Theatre of Possibility: Performative Inquiry as Heuristic, Holistic, and Integrative Learning

Abstract

This paper illustrates what Performative Inquiry, an embodied, interpretive and dialectical means of investigating curriculum, may contribute to teaching and learning. By contextualizing the discourse in a workshop on drama as a way to study Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl, I demonstrate that Performative Inquiry builds on learners’ experience and knowledge and recognizes their perceptions of who they are within certain contexts. I show, too, that this educative practice provokes critical thinking, increases self-understanding, and permits greater integration of mind and body. My overarching aim is to demonstrate that Performative Inquiry is a practice that fosters personal and community development