Can an Ethnodrama Be True and Accurate?

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Figurations and Interrogations in Qualitative Methodology (Table 15)

Abstract

We use a practice-based and dialectical approach to discuss an important issue in performance: Can an ethnodrama be true or accurate. Drawing on the philosophy of symbolic forms, theories of reflection as well as recent theory in qualitative research, we argue for the power of the artists' presence to communicate with audiences. We assert that while social scientists may strive to communicate accurately or to convey participants' personal truths, ethnodrama can do neither. Artists create meanings beyond those of participants.

Authors

• David D. Dodd, Independent Scholar
  Presenting Author

• Charles F. Vanover, University of South Florida
  Presenting Author