Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 65

J. P. Singh:
Would you then want to tell that viola player that he is okay where he is,
even if he does not play as well as the others?
Dorothy Miell:
Well, it’s tricky. This is where my research interests becomes action research
in my day job! Do you try to get people to all perform in a particular way, or
do you try and find a way to allow that kind of very individual flowering of
ideas to sit alongside and stimulate other things without trampling all over
them? I mean, how much do you try to make creative individuals conform to
administrative norms and how much do you let them do something amazing?
That is a daily dilemma.
J. P. Singh:
How do you do it?
Dorothy Miell:
I don’t know. That what I struggle with every day!
J. P. Singh:
Really? Well you do it brilliantly.
Dorothy Miell:
If you want to be part of an institution there are certain things you have
to do. And for me, a respect for other people is essential. As a student or
member of staff you may be brilliant, but you cannot trample over other
people or disparage their (different) contribution to the whole—if you’re
part of an academic community you don’t do that.
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