Performing Pedagogy

Book excerpt: Performing Pedagogy examines the theory and practice of performance art as an art of politics. It discusses the different ways in which performance artists use memory and cultural history to critique dominant cultural assumptions, to construct identity, and to attain political agency. In doing so, Garoian argues, performance artists like Rachel Rosenthal, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Robbie McCauley, Suzanne Lacy, and the performance art collective Goat Island engage in the practice of critical citizenship and radical forms of democracy that have significant implications for teaching in the schools. Finally, Garoian contextualizes performance art pedagogy within his own cultural work to illustrate how his own memory and cultural history have informed his production of performance art works and his classroom teaching practices.