Former Peace Corp Volunteer, international educator, artist

Susan Trimingham, a lecturer in the Department of Art & Art History, leads a Faculty-Led Program (FLP) in Japan entitled, “Exploring Japan through Art.” In this faculty spotlight, Susan shares her journey as a former Peace Corps volunteer in Africa and its impact on her life, her work as a visual artist and art teacher, and ways to support SJSUs internationalization goals. 

Tell us about you and your journey to SJSU? 

Susan attended four different high schools in California graduating from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Anthropology and a B.A. in Art through a UCSC Fellowship.  She also has an M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling and an M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction through the Arts.  Susan is a plein air painter and served as an art teacher for the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. During her Peace Corps tour in Northern Uganda she started up a local art school and helped promote local artists. Susan also served as a consultant for an international art school in Benin, West Africa and worked as a teaching artist in a wide variety of venues, ranging from California Correctional Facilities to the Montalvo Art Center. 

What inspired you to join the FLP program?

I was encouraged to join by students in my Teaching Diversity Through Art class because of the stories I shared about living in other cultures.

What has been most rewarding & interesting about your work on campus and in Japan through your FLP?

Seeing my students grow their understanding of what culture means and how to look for the hidden values that are so important in defining cultural behavior.

How have your international experiences informed your teaching philosophy at SJSU?

 My work in education focuses on my belief that art can be a catalyst for change.  Using research based on my personal experience teaching art in the field (Sierra Leone, Uganda, Benin, Soledad Correctional Training Facility, Salinas Valley State Prison), I have documented the impact of education and experience in the arts on the development of emotional intelligence, a central organizing principle of human development.  

In 2007, as a consultant in Benin, I designed and implemented a research project, for the International Center for Art and Music at Ouidah, to determine the impact of art skills on divergent thinking and the ability to see multiple perspectives using the Torrance Test for Creative Thinking.  I have used this research and my international experiences to develop a culturally responsive curriculum that addresses diversity and global citizenship in the 21st century through art. 

More recently, my work in Taiwan for my RSCA grant provided me with alternative perspectives about teaching, as I was able to observe multiple examples of teaching art for my research.

What international-focused projects are you currently working on?

I am currently collaborating with the National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan to develop intercultural collaborations that foster the exchange of ideas and the development of a dialogue on art education with SJSU. I am also working with Kyoto Saga University of the Arts to develop stronger international connections.

What are some of your long-term and short-term goals for your work at SJSU?

I intend to expand my research on how cultural conditioning and the symbolic levels of cultural values are implicit and more observable in art education. 

Anything else that we haven’t asked that you would like to share with students and the SJSU community?

Recently, while in Taiwan after giving a talk on my Journey Around the World with Art, students commented on how “brave” I was.  My response was, and is, “It is not bravery that compels me to explore the world, it is curiosity.”