FW: CFP - CATR Seminar: Art/Science: The scientific mind in performance and research

[Chris Jackman]

CATR/ACRT 2014
Canadian Association for Theatre Research / Association Canadienne de la Recherche Théâtrale
Call for Submissions for Conference 24-27 May 2014 Brock University

CALL FOR PAPERS


Seminar Title: Art/Science: The scientific mind in performance and research

Theatre smuggles scientific ideas across disciplinary boundaries, be it through broad cultural osmosis or explicit influence (for example, Darwinian logics in the Naturalist theatre, pedagogical research laboratories run by Stanislavski or Grotowski, or theoretical mathematics in John Mighton’s plays). More recently, cognitive science and dynamical systems research have been ascendant in contemporary theatre studies as they have been in broader cultural discourse.

However, as we continue to draw cross-disciplinary research into performance scholarship at large, we must remain wary about how that border is (or is not) being minded. Do we know if our artistic license or desire to simplify is disguising an insufficient rigor? Are we aware when jargon is deployed to enhance the appearance of authority and to silence debate? At what point does original scholarship become parasitic upon others’ research? If we wish to speak back to scientific frameworks, how can we be heard?

The seminar will foster a “big tent” discussion around the import of scientific data and methodologies into theatre studies, inviting participants to submit working papers (roughly 10-12 pages in length) that can provide a locus for collective debate. These may include:
- Descriptions of practice-based research projects and creative works that adopt, challenge, or work in tension with empirical methodologies and principles of falsifiability.
- Assessments of collaboration between organizations, institutions, or individuals in the arts and sciences.
- Reflective works considering ethics and questions of authority as they are negotiated between arts and science.
- Analyses of performance pieces that engage with the sciences to inform imagery, allegory, theme, content, structure, or the creation process itself.

- Performance scholarship that applies or critiques findings from any number of scientific fields, including (but not limited to) cognitive studies, psychology, social science, evolutionary biology, quantum physics, the study of systems, etc.

Papers will be disseminated and discussed online over Dropbox. Early discussions will support a lively discussion at Congress, articulating the diverse values, strategies, and “best practices” underlying our current applications of science to theatre studies.

Please send proposals of 250-300 words and a brief biography to Christopher Jackman (cjackman at brocku.ca). Deadline for submission is January 13, 2014. The organizer welcomes questions in advance.
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