Presence in Performative Teaching, Learning and Research 

Call for Papers 

The Call for Papers is closed 

We welcome contributions from scholars, researchers, teacher educators, as well as artists and practitioners in arts-based disciplines and professional fields of practice. These can bein the form of 20-minute papers, 90-minute workshops, short films, performance pieces and poster presentations. 


Call for Papers - English (or download pdf)

For the Scenario 2024 conference, we invite contributions that investigate the notion of presence in performative teaching, learning and research. 

Presence is a cornerstone of performative education, an approach that emphasises forms of aesthetic expression (Schewe, 2013). When discussing language teacher education, Even (2020) states: “Being present is a fundamental requirement for any teacher: developing the intuition to decide what is needed in a given situation and welcoming the unpredictability of learning processes” (p. 10). 

In Performative in a Nutshell, Schewe (2020) offers a list of terms representing each letter of the word PERFORMATIVE. The first item, listed under the first letter, P, is presence. In a later publication, the PERFORMATIVE acronym is further condensed, with presence connected to aesthetic experience and defined as “a state of heightened awareness often noted in performers, teachers, and young children engaged in deep play. It is an active state of receptivity where ideas can flow into action” (Piazzoli & Schewe, 2023, p. 79).  

So if one holds the belief that performative presence can enhance engagement, how can a sense of presence be cultivated in the language classroom? What are its effects, challenges and dynamics? As Coonfield and Rose (2012) highlight, presence emerges from, and thrives, in the energy generated among performer, text, and audience. 

Accordingly, we would define presence not as just a quality of an individual, but rather as a reciprocal quality between learners, teacher and text. In this sense, co-presence (Fischer-Lichte, 2008), may emerge whenever aesthetic synergy is generated between all social actors in the classroom.  

Forty years ago, Greene (1984) called for educators to cultivate the art of being present, to awaken to a sense of present-ness. What does this mean today, in the current educational landscape, characterised by a post-pandemic, hybrid environment? As educators, we cannot assume that presence is automatically part of classrooms due to the presence of our bodies in a shared space; nor can we deny that presence may be cultivated in online educational spaces, as Ucok-Sayrak and Brazelton (2022) argue.  

We invite authors to reflect on the various complexities of embodying presence in the fields of language teacher education (Even, 2020; Schewe, 2020) aesthetic education (Greene, 1984) theatre and performance studies (Barba, 1995; Fischer-Lichte, 2008, 2012, 2023), online learning (Ucok-Sayrak & Brazelton, 2022; Juncan, 2022), philosophy (Gumbrecht, 2004; Nancy, 2022), applied linguistics, psycholinguistics, and beyond.  

We welcome contributions from scholars, researchers, teacher educators, teachers as well as artists and practitioners in arts-based disciplines and professional fields of practice. These can be in the form of 20-minute papers, 90-minute workshops, short films, performance pieces and poster presentations (forms not listed here may also be considered) investigating one or more of the following aspects: 

Proposals in either English, German or Italian should consist of an abstract (max. 250 words) and a short bio (max. 75 words). Please send your proposal by November 17, 2023,to the expression of interest form, here. The selection panel will meet soon after this date and inform selected contributors in due course. It is envisaged that selected papers will be considered for publication after editorial and blind peer review in either SCENARIO journal or in the SCENARIO book series. For details on the SCENARIO PROJECT, including information on previous symposia, colloquia and conferences see http://scenario.ucc.ie


References  

Barba, E. (1995). The paper canoe: A guide to theatre anthropology (R. Fowler Trans.). Routledge. 

Coonfield, G., & Rose, H. (2012). What is called presence. Text and Performance Quarterly, 32(3), 192-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/10462937.2012.691309  

Even, S. (2020). Presence and unpredictability in teacher education. Scenario: A Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning, Research, 14(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.14.1.1   

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2008). The transformative power of performance: A new aesthetics. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203894989  

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2012). Appearing as embodied mind-defining a weak, a strong and a radical concept of presence. In G. Giannachi, N. Kaye & M. Shanks (Eds.), Archaeologies of presence (pp. 103-118). Routledge. 

