Student: Roan Shea
Graduation date: May 2018
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: September 2017
Go to concentration landing page
Summary
My initial concentration (approved in Fall 2015) set me up to investigate the use of renewable energy in urban planning. Over the course of the next year, I began to pull together my studies in the theatre department with ENVS, and what came out was a new idea for a concentration. While I continue to be interested in cities and renewable energy, this concentration focuses on truth, performance, and power, in the context of climate change. The summary is as follows:
Truth is a hotly debated topic in politics, and wars over what can be called “fake news” (Merriam-Webster, 2017) are fought every day. Oxford Dictionaries named “post-truth” their word of the year in 2016, which is defined as: “Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” (Oxford-Dictionaries, 2017) However, what can be defined as “objective facts”? Especially when it comes to conflict, “truth and memory as agencies of… reality” are “fiercely contested” (Upton, 2009). Yet, consensus on the truth is often necessary to move forward on important issues, climate change being a critical example. There is overwhelming scientific consensus that our climate is warming, and that this is in large part due to human activity (Oreskes, 2004). However, there is a lack of consensus in wider society, which can be attributed to many factors including lack of information, skepticism of evidence, and lack of concern (“Anxiety reduction mechanisms”, which help us to decrease our own personal anxiety) (Norgaard, 2011). With this in mind, how do different people construct truth assertions? Why is this important to consider in the context of climate change? Within this concentration I will be exploring these questions, and how they relate to performativity (in artistic and political mediums), and the performance and reclaiming of, power.
Gadamer is interested in the experience and understanding of truth. He writes that “the human sciences are connected to modes of experience that lie outside science: …modes of experience in which a truth is communicated that cannot be verified by the methodological means proper to science.” (Gadamer, 1975). Livingstone explores the topic of universal truth in his book Putting science in its place: Geographies of scientific knowledge. He claims that although science is viewed as transcendental, it is really “profoundly embodied” and “situated”; impacted heavily by the literal location of the scientific process (Livingstone, 2003). Additionally, it is not just location, but the pre-existing biases among different groups that prompt them to construct truth in different ways (Lele & Noorgard, 2005). Wendell Berry writes that reductionist science is correctly used as a way to “understand what is… empirically knowable”, but when it is used outside of this strict context, it can be become “very quickly absurd” (Berry, 2000). There are vast differences among these modes of thought in the classification, definition, and applicability of empirical science. Additionally, in the context of Making a Performance, Govan also struggles with the concept of understanding truth in addition to arriving at truth. She writes that “Narrative makes experience knowable”, so “all personal narratives are authentic when they are retold, though they may or may not be literally true.” (Govan, 2007). With so much variation across groups, who controls or seeks to control perceptions of truth? Does power over perceptions of truth lead to power over climate change action?
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o writes on the inherent power struggle between state and artists, and the deliberate containment of artistic expression. He frames “enactments of power” as the power struggles “between the power of performance in the arts and the performance of power by the state.”. Governments have demonstrable power, which they perform, but artists have no real power, only the power they claim through performance (Ngũgĩ, 1997). This differentiation is critical when it comes to climate change. As Naomi Klein writes: solving the issue of climate change has “less to do with the mechanics of solar power than the politics of human power- specifically if there can be a shift in who wields it.” (Klein, 2015) If we assume that governments have substantial power over climate change when it comes to policies they can implement (performances of power), how then do artists reclaim some of this power through performance?
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o defines performance space not as a stage, or other carefully partitioned space, but rather through the presence or absence of others. “Hit and Run” Theatre is an example of how artists have used this mindset to reclaim power. Birthed from harsh social conditions in Zimbabwe, artists would carry out their performances in public spaces, while maintaining “invisibility” from authority censorship with quick naturalistic performances (Zenega, 2010). Audience members would be under the impression that the events unfolding before them were real, and would therefore become “spect-actors” (Boal, 1985) who were unknowingly part of the performance itself. Performances such as these are a kind of stepping stone between conventional theater and Erving Goffman’s theory of self, which describes day to day human activity in terms of theatrical performance where people hide their true feelings backstage, and present themselves in intentional, performative ways (Goffman, 1959). Is this type of performance ethical? How can the artistic use of public space influence power over truth?
If the use of public space contributes to influence over truth because of sheer exposure, and artists are generally contained to private spaces, artists lose potential power because of the performance of governmental/societal authority. One way artists can claim this power is through the opening of the space and social interactions that government and society at large has previously constrained (Ngũgĩ, 1997).
Of course, the dynamics between performance, truth, and power will inevitably change in different contexts. For instance, these themes in Portland will be vastly different than in the US/Mexico border town of Nogales. Nogales is split by the border fence, separating Nogales, Arizona; and Nogales, Mexico. In this case, the performance of power by the state is starkly apparent through the delimitation of space. The interactions between government, border patrol, non-profit groups, residents, migrants, and artists makes for unique conditions and power dynamics. Portland, on the other hand, is not divided by walls persay, but with issues like displacement. Space can be divided in more ways than just literal walls, and ideas (as well as power) are separated along with the separation of people. When it comes to action on climate change, Portland is committed to developing infrastructure for renewable energy, but is situated within a country that is currently withdrawing support for the Paris agreements. While the truth of climate change is apparent to the people of Portland, the US administration is performing its power over the truth in a contrasting way. However, American artists still have the relative freedom to perform as they please, which has not historically been the case in Zimbabwe, which has suffered the oppression of state censorship. Zimbabwe is undeniably vulnerable to the effects of climate change, probably more so than Portland (or the entire Pacific Northwest), and this could make the perception of truth, and the resultant power struggle different.
