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

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

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

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