Scattered Speculations on the 'Internationalization' of Performance Research

The essay looks at what the catchword of ‘internationalisation’ does to the practice of performance research, especially in terms of its pedagogical implications. If internationalisation is seen as the answer, what is the question? What demands does the addition of the qualifier ‘international’ pose to a Humanities department in a city like Amsterdam, historically marked as a global mercantile centre, with a knotted legacy of slavery and prosperity, of colonisation and liberal thought? Finally, what vision of the university could the discipline of Theatre Studies hope to offer, by way of this enticing and ambitious call for internationalisation? Beyond the critique of the financialisation of higher education that most universities and especially Humanities faculties around the world are facing, the essay offers hope generated from the classroom, based on the experiences of the MAIPR Programme from 2008 to 2013. The task that internationalisation confers upon the discipline of Theatre and Performance Studies is the task of thinking and doing beyond the myopic limitations of the national framework. Two aspects of internationalisation, as drawn from the experiences of the day-to-day work of teaching, working with students and co-operating with partner institutions, are charted here. The first aspect relates to the use of English as the language of internationalisation, and the insightful and vexing learning situations it generates. The second aspect reflects on how the idea of performance as epistemology translates into pedagogical practice. The essay pleas for a learning that combines embodiment, live experimentation and reflection, beyond the tired binary of theory and practice. The scope of ‘internationalisation’ of performance research lies in imagining it as a meta-vocational discipline.