Visual Social Engagement
"Little Significants" in the Visual Arts: Defining the Disability Aesthetic through the Analysis of the Representation of Dwarfism
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Debra Keenahan
The physical difference of disability is not commonly associated with beauty, but rather its opposite. Theorists acknowledge the vicissitudes of taste in aesthetic judgement. Similarly, theorists acknowledge the vicissitudes of the valuation of disability - that is, physical difference is not always and everywhere defined as a disability. This interesting parallelism between the vicissitudes of aesthetic taste and disability is acutely illustrated through the representation of the dwarf - particularly the achondroplastic/disproportional dwarf. The purpose of the disability aesthetic was to produce a shift in the standards of beauty away from the notions of harmony, bodily integrity and health. However, despite such development of terminology, and claims of purpose, the definition of the disability aesthetic remains obtuse. Through the analysis of images in paintings, photography and sculptures of dwarfism this work first critiques current descriptions of the aesthetic of disability. Then adhering to a feminist critical disability studies framework - focusing upon the interface of the social milieu with the subject as limited agent - this work analyses a series of photographic representations of the author who is a female artist with achondroplasia. Through analysis of this self-representation, this work endeavours to provide clarification of definition of the disability aesthetic.
Using Interactive Theatre to Decrease Sexual Assault and Victim Blaming in Higher Education
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Noah Lelek
This paper discusses the researched benefits of using interactive theatre to decrease sexual assault and victim blaming, as well as increase dialogue about these two issues in higher education. The Texas Woman's University Interactive Theatre Troupe was founded to 2015 to increase dialogue about a number of pertinent social issues. The troupe devised an interactive theatre script entitled, Welcome to College, to tackle the prevalence of sexual assault and victim blaming on college campuses through research, improvisation and devising techniques. The script consists of a short, traditional theatre piece, followed by a question and answer portion between the characters and audience, followed finally by the interactive portion where members of the audience are able to enter the scene to try to solve the inherent issues in the script. The script was performed for a number of college students in disparate courses. Students who witnessed the performance were given a pre- and post-performance questionnaire (mixed-methods), followed by the opportunity to participate in one of two focus groups. The results from the study, which were positive in nature, will be presented at the conference, as well as information about interactive theatre script creation and lessons learned through the facilitation and research process.
