Abstract

This paper analyzes the political structure and fine arts culture of Chicago from the perspective of a liberal arts student. As part of the Carthage in Chicago program, I participated in a Carthage Symposium that allowed me to explore the interdisciplinary connections between politics and theater using Chicago as the classroom.  The class attended theatrical productions, explored neighborhoods, and discussed and wrote about Chicago’s politics and arts scene. We learned how theatrical productions dramatize the stereotypes that plague society, as well as its ongoing political and social problems. Responding to these plays helped me develop the worldly and encompassing perspective encouraged in a liberal arts education, which attempts to enlighten the minds of college students about such stereotypes and problems. The cultural immersion involved in the Carthage in Chicago experience furthered this goal.  Through an analysis of the theater productions we saw, as well as the texts we read, we sought to understand the political and social themes in each of the plays and texts, as well as to discover how the city of Chicago works, and our place in it, as students, theatergoers, and citizens, thus enacting the liberal arts mission. In this paper I will provide an overview of our experiences and some analysis of how the plays’ themes intersected with our study of politics and history of Chicago.  Additional research to gauge other students’ opinions of how the course supported their sense of the mission of a liberal arts education will be conducted through administering a survey.