References
Berry, Wendell. “Life is a Miracle”. Whole Earth, 2000.
Boal, Augusto. “Theatre of the Oppressed”. Theatre Communications Group, New York, 1985.
Gadamer, Hans-Georg. “Truth and Method”. Continuum Publishing Group, London. 1975.
Goffman, Erving. “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”. University of Edinburgh, 1959.
Govan, Emma; Nicholson, Helen; Normington, Katie. “Making a Performance: Devising Histories and Contemporary Practices”. New York, 2007.
Klein, Naomi. This changes everything: Capitalism vs. the climate. Simon and Schuster, 2015.
Lele & Noorgard. “Practicing Interdisciplinarity”. BioScience, 2005.
Livingstone, David. “Putting Science in its Place: Geographies of Scientific Knowledge”. Chicago, 2003.
Merriam-Webster.com. “The Real Story of ‘Fake News’”. Words We are Watching. March, 2017.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. “Enactments of Power: The Politics of Performance Space”. MIT Press, 1997.
Norgaard, Kari Marie. Living in denial: Climate change, emotions, and everyday life. mit Press, 2011.
Oreskes, Naomi. “The scientific consensus on climate change.” Science 306, no. 5702: 1686-1686. 2004.
Österlind, Eva. “Acting out of habits – can Theatre of the Oppressed promote change? Boal’s theatre methods in relation to Bourdieu’s concept of habitus”. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 2008.
Oxford-Dictionaries.com. “Post-truth”. Oxford English Dictionaries. 2017.
Upton, Carol-Anne. “Get Real: Documentary Theatre Past and Present. The Performance of Truth and Justice in Northern Ireland: The Case of Bloody Sunday”. UK, 2009.
Zenega, Praise. “Hit and Run Theatre: The Rise of a New Dramatic Form in Zimbabwe”. Theatre History Studies, 2010.
Questions
- Descriptive: How do people differ in how they construct truth assertions? Who has power over perceptions of truth? Who has power over climate change? How is the status of having power performed? How do differing perceptions of truth complicate the issue of climate change?
- Explanatory: Why is empirical data used in some circumstances to make truth assertions and not others? Why is power over climate change unevenly distributed? Why is it important to consider enactments of power when examining the issue of climate change?
- Evaluative: Is it ethically justifiable to explore performance that crosses into spaces with unaware audiences? Is completely relying on empirical data to form truth assertions a flawed ideology? Is the performance of governmental power over truth perceptions of climate change problematic?
- Instrumental: How can artists use public space and different performance styles to claim power and question truth? How can an interrogation of the nature of truth help to understand the issue of climate change?
Concentration courses
- TH 356 (Devised Performance, 4 credits), spring 2017. This course trains students in a multitude of devising methods and techniques. Through the course you broaden your view of theatre, while simultaneously working to become a more specific, and deliberate artist. You also learn the history and contemporary practices of devised theatre. Much of this is highly experimental and pushes against typical notions of theatre. All of this is crucial to my exploration of performance that questions truth, and all of the ways I can explore this in my own work.
- PSY 260 (Social Psychology, 4 credits) spring, 2017. This class sheds light on the different ways people interact, and how social influences dictate huge portions of our lives and sense of self. This is a necessary lens to consider when looking at performativity and how it relates to social interaction and identity. Additionally, truth is a recurring theme in this course, both in terms of persuasion and how people process information to make truth assertions.
- ENVS 350 (Environmental Theory, 4 credits) spring, 2016. This class will lay the foundation for this concentration. The analysis of a wide range of environmental theory will provide the entire groundwork for my exploration of truth and science. The literature from this class will make up a significant part of my key references.
- TH 385 (Special Topics, African Drama, 4 credits) fall, 2015. This class will expose me to themes of reality in performance and give me the necessary scholarly background in a wide array of theatre practices. The discussions of ritual and reality-bending performance will be crucial to my analysis of truth. The class also delves into performance studies, and theory behind the influences of performativity in our lives. Political performance in colonial and post-colonial Africa was/is a powerful force.
- ENVS 311 ((Un)Natural Disasters, 4 credits) spring, 2018. In this class I will be able to explore the concept of disasters, which will provide different lenses to view the causes, affects, and implications of climate change.
Arts and humanities courses
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- TH 281 (Theatre and Society I, 4 credits) This class will give significant historical background on Theatre and its role/impact on different cultures. Different cultures have generated vastly different theatrical practices, all of which interact with truth differently. There is an especially extensive segment of the course focused on Ancient Greek Society, where not just theatrical performance, but performance of identity were intricate and important parts of society.