Teaching workshop: performance ethnography
A.A. 2025/2026
Obiettivi formativi
Sulla scia della "svolta performativa" in etnografia, che considera la performance sia come campo che come metodo di ricerca, gli obiettivi generali del laboratorio saranno:
- imparare come i diversi tipi di performance vengano studiati etnograficamente,
- applicare la performance come epistemologia, pratica e strumento di ricerca,
- comprendere l'interazione tra etnografia e performance, tramite modelli in campo etnografico,
- comprendere il contributo dell'etnografia della performance all'etica della ricerca, in particolare nel mettere in discussione il differenziale di potere tra osservatore e osservato.
Durante il corso, leggeremo varie metodologie di etnografia della performance e testi etnografici da tutto il mondo per illustrare le diverse modalità in cui la performance può essere analizzata e praticata come forma di ricerca.
- imparare come i diversi tipi di performance vengano studiati etnograficamente,
- applicare la performance come epistemologia, pratica e strumento di ricerca,
- comprendere l'interazione tra etnografia e performance, tramite modelli in campo etnografico,
- comprendere il contributo dell'etnografia della performance all'etica della ricerca, in particolare nel mettere in discussione il differenziale di potere tra osservatore e osservato.
Durante il corso, leggeremo varie metodologie di etnografia della performance e testi etnografici da tutto il mondo per illustrare le diverse modalità in cui la performance può essere analizzata e praticata come forma di ricerca.
Risultati apprendimento attesi
- Gli studenti dimostreranno di comprendere le basi teoriche della "svolta performativa" nella ricerca etnografica e le sue implicazioni epistemologiche
- Gli studenti spiegheranno come la performance funzioni simultaneamente sia come oggetto di studio che come metodologia di ricerca nell'indagine etnografica
- Gli studenti analizzeranno casi di studio tratti dalla letteratura globale sull'etnografia della performance per comprendere la diversità metodologica e la specificità culturale
- Gli studenti presenteranno i risultati delle loro ricerche sia in formati accademici tradizionali che attraverso modalità performative.
- Gli studenti spiegheranno come la performance funzioni simultaneamente sia come oggetto di studio che come metodologia di ricerca nell'indagine etnografica
- Gli studenti analizzeranno casi di studio tratti dalla letteratura globale sull'etnografia della performance per comprendere la diversità metodologica e la specificità culturale
- Gli studenti presenteranno i risultati delle loro ricerche sia in formati accademici tradizionali che attraverso modalità performative.
Periodo: Primo semestre
Modalità di valutazione: Giudizio di approvazione
Giudizio di valutazione: superato/non superato
Corso singolo
Questo insegnamento può essere seguito come corso singolo.
Programma e organizzazione didattica
Edizione unica
Responsabile
Periodo
Primo semestre
Programma
Course Schedule
Week 1-2: Foundations (5hrs)
Session 1: Introduction to Performance Ethnography (2.5 hours)
· What is performance ethnography?
· The "performative turn" in anthropology and ethnography
· Performance as epistemology vs. performance as object of study
· Reading: Conquergood, D. Cultural Struggles (selected chapters)
Session 2: Theoretical Foundations (2.5 hours)
· Body, embodiment, and knowledge production
· Observer/observed power dynamics
· Reflexivity in performance ethnography
· Reading: Madison, D.S. Critical Ethnography (selected chapters)
Week 3-4: Global Methodologies (5 hours)
Session 3: Performance Ethnography Across Cultures (2.5 hours)
· Case study: Mojisola Adebayo
· Cultural specificity in methodological approaches
· Decolonizing performance research
· Reading: Taylor, D. Performance (selected chapters); Newton, E. Mother Camp (selected chapters)
Session 4: Digital and Contemporary Contexts (2.5 hours)
· Virtual performance spaces
· Social media as a performance site
· Contemporary challenges and opportunities
· Reading: Altınay, R. Ertuğ. et al. "Large-Scale Collaborative Research Projects..."
· Freedom Theatre & ASHTAR Theatre Case Studies
· Student Presentation Round 1
Week 5-6: Applied Methods (5 hours)
Session 5: Ethnography OF Performance (2.5 hours)
· Participant observation in performance contexts
· Interview techniques with performers
· Documentation methods and ethics
· Reading: Seizer, S. Stigmas of the Tamil Stage (selected chapters)
· Hands-on workshop: observing campus performances
Session 6: Ethnography THROUGH Performance (2.5 hours)
· Performative writing and presentation
· Embodied research methods
· Co-creation with research participants
· Reading: Hamera, J. Opening Acts (selected chapters)
· Student Presentation Round 2
Week 7-8: Ethics and Applications (5 hours)
Session 7: Ethics and Power (2.5 hours)
· Consent and collaboration in performance research
· Representation and voice
· Community engagement and reciprocity
· Reading: Abu-Lughod, L. Dramas of Nationhood (selected chapters); Alexander-Craft, R. When the Devil Knocks (selected chapters)
· Case study analysis and discussion
Session 8: Final Presentations and Synthesis (2.5 hours)
Final Student Presentations
Workshop synthesis and reflection
Future directions in performance ethnography
Reading: Levi, H. The World of Lucha Libre (selected chapters)
Final papers due
Week 1-2: Foundations (5hrs)
Session 1: Introduction to Performance Ethnography (2.5 hours)
· What is performance ethnography?