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2023). Aesthetic knowledge and aesthetic experience. In E. Fischer-Lichte, T. Jost, M. Kosic & A. Schenka (Eds.), Performance Cultures as Epistemic Cultures, Volume I (pp. 101-125). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003372837-7 

Greene, M. (1984). The art of being present: Educating for aesthetic encounters. Journal of Education, 166(2), 123-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205748416600203  

Gumbrecht, H. U. (2004). Production of presence: What meaning cannot convey. Stanford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804767149  

Jucan, I. B. (2022). Digitally live: Performative presence in times of Covid-19. Performance Paradigm, 17, 24-48. 

Nancy, J. L. (2022). The birth to presence. Stanford University Press. 

Piazzoli, E., & Schewe, M. (2023). Arts education in Ireland: Visions of a performative teaching, learning and research culture. Journal de recherche en éducations artistiques, 1, 72-83. https://doi.org/10.26034/vd.jrea.2023.3586 

Schewe, M. (2013). Taking stock and looking ahead: Drama pedagogy as a gateway to a performative teaching and learning culture. Scenario: A Journal for Drama and Theatre in Foreign and Second Language Education, 7(1), 5-27. https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.7.1.2 

Schewe, M. (2020). Performative in a nutshell. Scenario: A Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning, Research, 14(1), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.14.1.7 

Ucok-Sayrak, O., & Brazelton, N. (2022). Regarding the question of presence in online education: A performative pedagogical perspective. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(2), 131-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.1880389 

Call for Papers - German (or download pdf)

Anlässlich der Scenario-Konferenz 2024 laden wir zu Beiträgen ein, die das Phänomen Präsenz in performativen Lehr-, Lern- und Forschungskontexten beleuchten.

Präsenz ist ein Eckpfeiler performativer Bildung, in der Formen des ästhetischen Ausdrucks einen zentralen Stellenwert haben (Schewe, 2013). Bei der Diskussion über die Sprachlehrer:innenausbildung stellt Even (2020) fest: „Präsent zu sein ist eine grundlegende Voraussetzung für jede Lehrperson, d.h. sie muss Intuition entwickeln, um entscheiden zu können, worauf es in einer bestimmten Lehr-/Lernsituation ankommt, und die Unvorhersehbarkeit von Lernprozessen akzeptieren" (S. 10).

In Performative in a Nutshell legt Schewe (2020) eine Liste von Begriffen vor, die sich auf die Buchstaben des Wortes PERFORMATIV beziehen. Dem ersten Buchstaben P ordnet er den Begriff Präsenz zu. In einer späteren Publikation wird das Akronym PERFORMATIV weiter verdichtet, wobei Präsenz mit ästhetischer Erfahrung in Verbindung gebracht und definiert wird als „ein Zustand erhöhten Bewusstseins, der häufig zu beobachten ist, wenn Darsteller:innen, Lehrer:innen und Kinder im Spiel vertieft sind. Es handelt sich um einen Zustand erhöhter Aufnahmebereitschaft, in welchem die Umsetzung von Ideen in konkretes Handeln begünstigt wird“ (Piazzoli & Schewe, 2023, S. 79). 

Wenn man davon ausgeht, dass performative Präsenz das Engagement von Lehrenden und Lernenden fördern kann, in welcher Weise kann dann speziell im Sprachunterricht ein Gespür für Präsenz kultiviert werden? Mit welchen Herausforderungen und unterrichtlichen Dynamiken ist das verbunden und in welcher Weise zeigt sich und wirkt Präsenz? Wie Coonfield und Rose (2012) betonen, entsteht und gedeiht Präsenz mittels der Energie, die zwischen Darsteller:innen, Text und Publikum erzeugt wird.

