Kerry Brown, Teaching Asian Art as Storytelling

Description 

Dr. Kerry Lucinda Brown is a professor of art history at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah Georgia and has a research focus on the religious arts of the Newar community of Nepal. In this episode we speak with Kerry about how she teaches Asian and Buddhist art topics in her context: that is, to students in a design college for whom the materials may be new and distant. Teaching Asian and Buddhist arts and their long and complex histories can be complicated, but Kerry finds tangible ways to make the experience of her courses unforgettable for students. From visiting local religious sites, to scheduling collaborative review sessions with her students after their final exam, Kerry shares the breadth and depth of Asian religious art, and her infectious enthusiasm for a form  of teaching that is like sports coaching with her students. Fail! Practice! Repeat!

Quotes 

"Images are not just powerful as things. They have presence and aliveness." Kerry Brown

"Once I say that they are allowed to fail and they should fail, it’s the easiest way to learn, then  they take a deep breath and are a little easier on themselves." Kerry Brown

"There’s all different kinds of Buddhisms, and I think once they get that they realize that it’s easier to understand the different variations, there’s not just one Buddhism." Kerry Brown

Links and References 

Kerry’s profile page at SCAD 

https://www.scad.edu/academics/faculty/kerry-brown 

Kerry Lucinda Brown on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrylucinda 

Sanjay Patel, Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/298724/the-little-book-of-hindu-deities-by-sanjay-patel/ 

Carlelton-Antioch Buddhist Studies Program

https://www.carleton.edu/global-engagement/buddhist-studies-india/