[PDF] Beyond ‘an Aesthetic of Objectivity’. Performance Ethnography, Performance Texts, and Theatricality

Article published in the ?Qualitative Inquiry? ? 2010. ? Vol.16 ? Issue 10 ? pp. 883?893.This article is about the ways in which a dominant ?aesthetic of objectivity? pervades much contemporary performance ethnography and scholarly performance text, subverting many scholars? stated desires to use aesthetic forms to critique hegemonic discourses and democratize scholarship. First, I will define the dominant ?aesthetic of objectivity? as it applies to performance ethnography and performance texts and trace its origins to mainstream documentary theatre performances. I will then examine how these conventions play out in an example of an explicitly scholarly performance project, and argue the significance of liveness in the scholarly performance act. Finally, I will offer a few examples of arts-based research performance projects operating in alternate aesthetic paradigms rupturing the ?aesthetic of objectivity? and offer recommendations and further questions for arts-based researchers and scholars interested in experimenting with performance forms.