So lässt sich Präsenz nicht als eine individuelle Eigenschaft verstehen, sondern vielmehr als ein Phänomen, das aus der sich zwischen Lehrenden, Lernenden und Text vollziehenden Dynamik entsteht. Folglich kann immer dann von Ko-Präsenz (Fischer-Lichte, 2008) die Rede sein, wenn eine ästhetische Synergie zwischen allen sozialen Akteur:innen im Klassenzimmer erzeugt wird. 

Vor vierzig Jahren rief Greene (1984) Pädagog:innen dazu auf, die Kunst der Gegenwärtigkeit zu kultivieren, um wachsam zu sein für das, was sich im Unterrichtsgeschehen von Moment zu Moment ereignet. Was bedeutet das für die aktuelle Bildungslandschaft von heute, die postpandemischen, hybriden Einflüssen ausgesetzt ist? Als Pädagog:innen können wir nicht davon ausgehen, dass Präsenz selbstverständlicher Teil des Unterrichtsgeschehens ist, wenn wir mit anderen einen Raum teilen und uns darin körperlich bewegen; auch ist wohl davon auszugehen, dass Präsenz in Online-Bildungsräumen kultiviert werden kann, wie Ucok-Sayrak und Brazelton (2022) argumentieren. 

Wir laden Beiträger:innen dazu ein, ihre Perspektiven auf komplexe Erscheinungsformen von Präsenz zu präsentieren. Diese können sich auf die Bereiche Sprachlehrer:innenausbildung (Even, 2020; Schewe, 2020), ästhetische Bildung (Greene, 1984), Theater- und Performancestudien (Barba, 1995; Fischer-Lichte, 2008, 2012, 2023), Online-Lehren und -Lernen (Juncan, 2022; Ucok-Sayrak & Brazelton, 2022;), Philosophie (Gumbrecht, 2004; Nancy, 2022), Angewandte Linguistik, Psycholinguistik oder auch andere Bereiche beziehen.

Wir freuen uns über Beiträge von Wissenschaftler:innen, Ausbildner:innen von Lehrpersonen, Lehrer:innen sowie Künstler:innen und Praktiker:innen, die kunstbasierte Disziplinen und professionelle Praxisfelder repräsentieren. Als Formate kommen 20-minütige Vorträge, 90-minütige Workshops, Kurzfilme, Performances und Posterpräsentationen in Frage (auch hier nicht aufgeführte Formen können berücksichtigt werden), die einen oder mehrere der folgenden Aspekte untersuchen:

Einreichungen sind in englischer, deutscher oder italienischer Sprache möglich und sollten aus einem Abstract (max. 250 Wörter) und einem kurzen Lebenslauf (max. 75 Wörter) bestehen. Bitte senden Sie uns Ihren Vorschlag bis zum 17. November 2023, indem Sie ein Formular ausfüllen, das Sie hier finden. Das Auswahlgremium wird die ausgewählten Beiträger:innen sobald wie möglich nach Ablauf der Frist benachrichtigen. Es ist vorgesehen, dass die ausgewählten Beiträge – nach Sichtung durch das Scenario Redaktionsteam und einem 'Blind Peer-Review' –entweder in der Zeitschrift SCENARIO oder in der SCENARIO-Buchreihe veröffentlicht werden. Einzelheiten über das SCENARIO PROJEKT, einschließlich Informationen über frühere Symposien, Kolloquien und Konferenzen finden Sie unter http://scenario.ucc.ie


Bibliografie

Barba, E. (1995). The paper canoe: A guide to theatre anthropology (R. Fowler Trans.). Routledge. 

Coonfield, G., & Rose, H. (2012). What is called presence. Text and Performance Quarterly, 32(3), 192-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/10462937.2012.691309  

Even, S. (2020). Presence and unpredictability in teacher education. Scenario: A Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning, Research, 14(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.14.1.1   

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2008). The transformative power of performance: A new aesthetics. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203894989  

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2012). Appearing as embodied mind-defining a weak, a strong and a radical concept of presence. In G. Giannachi, N. Kaye & M. Shanks (Hrsg.), Archaeologies of presence (S. 103-118). Routledge. 

