Staging Democracy : The Political Work of Live Performance.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beausoleil, Emily.

Series:

Critical Thinking and Contemporary Politics Series

Critical Thinking and Contemporary Politics Series ; v.1

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (186 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin/Boston : Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2023.

Summary:

Staging Democracy responds to compelling calls in democratic theory for communication and coalition across social difference by asking how we realize these ideals in concrete terms. It shifts the focus from if and why marginalized difference should find entry into politics, to the practical question of how this is to be done. What explains those rare moments when marginalized voices break through in contemporary politics? And how might a closer look at the strategies and resources at play within such moments enhance how we understand and enact civic engagement?Political theory and practice have traditionally overlooked the performing arts as a site of civic politics, and yet marginalized communities continually turn to them to communicate, challenge, and catalyze change. This book brings vivid moments of creative practice from three continents together with performance studies and political scholarship to argue that artistic performance offers a potent form of democratic voice for claims from the margins. Across political contexts, democratic aims, and artistic genres, Staging Democracy shows how the very qualities that lead some to think of the arts as unclear, irrational, and irresponsible – and thus politically suspect – shape artistic performance’s distinct capacity to enact democratic engagement in conditions of deep difference and inequality.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 The Art of Democratic Engagement

Chapter 2 Limits of the Literal, Promise of the Performative

Chapter 3 Staging Protest: The Role of Anti-Apartheid Theatre in Democratizing South Africa

Chapter 4 Staging Deliberation: Forum Theatre as 'Living Laboratory' in Canada

Chapter 5 Staging Revision: Clowning Around with Captain Cook in Aotearoa New Zealand

Chapter 6 Challenges, Risks and Limits of Politically-Engaged Performance

Conclusion. Embodying a Democratic Ethos: Future Directions for Performance-as- Democratic Politics

Bibliography

Index - Staging Democracy.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9783111032931

3111032930

OCLC:

1393304601