Teaching workshop: performance ethnography
A.A. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
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.
Expected learning outcomes
- 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 non può essere seguito come corso singolo. Puoi trovare gli insegnamenti disponibili consultando il catalogo corsi singoli.
Course syllabus and organization
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%)
Professor(s)