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2023). Aesthetic knowledge and aesthetic experience. In E. Fischer-Lichte, T. Jost, M. Kosic & A. Schenka (Hrsg.), Performance Cultures as Epistemic Cultures, Volume I (S. 101-125). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003372837-7 

Greene, M. (1984). The art of being present: Educating for aesthetic encounters. Journal of Education, 166(2), 123-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205748416600203  

Gumbrecht, H. U. (2004). Production of presence: What meaning cannot convey. Stanford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804767149  

Jucan, I. B. (2022). Digitally live: Performative presence in times of Covid-19. Performance Paradigm, 17, 24-48. 

Nancy, J. L. (2022). The birth to presence. Stanford University Press. 

Piazzoli, E. & Schewe, M. (2023). Arts education in Ireland: Visions of a performative teaching, learning and research culture. Journal de recherche en éducations artistiques, 1, 72-83. https://doi.org/10.26034/vd.jrea.2023.3586 

Schewe, M. (2013). Taking stock and looking ahead: Drama pedagogy as a gateway to a performative teaching and learning culture. Scenario: A Journal for Drama and Theatre in Foreign and Second Language Education, 7(1), 5-27. https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.7.1.2 

Schewe, M. (2020). Performative in a nutshell. Scenario: A Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning, Research, 14(1), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.14.1.7 

Ucok-Sayrak, O., & Brazelton, N. (2022). Regarding the question of presence in online education: A performative pedagogical perspective. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(2), 131-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.1880389 

Call for Papers - Italian (or download pdf)

Per la conferenza 2024 di Scenario vi invitiamo a presentare contributi che indaghino il concetto di presenza performativa nell’apprendimento, insegnamento e ricerca.

Il concetto di “presenza” è fondamentale nella formazione performativa, un approccio che valorizza forme di espressione estetica (Schewe, 2013). Quando si parla di formazione linguistica, Even (2020) sostiene che “essere presenti è un prerequisito per qualsiasi insegnante: sviluppare l’intuizione di decidere ciò che serve in una data situazione e accogliere l’imprevedibilità dei processi di apprendimento” (p. 10).

Nel suo articolo Performative in a Nutshell, Schewe (2020) offre una lista di termini che rappresentano ognuno una lettera che compone la parola PERFORMATIVE. Il primo termine, che inizia con la lettera P, è “presenza”. In una pubblicazione successiva l’acronimo PERFORMATIVE viene ulteriormente condensato collegando la presenza con l’esperienza estetica e definendola come “stato di più acuta consapevolezza che spesso si ritrova nei performer, negli insegnanti e nei bambini che sono impegnati in uno stato di gioco profondo. Si tratta di uno stato attivo di recettività dove le idee possono trasformarsi in azione” (Piazzoli & Schewe, 2023, p. 79).  

Se si ritiene dunque che la presenza di tipo performativo possa aumentare il coinvolgimento, come si può coltivare un senso di presenza in classe? Quali sono i suoi effetti, le sfide, le dinamiche? Come sottolineato da Coonfield and Rose (2012), la presenza emerge e si alimenta dell’energia che si genera tra il performer, il testo e il pubblico. 

Sulla scorta di ciò, vorremmo definire la presenza non tanto come una qualità individuale, ma piuttosto come una qualità reciproca tra studenti, docenti e testo. In questo senso, può emergere la co-presenza (Fischer-Lichte, 2008) ogniqualvolta si generi una sinergia estetica tra tutti gli attori sociali in aula.  

Quaranta anni fa, Green (1984) ci invitava a coltivare l’arte di essere presenti nel qui e ora, di essere attenti a un senso di “presenza”. Cosa vuol dire questo oggi, nell’attuale panorama educativo, caratterizzato dal periodo post-pandemico, da un ambiente ibrido? In quanto insegnanti, non possiamo dare per scontato che la presenza sia automaticamente parte di una lezione in aula solo per il fatto che i nostri corpi sono presenti in uno spazio condiviso, ma nemmeno possiamo negare che la presenza possa essere coltivata in spazi educativi online, come sostengono Ucok-Sayrak and Brazelton (2022).  

