Violence and Trauma in Contemporary Performance : Removing and Remembering Histories

Abstract

Performances dealing with histories of violence and trauma in contemporary societies.

In this book, scholars and artists from different fields such as performance studies, cultural and visual studies, psychology and performance art address how performances and performance practices engage with histories of violence and trauma in contemporary societies. They explore performance practices as alternative approaches to transitional justice schemes, as embodied encounters with witnesses inside and outside rehearsal spaces, and as research environments for artists working on intergenerational trauma, the legacies of colonialism and migration. The collection offers new ways of seeing, healing and remembering violence and trauma in and through contemporary performances. It challenges common assumptions about dominant and silenced narratives, as well as precarious and resilient bodies that embody performances of historical and ongoing violence and trauma.