Project description
The link between identity and otherness takes central stage
Cultural appropriation is defined as the inappropriate adoption of the customs/practices/ideas of a people or society by members of another and typically more dominant group. The EU-funded ITACA project will study this complex phenomenon from the disciplinary point of view of theatre aesthetics, open to a multidisciplinary approach (theatre practice, political science, new media). The project will compare Quebec theatre to examples of Italian intercultural theatre, and investigate aesthetic and ethical issues arising when a dominant culture represents a marginalised culture. The relationship between identity and otherness in a postcolonial, globalised society and in so far as Europe compares with North America, will also be explored. The findings will be presented at international conferences, lectures and publications in Canada and the EU.
Objective
The ITACA project (Intercultural Theatre And Cultural Appropriation) intends to explore the complex phenomenon of cultural appropriation in contemporary theatre with the aim of setting up a form of theatre aesthetics. The objective is to probe the themes constituting and defining the very origin of theatre, so as to discover their aesthetic and ethical categories, using the lens of cultural appropriation: i.e. the way a historically dominant culture uses and transforms features of a marginalized culture. Cultural appropriation is considered in the context of Quebec theatre and compared to some examples of intercultural theatre in Italy. In the belief that theatre is an ideal philosophical tool by which to explore the relationship between identity and otherness, ITACA proposes to explore that relationship as found in our post-colonial, globalized society and insofar as Europe compares with North America. To achieve its objective ITACA foresees a research and training project between Canada and Italy combining philosophical theory with theatre practice in an interdisciplinary framework. ITACA is open to a multidisciplinary approach, ranging from political science to new media, the study of Quebec culture and digital globalization, and understanding the urgent and relevant theme of cultural appropriation. These theoretical studies are anchored to a programme of Research-creation allowing one to work practically alongside Canadian and Italia stage artists. Multidisciplinary and practical approaches come together in a perspective that observes the theatre first and foremost from an aesthetic angle. The results, presented via international conferences, lectures and publications, will be disseminated in the EU and CANADA, thanks to the support of the respective host institutions UMIL and UQAM, and will be decisive for the experienced researcher’s career development in the academic field.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
20122 Milano
Italy