Unsettling Narratives Through Performativity and Theatre  Workshops

October 15, 2024

Title: Unsettling Narratives Through Performativity and Theatre  Workshops

This residency will focus on exploring how dominant cultural narratives are embedded within institutional and cultural archives, using performance as a tool to deconstruct and reframe these narratives. Drawing on decolonial theory, the project will engage with local communities to reclaim their stories and identities through creative practices that challenge colonial histories.

The primary goal of my project, which is an effort that will work toward my dissertation, is to examine how dominant narratives are constructed and maintained by society and how they can be challenged through performative, artistic, and archival practices. My research focuses on the intersection of decolonial theory, Indigenous methodologies, ethnographic performance, and creative or artistic forms. Specifically, my dissertation asks:  

  • How are dominant societal narratives shaped and sustained through cultural, academic, and institutional archives?
  • In what ways can performance, particularly theatre, plays, and the arts, serve as a catalyst to unsettle and subvert these dominant narratives?
  • How can students/communities reclaim and reframe their identities in ways that challenge colonial and oppressive histories?

My project draws on Indigenous research methodologies, community projects, and performative knowledge systems of Indigenous people, highlighting how knowledge is passed through embodied practices. At the heart of this inquiry is a commitment to unsettle dominant research methods, unsettle colonial knowledge production, and highlight marginalized perspectives. 

About the Project

Collaborators

  • Project Lead

    Keolanani Kinghorn

    Unsettling Narratives Through Performativity and Theatre  Workshops

    University of Utah

Geography

Utah