Community Concerns
Marrying the Real to the Imagined and Civic Engagement to Literature: Examining the Impact of Dramatic Performance on Attitudes to Homelessness
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mark Tjarks
This study focuses on the liminal spaces between literature and civic engagement, education and activism, and fictional and non-fictional narratives. The entry is student responses to a pair of award-winning plays that I have written on homelessness in Hawaii, one a documentary theater piece based on hundreds of interviews, Houseless in Paradise, and the other a fictional play loosely based on the life of a homeless actor entitled The Unsalable Thing. For some students, the fictional/nonfictional status of the stories altered their impact on empathy for homeless individuals and their perspective on whether they were victims deserving community support or miscreants who were not. Documentary theater itself is a provocative blend of reality and imagination. Houseless in Paradise provided a thousand theatre-goers a safe, ritualized space to experience the gritty reality of homelessness. Some stories were performed by professional actors, others by the homeless themselves. One family in the audience learned from a professional actress’ performance that their niece had been sexually abused and tortured as a seven-year-old by her stepfather. A homeless actor with HIV requested we stop his interview, as he imagined “an actor or myself sharing all this on stage.” Months later, he performed the interview verbatim, but added the act of storming off stage after stopping the interview. At intermission, someone would invariably ask, “Was that real or just part of the play?” The confusion speaks to the epistemic power of marrying the real to the imagined and civic engagement to literature.
Exploring Support Experiences - Intimate Partner Violence in Lesboqueer Relationships: A Qualitative Study on Canadian Public and Community Services
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Gabrielle Rioux
In North America, intimate partner violence (IPV) affects one in five women, with significant disparities in reporting and support accessibility (Laforest et al., 2018). Existing IPV frameworks predominantly focus on heterosexual relationships, potentially overlooking the experiences of lesboqueer couples (Bermea et al., 2019). This qualitative study engaged 20 participants to explore the diversity of IPV support experiences within lesboqueer relationships. Through an intersectional lens, the research looks into the perceptions and experiences of IPV victims regarding the justice, health and community services in Quebec (Canada). Analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis method (2006), we found existing support services tend to invisibilize, invalidate, and underestimate these experiences, maintaining adherence to heteronormative models. Employing the Dixon-Woods model (2006), the study highlighted the inadequacies of support systems in acknowledging and addressing the complexities of lesboqueer IPV. By carefully analyzing encounters with public institutions and community services, the research identified barriers and facilitators impacting access to IPV services among lesboqueer victims. This research significantly contributes to understanding IPV within non-heterosexual relationships, revealing the importance of addressing accessibility issues for non-heterosexuals victims of violence. The findings call for reevaluation and enhancement of support mechanisms to effectively address the unique challenges faced by lesboqueer IPV victims.
Mithila Painting: A Second Look, Continuity and Change
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Punam Madhok
Mithila painting has flourished in the northeastern state of Bihar in India for centuries. On the one hand, it has remained impervious to external influences, on the other climactic and economic earthquakes have revolutionized it. Today the art of Mithila is venturing into different directions reflecting personal, political, and social issues. Based on in-depth field study of Mithila art in the summers of 2022 and 2023, I discuss the reimagining of aripan (ephemeral floor patterns drawn in threshold spaces) and kohbar (images painted for nuptial chambers), the two most distinctive themes of Mithila painting, as well as works depicting feminist themes that demonstrate the evolution of this ancient art form. Two natural disasters in Bihar, the 1934 earthquake and the 1966 drought, brought Mithila paintings to the notice of the outside world. They are now exhibited in Europe, Russia, US, and Japan. Several Mithila painters have received the Padmashri, India’s highest award for art. Men have also started making an entry as artists in this area, which was for years an exclusive domain of women.
A Crisis Beyond Borders: Examining the Syrian Refugee Crisis Through the Economic and Political Missteps
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Tara Monet Falce
It has been 13 years since the onset of the Syrian Civil War that led to the Syrian refugee crisis. Since then, refugees have been experiencing inhumane conditions in refugee camps. The world has been wondering about the perceived lack of action regarding this crisis. This research provides a rounded argument on the use and misuse of the theoretical framework, the Responsibility to Protect, that was used during the Arab Spring. To this day, Syria remains in disarray. Therefore, this research paper asks what internal and external factors perpetuated the failed status of Syria, thus leading to the current human security crisis in the MENA region? The significance of this research correlates to two phenomena that occurred during the Arab Spring. One is a cross-regional anti-regime protest, and the other is the emergence of failed states post Arab Spring. The final result of the Syrian Civil War is not known, but the effects it has caused have reached beyond the Middle East. Migration issues of human security in the Middle East, Mediterranean, and beyond should be the first priority to create security in a region that has experienced socio-economic and political shifts.
