Anthropology, Theatre, and Development: The Transformative Potential of Performance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)
Edited with Alex Ungprateeb Flynn
Short description
From Pussy Riot and the Arab Spring to Italian mafia dance, this book provides an interdisciplinary analysis of relational reflexivity in political performance. By putting anthropological theory into dialogue with international development scholarship and artistic and activist practices, this book highlights how aesthetics and politics interrelate in precarious spheres of social life. The contributors of this interdisciplinary volume raise questions about the transformative potential of participating in and reflecting upon political performances both as individual and as collectives. The book argues that such processes provide a rich field and new pathways for anthropological explorations of peoples' own reflections on humanity, sociality, change, and aspiration. Reflecting on political transformations through performance puts centre stage the ethical dimensions of cultural politics and how we enact political subjectivity.
Endorsements
"When is reflection political, ethical? This multidimensional collection on performance as theatre opens up an arena for exploration through the sheer audacity of its scope. Anthropologically informed, diversely interpreted, it is a compelling example of unexpected collaborations."
- Marilyn Strathern (Professor emerita, University of Cambridge)
'The conversation between Anthropology, Theatre and Development is long and profound - and this collection deepens it further through a powerful set of analyses that draw on an impressive range of theoretical sources and geographically-located practices. Its breadth is excellent and it will strengthen the thinking, and I hope practice, of those that seek to expand the scope of performance and anthropology scholarship.'
- James Thompson, The University of Manchester, UK
'This collective book proposes a lucid rethinking and critique of the field of 'theatre for development'. It is based on the premise that, because of its ineluctable embeddedness in place and locality, engaged performance has a particularly powerful contribution to make to the ever-elusive goal of sustainability. 'Relational' and 'embodied' reflexivity emerge from the rich spectrum of chapters as a compelling new paradigm for political transformation and for an effective theory and practice of sustainability; it also offers an antidote to the detached rationality of globalized modernity and expert-driven development, so essential to healing the ravages on nature,peoples and cultures caused by it. This volume should be read by those working on art and performance, development, and sustainability in fields such as anthropology, geography, politics, and environmental, social movements, and global studies. It constitutes a much welcome and illuminating voice in the cacophony of debates on the post-2015 development agenda and sustainable development goals taking place at present.'
- Arturo Escobar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Contributors
Dan Baron Cohen, community-based arts-educator and cultural activist, Brazil. Jane Plastow, Leeds University, UK. Jeffrey S. Juris, Northeastern University, USA. Rolf C. Hemke, Theatre an der Ruhr in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. Nicholas J. Long, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. Milo Rau, International Institute for Political Murder. Rafael Schacter, University College London, UK. Catherine Schuler, University of Maryland, USA. Caroline Gatt, University of Aberdeen, UK. Stavroula Pipyrou, University of St Andrews, UK. Clare Foster, University College London, UK.
Reviews
Reviewed in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (22/4, 2016) (Click here for PDF), Current anthropology, theaterforschung.de
Get the book here
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137350602?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=google_books&utm_campaign=3_pier05_buy_print&utm_content=en_08082017
Edited with Alex Ungprateeb Flynn
Short description
From Pussy Riot and the Arab Spring to Italian mafia dance, this book provides an interdisciplinary analysis of relational reflexivity in political performance. By putting anthropological theory into dialogue with international development scholarship and artistic and activist practices, this book highlights how aesthetics and politics interrelate in precarious spheres of social life. The contributors of this interdisciplinary volume raise questions about the transformative potential of participating in and reflecting upon political performances both as individual and as collectives. The book argues that such processes provide a rich field and new pathways for anthropological explorations of peoples' own reflections on humanity, sociality, change, and aspiration. Reflecting on political transformations through performance puts centre stage the ethical dimensions of cultural politics and how we enact political subjectivity.
Endorsements
"When is reflection political, ethical? This multidimensional collection on performance as theatre opens up an arena for exploration through the sheer audacity of its scope. Anthropologically informed, diversely interpreted, it is a compelling example of unexpected collaborations."
- Marilyn Strathern (Professor emerita, University of Cambridge)
'The conversation between Anthropology, Theatre and Development is long and profound - and this collection deepens it further through a powerful set of analyses that draw on an impressive range of theoretical sources and geographically-located practices. Its breadth is excellent and it will strengthen the thinking, and I hope practice, of those that seek to expand the scope of performance and anthropology scholarship.'
- James Thompson, The University of Manchester, UK
'This collective book proposes a lucid rethinking and critique of the field of 'theatre for development'. It is based on the premise that, because of its ineluctable embeddedness in place and locality, engaged performance has a particularly powerful contribution to make to the ever-elusive goal of sustainability. 'Relational' and 'embodied' reflexivity emerge from the rich spectrum of chapters as a compelling new paradigm for political transformation and for an effective theory and practice of sustainability; it also offers an antidote to the detached rationality of globalized modernity and expert-driven development, so essential to healing the ravages on nature,peoples and cultures caused by it. This volume should be read by those working on art and performance, development, and sustainability in fields such as anthropology, geography, politics, and environmental, social movements, and global studies. It constitutes a much welcome and illuminating voice in the cacophony of debates on the post-2015 development agenda and sustainable development goals taking place at present.'
- Arturo Escobar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Contributors
Dan Baron Cohen, community-based arts-educator and cultural activist, Brazil. Jane Plastow, Leeds University, UK. Jeffrey S. Juris, Northeastern University, USA. Rolf C. Hemke, Theatre an der Ruhr in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. Nicholas J. Long, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. Milo Rau, International Institute for Political Murder. Rafael Schacter, University College London, UK. Catherine Schuler, University of Maryland, USA. Caroline Gatt, University of Aberdeen, UK. Stavroula Pipyrou, University of St Andrews, UK. Clare Foster, University College London, UK.
Reviews
Reviewed in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (22/4, 2016) (Click here for PDF), Current anthropology, theaterforschung.de
Get the book here
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137350602?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=google_books&utm_campaign=3_pier05_buy_print&utm_content=en_08082017