Image-Theater practice session as part of the Workshop "‘Violence in the Field’ - Recognizing, naming, and transforming experiences of violence in anthropological and artistic research contexts"

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Abstract

Call for Participation: Workshop 'Violence in the Field' Recognizing, naming, and transforming experiences of violence in anthropological and artistic research contexts Online Lecture (Prof. Dr. Parvis Ghassem-Fachandi) 24th September, 4pm On site: September 26th (17h) -28th (15h) (Alexianer Hotel am Wasserturm/Münster) Violence is unsettling. Anthropologists discuss experiences of violence often as part of a 'practical tips for avoidance' discourse, but lately, they explore them more deeply in their epistemological and ontological dimensions. One challenge is to make physical violence, power hierarchies, assaults, and discriminatory structures in the field or university context communicable within (emotional) regimes that often rather block than enable exchanges. Our guest, Prof. Dr. Annika Björnsdorfer Teppo (Uppsala University) will talk about her personal experiences. With the workshop we aim to create an accountable space for all academic hierarchical levels in which we as social anthropologists and artists reflect on experiences of violence. Opening questions are widespread, as violence is, too. Maybe you have asked yourself already: Where are the potentials for violence in my research field? Where do I experience them in academia? What are personal and institutional strategies to render violent moments invisible/overlooked or to bypass them? How can we responsibly deal with becoming witnesses of hurtful dynamics or being involved in them ourselves? We make experiences of violence perceptible, visible, and communicable through performative and theatrical methods. In the way of anthropological/artistic research, we encourage taking risks by urging precise observation and emotional engagement. During the workshop, the Owdnegrin Performance Collective will present their research as a case study for artistic research about violence. Based on the intense and autoethnographic work of Jeanne Rohleder and Sonja Keßner on the topic of sexualized violence against children, they introduce their questions and methods, discuss ethical implications and strategies. As a team with the unique combination of a researcher affected by sexualized violence against children and one not affected, they address questions of possible retraumatization as well as the difficulties of conforming to the rules and schedules of conventional academic and artistic (production) processes. During the workshop we work with object improvisation, automatic writing, scenic reenactments, and poetic translations on topics brought along by participants. Registration: Please register until July 11th via annika.strauss@uni-muenster.de, along with a brief introduction of yourself, your work and your interests. We particularly invite students to participate. The workshop takes place in English. Organizers Owdnegrin Performance Collective, http://owdnegrin.de/: Jeanne Rohleder is a performance artist, art therapist, social worker, and social and cultural anthropologist. Sonja Keßner is a multidisciplinary artist with focuses on theater and music and also a social and cultural anthropologist. Dr. Julia Koch Tshirangwana, Institute of Ethnology, Georg-August-University Göttingen. Dr. Annika Strauss, Medical Anthropologist, with focuses on transcultural psychiatry and psychological anthropology, and theater educator, Institut für Ethnologie, University of Münster.

Speakers from the University of Münster

Strauss, Annika

Institute of Ethnology