CALL FOR PROPOSALS

18th Annual Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference: "Interpreting the World, Changing the World" Berkeley, California, USA Thursday, May 31 through Sunday, June 3, 2012

PROPOSAL DEADLINE: December 20th, 2011
To submit your proposal please visit: www.ptoweb.org

This year's conference theme is inspired by a quote from the 11th Thesis on Feuerbach:

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it."

Long before "change" became a branded campaign slogan, Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) and Pedagogy of the Oppressed (PO) have been about fundamentally changing the world. Continuously changing and changed through dialogue, action and reflection, TO and PO are theory and practice of change.
How has "change" been co-opted these days?
What are the ways in which acquiescence, denial, mystification or "change" (in scare quotes) has superseded real, substantive change?
What would real change look like?
What is the change we want?

We live in a time of unprecedented, interlocking crises: systemic economic failure, global immiseration, critical resource depletion, catastrophic ecological shifts and the resurgence of extremist ideologies and movements. We are also witnessing a global confluence of movements of indignation, rage, and resistance, as people all over the world reclaim their dignity, respect, humanity, and struggle for justice.

How do we see, interpret, understand, criticize our historical moment, and how do we translate that understanding into practical, material, systemic change?
What are the ways in which you are seeing the world, and changing it?
What needs to change, and how are you changing it?

Please see the bottom of this page for further questions to spark ideas for your conference proposal.

We invite you to submit a proposal for a workshop, dialogue, paper (to be discussed rather than read), debate, performance, or demonstration that you would like to offer at the conference. We welcome proposals that address our theme as well as one (or more) of the following in some clear way:
• Pedagogy of the Oppressed, coined and elaborated by Paulo Freire.
• Theatre of the Oppressed, coined and elaborated by Augusto Boal.
• Other forms of interactive arts and/or education that share PTO's goal of promoting critical thinking and social justice

For example, presentations might include (but will not be limited to):
• Workshops of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Theatre of the Oppressed, or adaptations of those forms
• Case studies of Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Theatre of the Oppressed work
• Case studies of community organizing or community education projects
• Dialogues between activists, artists, and/or popular educators, etc.
• Case studies, workshops, or discussions of problem-posing education or popular education
• Explorations of issues central to oppression, oppressed peoples, or the politics of defining oppression in the first place
• Investigations of interactive performance, interactive education, and other facilitation techniques as tools for social and political engagement. We define performance broadly!

See the bottom of this page for more information on options for presentation format.

Proposals that model interactive critical engagement and accessibility for multiple audiences will receive preference. Follow the link at the bottom of this page to submit your proposal by December 20, 2011.

Preparing Your Proposal

To get your thinking on the theme started, we return to Marx's Theses on Feuerbach. These are a list of aphorisms penned by Marx, never published in his lifetime, but reputedly pinned over his desk as a reminder, orientation and inspiration for his life's work. In that spirit, we ask you, to consider the 11th and last thesis:
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it."

• How does this 11th thesis inform or relate to your work?
• How do you interpret the world? What does it mean to interpret? How do you do that?
• What are the lenses with which you interpret the world? How do you bring interpretation into your work as a teacher, student, artist, activist, scholar, or community organizer?
• How do you or others recognize (or misrecognize) oppression, oppressive systems, and oppressive ideologies?
• How do you challenge misrecognition or misinterpretation?
• How do you understand change? What do you see as needing to be changed? What is the change you want? What kind of change is necessary?
• What are you doing, large or small, to create this change?
• How do you situate your efforts within the historical context that is unfolding at this moment?
• How do we create an analysis that brings about an understanding of the radical (i.e. root) causes of oppression and leads to fundamental change?
• How do you understand the relationship between interpretation, theory and action?
• How do we change the world?

Your proposal need not address all of these questions. Instead, think of them as inspiration!

Deadline for proposals: December 20, 2011
Questions? Contact the conference chair at Diese E-Mail Adresse ist gegen Spam Bots geschützt, Sie müssen Javascript aktivieren, damit Sie es sehen können .

The online form for proposal submissions will be active by Friday, October 28, 2011 at this link: ptoweb.org/submission-form.html

Information about accommodations, keynote guests, pre-conference and post-conference workshops will follow on the website very soon! Keep checking our website for more information throughout the year. We hope to see you in Berkeley!

Sincerely,
PTO Berkeley 2012 Organizing Committee on behalf of the PTO Board

Presentation Formats

Unless otherwise noted, all sessions are 90 minutes in length.

·         Anti-Oppression Dialogues: Specific interactive trainings for conference participants in various aspects of anti-oppression work, including language/terminology, specific communities and populations, challenges and ethics, and working methodologies rooted in liberatory education and/or TO techniques. Sessions should at minimum engage Paulo Freire's basic ideas of dialogue. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions.

·         Theatre of the Oppressed Workshops: The Techniques: Interactive workshops based directly on the work of Augusto Boal that focus on exploring, explaining, and experiencing techniques of TO. Workshops may also present adaptations, expansions, and permutations of the work necessary

·         Theatre of the Oppressed Workshops: The Work in the World: Interactive workshops that explore the multitude of ways Theatre of the Oppressed can be (and is) used for social justice, transformation, and liberatory work. Rooted clearly in Augusto Boal's TO work, workshops and case studies may also highlight convergences with Pedagogy of the Oppressed, popular education, and other liberatory artistic and educational techniques. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions.

·         Pedagogy of the Oppressed Workshops: Interactive workshops based strongly in Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed that explore techniques, methodologies, and projects of liberatory education. Workshops may explore specific PO, popular education, or arts-based educational techniques and philosophies as well as case studies and/or examples of liberatory education work in the world. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions.

·         Performances: Staged plays, musical arrangements, comedy motifs, dances, etc. that facilitate transformation, liberation, social justice, and/or political engagement. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions

·         Debates or Dialogues: Discussions or debates between activists, artists, organizers, and/or popular educators. Sessions may also ask attendees to participate in dialogue around specific concepts, techniques, or case studies related to PO and/or TO work. All presenters must have agreed to participate and be part of the proposal. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions.

·         Panel: Pre-formed group of 3-4 presentations addressing a specific area of liberatory work. All presenters must have agreed to participate and be part of the proposal. Sessions must also include, at minimum, dialogue with attendees. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions.

·         Paper Presentation: Summary of research or issue in PO/TO work and theory, delivered from notes. Papers should NOT be read, but rather presented. Each presentation should last approximately 10-12 minutes, excluding discussion. We will cluster papers in groups of 3-4 with time for dialogue.