ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR GESCHLECHTERFORSCHUNG UND VISUELLE KULTUR (FKW) // NR. 66 // POSITIONIERUNGEN. KRITISCHE ANTWORTEN AUF DIE ‚FLÜCHTLINGSKRISE‘ IN KUNST UND LITERATUR TAKING POSITIONS ON THE ‘REFUGEE CRISIS’: CRITICAL RESPONSES IN ART AND LITERATURE, 2019
The article reflects on contemporary theatre’s representational practice of victimisation, occasi... more The article reflects on contemporary theatre’s representational practice of victimisation, occasionally reserved for refugees and previously immigrants, and examines the ethical and political implications entailed in these practices. It argues that the representation of a vulnerable, suffering ‘other’ depoliticizes the refugee issue, confining refugees to a disempowered category that depends on our empathy and support. Without underrating the essential role of theatre – and the arts in general – to highlight and denounce instances of injustice, discrimination or violence, this article poses the question whether a victimhood-oriented repertoire manages to go beyond short-lived compassion. How can contemporary theatre produce an aesthetic of critical, politicized encounter, while simultaneously acknowledging the agency, expertise and multifaceted identities of people with a refugee experience? The article proposes a documentary theatre approach that can challenge the aforementioned representational patterns of vulnerability and trauma by turning the stage into a self-reflective, inclusive space for critical creativity and re-invented identity placements. The proposed approach is informed by the ethical inquiries and methodological tools of contemporary ethnographic practice. It was developed in the workshop series From Field to Stage: Dramaturgies of the Other, which explores the new directions that the encounter of documentary theatre with ethnography opens in regard to the dramatisation of the ‘other’.
ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR GESCHLECHTERFORSCHUNG UND VISUELLE KULTUR (FKW) // NR. 66 // POSITIONIERUNGEN. KRITISCHE ANTWORTEN AUF DIE ‚FLÜCHTLINGSKRISE‘ IN KUNST UND LITERATUR TAKING POSITIONS ON THE ‘REFUGEE CRISIS’: CRITICAL RESPONSES IN ART AND LITERATURE, 2019
The article reflects on contemporary theatre’s representational practice of victimisation, occasi... more The article reflects on contemporary theatre’s representational practice of victimisation, occasionally reserved for refugees and previously immigrants, and examines the ethical and political implications entailed in these practices. It argues that the representation of a vulnerable, suffering ‘other’ depoliticizes the refugee issue, confining refugees to a disempowered category that depends on our empathy and support. Without underrating the essential role of theatre – and the arts in general – to highlight and denounce instances of injustice, discrimination or violence, this article poses the question whether a victimhood-oriented repertoire manages to go beyond short-lived compassion. How can contemporary theatre produce an aesthetic of critical, politicized encounter, while simultaneously acknowledging the agency, expertise and multifaceted identities of people with a refugee experience? The article proposes a documentary theatre approach that can challenge the aforementioned representational patterns of vulnerability and trauma by turning the stage into a self-reflective, inclusive space for critical creativity and re-invented identity placements. The proposed approach is informed by the ethical inquiries and methodological tools of contemporary ethnographic practice. It was developed in the workshop series From Field to Stage: Dramaturgies of the Other, which explores the new directions that the encounter of documentary theatre with ethnography opens in regard to the dramatisation of the ‘other’.
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Papers by Martha Bouziouri