Post-Colonialism, The Other and Representation: Some Questions

We had a lively discussion yesterday based on some general readings about Post-Colonial theory (the body of thought that studies cultures, races and nations that have lived under imperialist domination, and the relations of power and influence between nations that continue to be affected by the presence or history of colonial powers); the concept of the Other (very generally, the idea of using an entity outside of onesself to define one's own identity); and issues of representation (questions of how and why people represent themselves, their surroundings, and others, and what factors influence people's perceptions of those representations). In between piping in with my (often overly wordy!) opinions and trying to moderate the conversation, I wrote down some questions we came up with to apply to the material we will be studying over the course of the semester.

This list is ongoing, so feel free to comment and add new questions or revise these.

• Do we study theatre from other countries or cultures out of an impulse to control or have power over its people? Or do we do so out of a desire for peace, harmony and love? And how do those issues -- power vs. love -- appear in the forms of performance we are studying?
• A related question: who defines "peace," and who does that idea of peace serve? Is conflict between cultures productive and important? How does drama, performance and theatre deal with conflict in productive ways in different cultures?
• How do we discover "sameness" in different cultures without disrespecting their right to difference? Is it possible to look for similarity and understanding without imposing our own perspectives on cultural expressions from other countries? If so, what do we have to do to step outside of our own preconceptions and biases?
• What was the stated intention of the ritual, performance or play initially? How did its meaning or people's perception of it change when the form moved into a different historical or cultural or economic context?
  
• Who is the audience for the performance, and how might that change its meaning?
  
• What is the role of violence in this culture's history? How does violence appear in its cultural expressions? Has violence influenced its ability to create art, theatre or performance freely and publicly, or played a part in the transport of the culture's beliefs and ideas elsewhere in the world?
• What about spirituality/religion? In its original context, is the form spiritual in nature? When and how did that meaning get lost? What happens to a culture's beliefs when they are studied outside of a certain community? Can people who don't share a culture's religious beliefs understand the meaning of ritual or creative expressions that arise from those beliefs?
• A related question: in plays, is spiritual content contained in a different form of performance? Or is secular content explored using a technique or form that was originally associated with religion?
  
• And what about commerce and economics? How has money affected the meaning and understanding of a cultural expression? How has it affected the ability of a community to create art or performance? Who profits from the creation or circulation of a work of art or form of expression? Conversely, are certain forms threatening to someone's economic gain, and who profits from the suppression of those artists or ways of working? (Or: are there certain elements of a form that are retained to make something profitable in commercial contexts, and others that are hidden or suppressed?)
  
• Does the form and content of the performance adopt a certain attitude toward assimilation? Does it resist being understandable by people outside of the community that produced it, or does it invite other people in?
  
• Since we are studying from the perspective of people brought up in The United States, what is "American" culture? And what is the history of people in diaspora and their presence in the United States? As Americans, what is our relationship to the cultures we are studying?
• In what language or languages was the performance originally written/performed? How and why does language seem important in the form?
  
• What do you relate to in other forms of cultural expression? And what seems impossible to understand? How do people deal with complicated, ambivalent responses to other cultures? Is it possible to learn and change one's response -- that is, can we develop empathy or understanding for the things we initially find confusing, disorienting or unappealing? Is there value in attempting to do that?
  
• How do people from other cultures perceive "outsiders"? How do we, as spectators, represent ourselves and our motives to people whose work we are viewing?
• How are our skills/techniques/goals as actors and theatre artists enhanced or challenged by contact with artists from other cultures, and vice versa?

There are lots more to be added, I know. But we could probably spend a whole semester on just one of these!