1. Theater of the Oppressed in the
Political Science classroom
By Caitlin,Lauren, And Julie

2. In short-
A set of games that allow actor and non-actors to
reflect on power in a variety of ways
These games allow students and instructors to
overcome disembodied knowledge, which is
oppressive in nature
*Particularly helpful in a Political Science class
What is Theater of the Oppressed?

3. Most academic quarrels arise from a question of the
validity of knowledge
But why is knowledge embodied?...
- “the more basic categories with which we describe our
world reflect the spatial constraints that circumscribe
the repertoire of our actions’
- We use metaphors to describe our lives
(Dis)embodied knowledge / (dis)embodied
teaching-learning experience

4. We often use metaphors to describe ourselves and our
reality.
These metaphors are often conflicting
i.e., “I am in total control of myself” ; “I’ve lost myself”
“Our knowledge is embedded in a set of representations
that makes that knowledge incomplete, [and] always
fallible...
Our Use of Metaphors

5. Def: “a theory that postulates that the most fundamental
facts concerning the international system are that it is
anarchical and pervaded by uncertainty”
Realism appears to be able to be unharmed by social
constructs and issues
Realism

6. “My point of departure is that our
knowledge is embedded in a web of
metaphors and that those metaphors
in turn reflect bodily ways by which
we engage ourselves in the world.”
Re-embodying Theoretical Inquiry Demands a
Re-embodying Teaching-Learning Experience

7. Make people aware of socially constructed oppression and prompt them to
change it in their lives.
Go back to bodily experience in order to make people understand power and
oppression.
Forum Theater: the direct experience of oppression is used as a script, a
facilitator makes sure all points of view are heard and included.
Invisible Theater: actors or ordinary people break a social routine in ways that
call the attention of by-standers. This disruption is intended to make those
bystanders reflect on the oppressive nature of the “common” way of doing
things.
Theater of the Oppressed in the classroom: re-
embodying our inquiry on power

8. “The Joker”
In classrooms the facilitator should be the instructor, but should not appear
like an authority figure.
“The spect-actor”
Participants should not speak, unless it is during the “Come my neighbor”
game. There should be only physical dialogue.
Post-game Discussion
The facilitator should ask participants to discuss the significance of their
physical experience. Allow everyone to speak.
Guidelines for Theater of the Oppressed

9. When discussing power people can give relational definitions and
reified definitions: power is something you have and control.
Theater of the Oppressed focuses on the relational aspect of power.
“Students find that power is a mutual exertion of assertiveness
and either persuasion, acquiescence, or resistance; that it is a
display of intention that is always in need of interpretation.”
Physical dialogues about power (and the
lack thereof)

10. 1. “The blind walk” in which a leader takes a follower
from her/his hand and moves her/him across the room.
The follower must keep her/his eyes closed at all times
2.“The stick”: leader and follower have to hold a rod of
about 18 inches with the tip of their forefingers and move
across the room without letting the rod fall to the ground.
The leader can push the rod in whatever direction making
the follower act in accordance.
Game Examples

11. ● Someone says, “Come
Neighbor if you (insert
certain characteristic)” if
you fall under this category
you stand up. This creates
leadership opportunity, and
mutual bonding over similar
experiences
Come My Neighbor

12. In “Person to Person”, the facilitator asks participants to
connect body parts in a sequential way. An example is, “first
connect elbow to knee, then hand to foot, and finally head to
head”.
a body connection “head to chest” immediately triggered
reactions concerning what was the appropriate way to
proceed in pairs
Person to Person

13. After being grouped randomly, students had the task of
solving various coordination problems with an increasing
degree of difficulty. W/O speaking.
● Getting in order by height
● Creating letters with their bodies
Conflicts of Leadership
Completing the Figure

14. In it, participants take turns building a body image that
conveys the message that her/his pair is being
overpowered.
Body Image: Overpowering your Partner

15. Someone holds her/his hand 6 inches from her/his pair.
The latter must follow the hand wherever it goes. S/he has
to crawl, lie down, turn in circles and do whatever may be
necessary to follow the hand.
Colombian Hypnosis