- Performance as a heuristic: Human communication can be understood as a performance. J.L. Austin and Judith Butler claim that all communicative acts are in essence performances, because they are shaped by the communicator (actor), the receiver (audience), the environment (stage, setting), context (plot), social norms and power dynamics (roles), etc.
- Identities are performative processes, not stable entities: Butler believes that what makes men read as "masculine" in society is not a set of biological or natural characteristics, but the ways in which society has conditioned men to perform masculinity. This can be applied to other identities as well.
- Performance in this sense should not be construed as "inauthentic" or "phony". The point is that even our "authentic" selves shift depending upon the factors listed above. What are some instances where your behavior changes depending on where you are, who you are with, what is expected of you, etc?
- Performance as epistemology/pedagogy: Performing research rather than writing about or illustrating it creates a more embodied way of knowing. Dwight Conquergood pioneered the discipline of performance ethnography, wherein he would interview people in the field where he conducted his ethnographic work (i.e., Hmong refugees at a camp in Thailand, Palestinian refugees in the Gaza strip, gang members in inner-city Chicago) and then perform the transcripts of the interviews in order to understand the experience of his subjects.
- Performance as presentation of research: Performance is an alternative to publishing writing about one's research, wherein the audience gets a closer glimpse into the subjective experience of the phenomenon being studied.
Media Literacy: "For centuries, literacy has referred to the ability to read and write. Today, we get most of our information through an interwoven system of media technologies. The ability to read many types of media has become an essential skill in the 21st Century. Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media. Media literate youth and adults are better able to understand the complex messages we receive from television, radio, Internet, newspapers, magazines, books, billboards, video games, music, and all other forms of media."
- How do you think media plays a role in the everyday performances that shape our lives?
Ira Glass on the creative process and the importance of failure
Reflection and Introduction Exercise
Think about a time when your ambitions and taste exceeded your skills (creative or otherwise). How did this experience make you feel? How did you deal with this? Did you push through (and if so, how) or did you give up?
- Find a partner and share:
- Your name
- Year
- Hometown
- Major
- Why you are taking this class
- The experience you wrote about in your reflection
- Introduce your partner to the class, doing your best to do justice to their experience.
Brene Brown and the importance of vulnerability
Prompt: How does Brown's presentation relate to the concept of Performance Studies? How can we use her research to think about a code of conduct for our class and protecting moments of vulnerability in performance?