Vi invitiamo a riflettere sulle molteplici complessità della presenza nell’ambito della formazione linguistica (Even, 2020: Schewe, 2020), educazione estetica (Green, 1984), studi teatrali e performativi (Barba, 1995; Fischer-Lichte, 2008, 2012, 2023), didattica online (Ucok-Sayrak & Brazelton, 2022; Juncan, 2022), filosofia (Gumbrecht, 2004; Nancy, 2022), linguistica applicata, psicolinguistica e altri ambiti rilevanti.

Sono graditi interventi di accademici, ricercatori, formatori, insegnanti e artisti. Gli interventi potranno avere la forma di una presentazione di 20 minuti, workshop di 90 minuti, cortometraggio, pièce performativa e poster (altre forme non menzionate qui potrebbero essere prese comunque in considerazione) che indaghino uno o più dei seguenti aspetti:

Le proposte potranno essere presentate in inglese, tedesco o italiano sotto forma di un abstract (max 250 parole) e una breve biografia (max 75 parole). Le proposte andranno inviate entro il 17 novembre 2023 attraverso il modulo di espressione di interesse reperibile qui. Il comitato di selezione si incontrerà subito dopo questa data e informerà per tempo i partecipanti i cui contributi sono stati selezionati. È previsto che i contributi selezionati vengano presi in considerazione per la pubblicazione sulla rivista SCENARIO o nella serie di libri di SCENARIO dopo una revisione editoriale (blind peer review). Per ulteriori dettagli sul PROGETTO SCENARIO, incluse informazioni sui precedenti simposi, colloqui e conferenze, andate su  http://scenario.ucc.ie


Riferimenti bibliografici

Barba, E. (1995). The paper canoe: A guide to theatre anthropology (R. Fowler Trans.). Routledge. 

Coonfield, G., & Rose, H. (2012). What is called presence. Text and Performance Quarterly, 32(3), 192-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/10462937.2012.691309  

Even, S. (2020). Presence and unpredictability in teacher education. Scenario: A Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning, Research, 14(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.14.1.1   

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2008). The transformative power of performance: A new aesthetics. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203894989  

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2012). Appearing as embodied mind-defining a weak, a strong and a radical concept of presence. In G. Giannachi, N. Kaye & M. Shanks (Eds.), Archaeologies of presence (pp. 103-118). Routledge. 

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2023). Aesthetic knowledge and aesthetic experience. In E. Fischer-Lichte, T. Jost, M. Kosic & A. Schenka (Eds.), Performance Cultures as Epistemic Cultures, Volume I (pp. 101-125). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003372837-7 

Greene, M. (1984). The art of being present: Educating for aesthetic encounters. Journal of Education, 166(2), 123-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205748416600203  

Gumbrecht, H. U. (2004). Production of presence: What meaning cannot convey. Stanford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804767149  

Jucan, I. B. (2022). Digitally live: Performative presence in times of Covid-19. Performance Paradigm, 17, 24-48. 

Nancy, J. L. (2022). The birth to presence. Stanford University Press. 

Piazzoli, E., & Schewe, M. (2023). Arts education in Ireland: Visions of a performative teaching, learning and research culture. Journal de recherche en éducations artistiques, 1, 72-83. https://doi.org/10.26034/vd.jrea.2023.3586 

Schewe, M. (2013). Taking stock and looking ahead: Drama pedagogy as a gateway to a performative teaching and learning culture. Scenario: A Journal for Drama and Theatre in Foreign and Second Language Education, 7(1), 5-27. https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.7.1.2 

Schewe, M. (2020). Performative in a nutshell. Scenario: A Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning, Research, 14(1), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.14.1.7 

Ucok-Sayrak, O., & Brazelton, N. (2022). Regarding the question of presence in online education: A performative pedagogical perspective. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(2), 131-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.1880389 

The Call For Papers is now closed