CFP: Performance as Research (5/31/06, ASTR, 11/16/06-11/19/06)

full name / name of organization: 
LisainBG_at_aol.com
contact email: 

Seminar:=20
Performance as Research =20
Leaders:=20
Kris Salata, Stanford University=20
Lisa Wolford Wylam, Bowling Green State University =20
ASTR 2006 CONFERENCE=20
FIFTIETH ANNIVERASRY OF THE FOUNDING OF ASTR=20
Hotel Allegro, Chicago November 16-19, 2006 =20
Conference Theme: AMERICAN: SOCIETY : THEATRE : RESEARCH=20
Deadline for receipt of abstracts (250 words): May 31, 2006 =20
Performance As Research=20
Under what circumstances can performance itself be understood as a terrain=20
of research? The frequent use of the word =E2=80=9Cexperimental=E2=80=9D or=
 =E2=80=9Claboratory=E2=80=9D by=20
theatre practitioners requires an analysis of the desire hidden behind such=
=20
proclamation, a desire apparently unsatisfied by the search and discovery a=
ny=20
performance must undergo in the process of its creation. =20
Holding traditional =E2=80=9Crights=E2=80=9D to the term =E2=80=9Cresearch,=
=E2=80=9D academic discourse=20
could be on the path of collision with the non-discursive component of=20
practical artistic investigation. Researching what? The authority in such a=
 question=20
comes from the assumption that research must always be articulated in terms=
=20
of its goals. Further, uninterrogated assumptions linking research in its m=
ost=20
restrictive sense to hard sciences (and thus to promises of discovering=20
quantitatively verifiable and objective truths), reinforce classical binari=
es=20
that have long served to marginalize artists =E2=80=93 to =E2=80=9Cprimitiv=
ize them,=E2=80=9D in the=20
formulation of such diversely situated figures as Maya Deren and Coco Fusco=
 =E2=80=93=20
as immature and frequently abject others incapable of rational thought or=20
socially responsible action. What ideological shifts are implicated in acce=
pting=20
the potential of the artist to articulate a defined theoretical framework o=
r=20
program of research, rather than simply functioning as raw material in the=20
cultural work of legitimated experts?

What conditions are necessary for theatrical work to be regarded as a=20
research praxis? Must particular criteria be met, in the sense of testing p=
remises,=20
 methodological approaches, or the attainment of desired results? Indeed, =20
what criteria are best suited to the evaluation of performance research? Whe=
n =20
artists take upon themselves the role of researchers, what implications migh=
t =20
this have for reconfiguring the conventional position of the scholarly=20
observer vis-a-vis theatrical practice? How might theatre scholars engage i=
n=20
productive dialogue with practical artistic researchers, without falling in=
to=20
conventional forms of critique that reify problematic dynamics of authorit=
y?

Taking up the opportunity to reflect, on the occasion of ASTR's fiftieth=20
anniversary, on the implications and significance of its own naming practic=
es,=20
the seminar solicits contributions from scholars and artists engaging with=20
performance as research. We welcome proposals on a broad range of artistic=20=
and=20
cultural practices that explore the intersection of these terms. =20
Please submit proposals (250 words) via email by May 31, 2006 to both=20
organizers:=20
Kris Salata=20
(Stanford University) =20
1302 Taylor Street #5=20
San Francisco, CA 94108=20
_ksalata_at_stanford.edu_ (mailto:ksalata_at_stanford.edu)=20

Lisa Wolford Wylam=20
Department of Theatre and Film
Third Floor, South Hall
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43402
_lisawylam_at_aol.com_ (mailto:lisawylam_at_aol.com) =20

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Received on Mon May 15 2006 - 12:37:15 EDT