RESEARCH
Dr Chris Summers is a Lecturer in Arts Education (Drama) and Co-Director of the Research-based Theatre Lab at the Faculty of Education. He is a multi-award-winning Australian playwright, former Writer-in-Residence at Melbourne Theatre Company 2018-2020, winner of the 2024 American Alliance for Theatre and Education's Distinguished Dissertation Award and recipient of a 2024 Dyason Fellowship. Chris's research incorporates research-based theatre, autoethnography, critical theory and education to explore the intersection of arts-based methods and social justice. His award-winning PhD, 'Floodlights, Flare-ups and Frameworks: teacher/playwright (re)staging 'Pedagogy', 'Curriculum' and Assessment' was conferred in February 2023. As part of the Research-based Theatre Lab at the Faculty of Education, Chris has co-convened the International Research-based Theatre Symposium (Feb 2024) and received SEED Funding towards investigating collaborations between Research-based Theatre, communities and industry. Chris held the position of the Chair of the University of Melbourne Theatre Board and since 2023 been an active member of the Faculty of Education's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He teaches and coordinates across the Masters of Teaching (Secondary), Masters of Education and undergraduate Breadth subjects.
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More information on Chris's publications and work is available at his FindAnExpert page.
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