Why we still need to talk about class

Tomlin, L. (2020) Why we still need to talk about class. Studies in Theatre and Performance, 40(3), pp. 251-264. (doi: 10.1080/14682761.2020.1807213)

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Abstract

This article places the aim of the Incubate Propagate research network – to address the obstacles for artists outwith the graduate community to access theatre-making careers – in dialogue with some key and recurring concerns in contemporary debates around class identification in the twenty-first century. It argues that articulation of class discrimination and disadvantage in the field of theatre-making is critical, not despite the complexity of reaching contemporary definitions of class, but because that very complexity reveals precisely the extent of the problem and the specific, and often unconscious, ways in which discrimination is operating. The article extends the debate from an emphasis on economic capital to examine the critical importance of social and cultural capital to class identity, discrimination and privilege in the arts. It focuses, in particular, on ways in which the historical infantilization of the poor continues to influence artistic and policy decisions in the twenty-first century, and highlights the importance and challenges of emerging cultural capital in the sub-field of avant-garde and experimental theatre practice – the context in which emerging theatre-makers mostly operate.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Tomlin, Professor Elizabeth
Authors: Tomlin, L.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
Journal Name:Studies in Theatre and Performance
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:1468-2761
ISSN (Online):2040-0616
Published Online:07 January 2021
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 The Author
First Published:First published in Studies in Theatre and Performance 40(3): 251-264
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
301220Incubate/Propagate: Networked Ecologies of New Performance-MakingElizabeth TomlinArts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)AH/R012962/1Arts - Theatre studies