Edmonton, AB - After a year abroad working on program development in the arts for a new university in Kenya, University of Alberta Drama professor Jan Selman has another achievement to add to her CV. Selman has been elected to the academies of the Royal Society of Canada-the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences.
"This tribute affirms the quality of Jan's scholarship and the significance of her research. We are so privileged to have Jan as a colleague, and we are thrilled to have her back in our midst as a teacher and director," says Department of Drama Chair Kathleen Weiss.
Recognized in Canada and abroad as a founder of the Popular Theatre Movement, Selman is a theatre director, dramaturg and scholar known for her decades of innovative research and theatre practice, rooted in the idea of theatre as a potent agent of social change. "I am pleased that the Royal Society is now so open to recognizing artistic practice and the bridges between research, community engagement and art making that I have sought in my career," says Selman about her induction into the prestigious group of scholars.
After serving for 10 years (1999 - 2010) as Chair of the Department of Drama at the U of A, Selman spent the better part of the past year in Kenya, working with Aga Khan University (AKU) as they develop an exciting new curriculum for East Africa grounded in the cultural, social and environmental experience of the region. Selman's ongoing role at AKU East Africa is to develop programs and related research activity for DEBA, which stands for Digital Arts, Expressive Arts (performance, design, visual art, music, creative writing) and Business for the Arts. "I am thrilled to be working with such a visionary group and it is fascinating to be part of creating a university from the ground up," says Selman.
Now back teaching in the U of A Department of Drama, Selman continues to make her mark as both an educator and a theatre practitioner. This past summer she was inducted into the City of Edmonton's Arts & Culture Hall of Fame. This fall she will direct BFA Drama students in the gritty drama Yellow Moon by David Greig, part of U of A Studio Theatre's 2011/12 season and a play that Selman describes as "all about the jagged edges of youth and having to go through the elemental trials of life to know and claim more of yourself."
Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada exists to recognize academic excellence and outstanding contributions to Canadian intellectual culture, to advise governments and organizations, and to promote a culture of knowledge and innovation in Canada. The Society's three academies collectively consist of nearly 2,000 Fellows, men and women who are selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the natural and social sciences, in the arts and in the humanities.
This year's new Fellows will be inducted to the RSC during the Induction and Awards Ceremony on Saturday, November 26, 2011 at the Ottawa Convention Centre in Ottawa. To view a complete list of newly elected Fellows and their nomination citations and to register for this event, please visit the Society's website at www.rsc-src.ca.