardecathlon.gov/2015.

  6. 6.

    Sooter , Traci (2015) “It’s All in the Details_ Two Missouri Schools Team up to Design Tornado Resistant Home,” (2015). Accessed October 11, 2016, http://www.thenatureofcities.com/2015/07/19/its-all-in-the-details-two-missouri-schools-team-up-to-design-tornado-resistant-home/#respond.

  7. 7.

    “Crowder-Drury Solar Decathlon Team Conceptual Statement for ShelteR3Crowder-Drury Solar Decathlon Team, Drury University, 2013, (U.S. Department of Energy 2015 Solar Decathlon).

  8. 8.

    Ibid. Crowder-Drury Solar Decathlon Team, Drury University 2013.

  9. 9.

    NREL, U. S. Department of Energy, Solar Decathlon, October 5, 2015, accessed October 11, 2016, http://www.solardecathlon.gov/.

  10. 10.

    John L Munschauer , Jobs for English Majors & Other Smart People. Third Ed. Peterson Nelnet Co., May 9, 1991 (first published May 1, 1981).

  11. 11.

    Ibid. Sooter , Traci, Chikaraishi, Nancy, Hedges, Keith (2014).

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Sooter, T. (2018). Architecture and the Liberal Arts: A Whole-School Approach to Community Engagement. In: Hensel, N. (eds) Exploring, Experiencing, and Envisioning Integration in US Arts Education. The Arts in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71051-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71051-8_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71050-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71051-8

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