Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #117303

Luis A. Vazquez, MPH, UAW Health & Safety Department, UAW Health & Safety Department, 8000 East Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI 48214, 313-926-5612, lvazquez@uaw.net and Peter Dooley, MS, CIH, CSP, UAW Health and Safety Department, 8000 East Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI 48214.

While education of workers in Occupational Health and Safety usually occurs in a classroom environment, using traditional teaching/learning methods, alternate means of education have made their way into practice. The use of music and theater in worker education has a rich history, particularly during the early 20th century, when many immigrant workers were integrated into the American workplace. Many workers who could not read or write would often attend a theater production and gain an understanding of how to counter oppression by examples related to them through this alternative medium. Labor organizer Joe Hill, of the IWW, rewrote the lyrics to popular songs of his day, and religious hymns, to be labor oriented tunes. Today, in many other cultures, popular education methods include elements of theater and music. Lately, the APHA Occupational Health Section has included a theater production as part of its annual awards luncheon, with safety and health professionals, activists, and supporters acting and singing about worker safety and health issues in a fun, informative way. Also, various uses of theater within the classroom environment, such as forum theater, and role playing during an exercise will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: