Dr Kate Elswit and fellow researchers on "Dunham's Data" project receive ATHE-ASTR’s Award for Excellence in Digital Scholarship
Congratulations to Dr Kate Elswit, Central’s Reader in Theatre and Performance and author of the award-winning books Watching Weimar Dance (2014) and Theatre & Dance (2018), and to the entire team behind research project Dunham’s Data on receiving the ATHE-ASTR’s Award for Excellence in Digital Scholarship. Dr Elswit and her fellow researchers, international co-investigator Dr Harmony Bench and postdoctoral research assistants Dr Tia-Monique Uzor and Dr Antonio Jimenez-Mavillard, have been recognised for their work on Dunham’s Data: Katherine Dunham and Digital Methods for Dance Historical Inquiry.
The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) supports and advances the study and practice of theatre and performance in higher education. An advocate for the field of theatre and performance in higher education, it serves as an intellectual and artistic center for producing new knowledge about theatre and performance-related disciplines, cultivating vital alliances with other scholarly and creative disciplines, linking with professional and community-based theatres, and promoting access and equity.
ATHE’s awards honour excellence in and exceptional contributions to teaching, scholarship, playwriting, and artistic practice in educational and professional theatre.
The American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) is a U.S.-based professional organisation that fosters scholarship on worldwide theatre and performance, both historical and contemporary. Founded in 1956, the ASTR encourages theatre scholarship and provides links with other similar groups represented in the International Federation for Theatre Research.
The ASTR sponsors or coordinates several awards, grants, fellowships and prices to support and recognise outstanding scholarship in theatre and performance studies.
The joint ATHE-ASTR Award for Excellence in Digital Theatre and Performance Scholarship is awarded each year to an individual or team that demonstrates innovation and rigorous in the use of electronic/ digital media for the purpose of producing or disseminating knowledge about theatre and performance.
Of the Award for Dunham’s Data, Dr Kate Elswit said:
“We are thrilled to receive the ATHE-ASTR award for excellence in digital scholarship for Dunham’s Data in the final year of this AHRC-funded project. The research is underpinned by a core first principles question - ‘what are the questions and problems that make the analysis and visualisation of data meaningful for dance historical inquiry?’ We appreciate recognition from these two theatre organisations for our use of born-digital methods to advance the analytic capacity of performance scholarship. This is a team effort and I am so glad the award is shared with my international co-investigator Harmony Bench and our postdoctoral research assistants Tia-Monique Uzor and Antonio Jimenez-Mavillard.”
The award citation for Dunham’s Data for the ATHE-ASTR Award for Excellence in Digital Scholarship noted:
“While this project remains a work-in-progress – some of its most exciting features are still in development or have not yet been made fully public – it stands as a model of how digital scholarship can transform the practice of historical research and historiography and points to the ways in which large datasets can be used to illuminate as-yet-untold stories of performers’ lives and works.”
Dr Elswit is one of a several members of the Central community to have their work recognised at the 2021 Association for Theatre in Higher Education Awards, including Dr David Calder, Catherine Fitzmaurice, Professor Kareem Khubchandani (who was also recognised by the ASTR at their recent, annual conference) and Professor Joanne Tompkins.
Find out more information about the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and explore the full list of 2021 ATHE Award winners by visiting their website.
Find our more about Dunham’s Data by visiting the project’s website or by attending a free, online talk with Dr Kate Elswit and Dr Harmony Bench on 16 November for the Temple University Dance Studies Colloquium.
