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A Case Study of the Lincoln Theater in Columbus, Ohio: A Participatory Social Action Study

Shorter Smith, Toni

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Art Education.

Through this case study of the historic Lincoln Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, race, gender and class converge in a renegotiation of what art means in a marginalized community, struggling to re-vitalize itself in a postmodern, multicultural context. This study will examine the redevelopment of the historically black Lincoln Theatre by the city of Columbus, Ohio under the administration of the city’s first black mayor. The examination will be presented as an autoethnographic narrative informed by critical, black feminist and urban regime theories as applied to participatory social action research on the near east side.

This research will focus on community-based arts as a tool exploring issues of self-esteem, community empowerment and neo-colonialism in the black community. Within the African American landscape, community based arts have traditionally functioned as “sites of resistance” (Daniel, 2003) to offset the vestiges of colonialism (poverty and racism) that still exist as sturdy threads in the fabric of American culture. This study will expose issues of power and agency as performed at the nexus of city government, black artists and local community politics during the $13 million dollar renovation of the historic Lincoln theatre.

Chapter one will foreground the personal history that made this research of interest to me. It will describe the purpose, significance and limitations of the study and present my research questions. Autoethnographic narrative presented as vignettes will establish the historical environment that acted as a crucible for the development of the African American, female, cultural political perspective that brings me to the research that I have undertaken and the push for social justice my research seeks to evoke.

Chapter two puts my personal history into a larger context through a review of the literature that informed my thinking and guided my research approach. Highlighting the relevance of the cultural practice of “uplift” that prevailed historically among African American women and the historic sociological tradition of community-mindedness that moved the black community forward through cultural community based efforts, this chapter will look at the traditional elements of black culture and how cultural institutions function within the black community. Autoethnographic narrative contextualizes the discourse and the chapter concludes by overlaying the renovation of the Lincoln theatre on the historical map of socio/economic and political progress within the near east side black community, exposing the challenges for community based arts and issues of marginalization, commodification and self and community dis-empowerment inherent in a postmodern, capitalistic environment.

Chapter three provides the rationale for the design of the study, a mixed methodology of participatory social action research combined with autoethnographic narrative. The research location, data collection methods and analysis, and study limitations are presented. Chapter four provides the data analysis. Survey results, excerpts from interviews and additional autoethnographic narratives are included in this chapter.

Chapter five concludes by offering my reflections on this case study and the implications for black community-based arts institutions. I revisit my research questions and reflect on my role as researcher, artist and community member. I also offer future study considerations.

Vesta Daniel, PhD (Advisor)
James Sanders, PhD (Committee Member)
Patricia Stuhr, PhD (Committee Member)
259 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Shorter Smith, T. (2010). A Case Study of the Lincoln Theater in Columbus, Ohio: A Participatory Social Action Study [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1293746024

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Shorter Smith, Toni. A Case Study of the Lincoln Theater in Columbus, Ohio: A Participatory Social Action Study. 2010. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1293746024.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Shorter Smith, Toni. "A Case Study of the Lincoln Theater in Columbus, Ohio: A Participatory Social Action Study." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1293746024

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)