Improvising Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Learning From Dramatic Artists Seeking Social Justice

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Multimodalities and the Arts in Languages and Literacy Studies

Abstract

This paper explores compatibilities between the principles and practices of dramatic improvisation and culturally-sustaining pedagogy (CSP). Drawing from the author's auto-ethnographic study as a student of dramatic improvisation and the experiences of experienced dramatic improvisers of Latinx, black, multilingual, and LGBTQ identities, the article argues that CSP and dramatic improvisation 1) celebrate the ever-evolving complexity of linguistic and cultural forms, 2) encourage creative, collective cooperation among communities of learners, and 3) foster cosmopolitan interactions across lines of difference. Additionally, drawing upon the lived experiences of marginalized performers, the study suggests ways that learners might similarly challenge injustice and imaginatively enact social alternatives through dramatic play. The article concludes with considerations for educational theory, pedagogy, and policy.

Author

• Laura Carter-Stone, Vanderbilt University