· The "performative turn" in anthropology and ethnography
· Performance as epistemology vs. performance as object of study
· Reading: Conquergood, D. Cultural Struggles (selected chapters)
Session 2: Theoretical Foundations (2.5 hours)
· Body, embodiment, and knowledge production
· Observer/observed power dynamics
· Reflexivity in performance ethnography
· Reading: Madison, D.S. Critical Ethnography (selected chapters)
Week 3-4: Global Methodologies (5 hours)
Session 3: Performance Ethnography Across Cultures (2.5 hours)
· Case study: Mojisola Adebayo
· Cultural specificity in methodological approaches
· Decolonizing performance research
· Reading: Taylor, D. Performance (selected chapters); Newton, E. Mother Camp (selected chapters)
Session 4: Digital and Contemporary Contexts (2.5 hours)
· Virtual performance spaces
· Social media as a performance site
· Contemporary challenges and opportunities
· Reading: Altınay, R. Ertuğ. et al. "Large-Scale Collaborative Research Projects..."
· Freedom Theatre & ASHTAR Theatre Case Studies
· Student Presentation Round 1
Week 5-6: Applied Methods (5 hours)
Session 5: Ethnography OF Performance (2.5 hours)
· Participant observation in performance contexts
· Interview techniques with performers
· Documentation methods and ethics
· Reading: Seizer, S. Stigmas of the Tamil Stage (selected chapters)
· Hands-on workshop: observing campus performances
Session 6: Ethnography THROUGH Performance (2.5 hours)
· Performative writing and presentation
· Embodied research methods
· Co-creation with research participants
· Reading: Hamera, J. Opening Acts (selected chapters)
· Student Presentation Round 2
Week 7-8: Ethics and Applications (5 hours)
Session 7: Ethics and Power (2.5 hours)
· Consent and collaboration in performance research
· Representation and voice
· Community engagement and reciprocity
· Reading: Abu-Lughod, L. Dramas of Nationhood (selected chapters); Alexander-Craft, R. When the Devil Knocks (selected chapters)
· Case study analysis and discussion
Session 8: Final Presentations and Synthesis (2.5 hours)
Final Student Presentations
Workshop synthesis and reflection
Future directions in performance ethnography
Reading: Levi, H. The World of Lucha Libre (selected chapters)
Final papers due
Prerequisiti
· Workshop will be conducted in English
Metodi didattici
In-Person lectures
Materiale di riferimento
Required Readings
Methods
Altınay, R. Ertuğ. et al. 2021. "Large-Scale Collaborative Research Projects in Theatre and Performance Studies: Resources, Politics, and Ethics in the Margins of Europe during the Covid-19 Pandemic," Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, 36(1), pp. 183-191.
Conquergood, Dwight. 2013. Cultural Struggles: Performance, Ethnography, Praxis. Ann Arbor: Michigan University Press.
Hamera, Judith. 2005. Opening Acts. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Madison, D. Soyini. 2020. Critical Ethnography: Methods, Ethics, and Performance. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Taylor, Diana. 2016. Performance. Durham: Duke University Press.
Case Studies
Abu-Lughod, Lila. 2005. Dramas of Nationhood: The Politics of Television in Egypt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Alexander-Craft, Renée. 2016. When the Devil Knocks: The Congo Tradition and the Politics of Blackness in Twentieth-Century Panama. Ohio: The Ohio State University Press.
Levi, Heather. 2008. The World of Lucha Libre: Secrets, Revelations, and Mexican National Identity. Durham: Duke University Press.
Newton, Esther. 1979. Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Seizer, Susan. 2005. Stigmas of the Tamil Stage: An Ethnography of Special Drama Artists in South India. Durham: Duke University Press.
Methods
Altınay, R. Ertuğ. et al. 2021. "Large-Scale Collaborative Research Projects in Theatre and Performance Studies: Resources, Politics, and Ethics in the Margins of Europe during the Covid-19 Pandemic," Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, 36(1), pp. 183-191.
Conquergood, Dwight. 2013. Cultural Struggles: Performance, Ethnography, Praxis. Ann Arbor: Michigan University Press.
Hamera, Judith. 2005. Opening Acts. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Madison, D. Soyini. 2020. Critical Ethnography: Methods, Ethics, and Performance. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Taylor, Diana. 2016. Performance. Durham: Duke University Press.
Case Studies
Abu-Lughod, Lila. 2005. Dramas of Nationhood: The Politics of Television in Egypt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Alexander-Craft, Renée. 2016. When the Devil Knocks: The Congo Tradition and the Politics of Blackness in Twentieth-Century Panama. Ohio: The Ohio State University Press.
Levi, Heather. 2008. The World of Lucha Libre: Secrets, Revelations, and Mexican National Identity. Durham: Duke University Press.
Newton, Esther. 1979. Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Seizer, Susan. 2005. Stigmas of the Tamil Stage: An Ethnography of Special Drama Artists in South India. Durham: Duke University Press.
Modalità di verifica dell’apprendimento e criteri di valutazione
· In-Class Presentations (40%)
· Final Research Paper (60%)
· Final Research Paper (60%)
Siti didattici
Docente/i
Ricevimento:
Tuesdays Thursdays at 9-11:00am
Via Noto 8, Second Floor, Office next to K23 classroom