This is in response to an article I read in the Body, Space and Technology Journal by Dan Friedman titled Performance as Revolutionary Activity: Liminality and Social Change. I've included a link to this issue below:
http://people.brunel.ac.uk/bst/vol0101/index.html
Friedman is the dramaturg at the Castillo Theatre (what he describes as an "off-off" Broadway theatre in New York City). He began as a therapist, who then moved into community organizing before coming to the theatre. What is so interesting about this theatre and about this paper is its discussion of performance as not merely a form of entertainment, but rather its integration into everyday life. Performance is described as an approach to human development that can be applied to any social setting; used as a way to break out of established social roles/norms and to facilitate change. In other words, viewing performance as a way of developing and stepping out of what is beyond our "normal role". This idea has spurred various community-based organizations using the idea of performance as a way to develop life skills (one example is an anti-violence youth program called the All Stars Talent Show, in which young people produce talent shows and are encouraged to "perform" as leaders). This relates to the ideas expressed in John Dewey's Art as Experience, in that art has become compartmentalized and "placed on a pedestal" so to speak, rather than existing as an integrated part of the life of the community from whence it came. Rather than as a representation or natural extension of a culture or a community (as was true in the past), the arts have a tendency to be viewed more as an elitist or privileged activity.
How does this related to Internet2? While this paper does not speak directly to Internet2 as a medium, the ideas discussed are an interesting starting-off point for ways in which I2 can be used. The collaborative nature of I2 may provide a useful platform for testing various scenarios in which performance can be used as a developmental activity; as well as its overall potential to bridge gaps and perhaps change the way that the arts and technology can be viewed and used.
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1 comments:
A good start... You are right to note that many things that are not directly labeled I2 have direct import for I2 matters.
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