The University is well known for many characteristics that make it unique, but there is one aspect that many might not know about: The University is the home of the only accredited course on the history of the American circus taught in the entire country.
Prof. LaVahn Hoh has taught this course at the University since 1982. Hoh said some other schools have even requested to borrow the syllabus for his class to start a class like it on their campuses.
"I had nothing to go by when I started [teaching this course], and each year my syllabus takes different turns," Hoh said.
Hoh grew up in Appleton, Wis. where he said he became enchanted with the circus when he was only four years old.
"My mother took me to the circus and, as they say in the circus world, I got 'sawdust in my veins,'" Hoh said. "In those days, it was the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was still under a tent. It arrived in my hometown on four trains, so they had to unload all four trains, along with animals and paraphernalia and put up a tent, which was about ten to twelve acres worth of canvas for all the different tents that were necessary. That just made a huge impression on me, and from that moment on, I always felt I'd like to do something for the circus, if nothing just for my own curiosity."
Throughout high school and college, Hoh spent a lot of time in Baraboo, Wis. -- the home of the Ringling Brothers -- to learn more about circus history.
Hoh graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, earned an M.A. in the history of theatre at the University of Illinois and a M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he was trained as a technical director and scene designer.
In 1969, while teaching at Northern Illinois University, Hoh heard that the drama department here at the University was looking for a technical director. A few months later, he visited and "absolutely fell in love with" the University.
"At the time, the drama department was very small," Hoh said.
The theater was located in Minor Hall, and there was a small stage at one end.
"One of my favorite stories about that stage is, if we had a box set on stage and if you made an exit on stage left and had to reappear on stage right, you had to go out the window of the building, run around the front and come in the front door," Hoh said.
In 1974, the department moved into its current location at Culbreth Theatre. One day, in 1980, Hoh was asked to give a guest lecture on the circus for a drama class on popular entertainment. He received such a great response from the students that he was asked to teach for two days on the subject, and then the instructor advised him to create his own course. Two years later, Hoh began teaching "History of the Circus."
Since then, Hoh has received a lot of publicity for his work, including a feature in People magazine, and has worked on specials for A&E and the History Channel.
In 1990, Hoh was hired by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to teach at its clown college, where he was employed for seven years.
Currently Hoh is on leave for the semester, working on a Web site on the history of the American circus from 1793 to 1940 through the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. He received a fellowship three years ago to start this Web site and is hoping to complete most of the page by the end of this semester.
Hoh still spends a lot of time going to circuses throughout the year and will be teaching "History of the Circus" this spring. Most of his life, he said, still revolves around the University's drama department and, of course, the circus.
"Initially, I was intrigued by the logistics [of the circus]: How do you take four trainloads of material, drop them in a city, put it all up, do two shows, tear it all down, and move another 200 miles the next day?" Hoh said. "Then I started meeting the people and I was absolutely amazed at what they were doing out there -- risking their lives, in some cases, being beautiful for our entertainment"
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