Narrative and performative acts in cultural education : the teaching of writing as critical communication
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Inter-Asia Cultural Studies
Publication Date
6-1-2013
Volume
14
Issue
2
First Page
213
Last Page
227
Keywords
Cultural studies, educational drama, participatory performance as critical communication, self inquiry and narrative acts, the pedagogy of cultural criticism as a mode of writing
Abstract
Grounded in the interdisciplinary educational work of Cultural Studies, this paper examines the pedagogical potentials of narrative and performance for the teaching of writing as a mode of public discourse. Guided to address a wide readership, students engage in critical communication aimed at linking self inquiry and narrative discourse to the contextual analysis of the social. Drawing on research findings derived from the undergraduate teaching of cultural criticism as a genre of public writing at Lingnan University, Hong Kong, we look at how educational drama mediates the work of narrative and performative acts involving the young learner-writers and contributes to the shaping of a dialogic mode of address and communication, thus articulating the process and impact of writing to the public-oriented discourse in Cultural Studies education. In light of such acts in critical discourse and imagination targeted at the potential reader, we show how the young writers' own engagement with critical thinking and communication are opened up by drama-in-education adopted in the class, and argue how, in this sense, both writing and its learning process become effective stages in the making of the kind of cultural criticism we want to help students to learn.
DOI
10.1080/14649373.2013.769747
Print ISSN
14649373
E-ISSN
14698447
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2013 Taylor & Francis
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Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Chan, C.-k. S., & Law, Y.-f. M. (2013). Narrative and performative acts in cultural education: The teaching of writing as critical communication. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 14(2), 213-227. doi: 10.1080/14649373.2013.769747