My Heart is in the East: Exploring Theater as a Vehicle for Change, Inspired by the Poetic Performances of Ancient Andalucía

This study addresses the research question “How Do I Inspire Personal and Social Change Through My Theater Practice?” I implement the theory and practice of H.E.A.T., a fusion theater system, combining use of theater arts as healing practice, educational asset, activist tool, and an art form.I research different ways that theater can affect change, focusing specifically on the use of history in performance.I dramatically interpret a period of history where performance and poetry contributed to change.I utilize qualitative methods including performance ethnography, auto ethnography, arts-based research, and historical research.I describe the fieldwork in conflict zones in the Middle East, which led to the scripting of a full-length play, and the presentation of the play, which included discussion groups and audience participation through post-show events.The dissertation is a bricolage, combining scholarly chapters, performative writing, and scripted theater.The work explores ways of employing theater as a change agent by using history as an inspiration.In the city of Cordoba, Spain, in the 10th and 11th century Muslims and Jews lived in a state of relative peace.Looking at medieval Cordoba I explore the Judeo-Arabic poetry of the time, asking:Can what happened in Cordoba be a model for performance and peacebuilding?Based on historical research, the Judeo-Arabic poetry of ancient Al-Andalusia, and the theory of performative peacebuilding, the dramatically scripted section of the dissertation will take place in two realms:Present-day conflict zones in the Middle East; and medieval Cordoba where two ancient characters convey a story of coexistence through poetic expression.In three decades of working as a theater artist, I have come to believe that my work must be dedicated to facilitating change.The sacred and ancient art of theater needs to be meaningful to 21st-century life so that we can use it to awaken, heal, educate and repair the world.This dissertation is accompanied by five supplemental MP4 video files.This Dissertation is available in open access at AURA:Antioch University Repository and Archive http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohiolink ETD Center https://etd.ohiolink.edu

From Gaza City to the Golden Gate A Call to the International Theatre Community to Join the Struggle for Cultural Justice

On 9 August 2018, Gaza theatremaker Hossam Madhoun was chatting with friends a little more than fifty yards from the city’s Al Mishal Cultural Centre. One friend, who had just returned to the area, asked where his theatre and performance could be produced in town. The beautiful and well-equipped Red Crescent Society, perhaps? Madhoun had to remind him it had been bombed by the Israeli Army during the military offensive on Gaza in 2008. The friend then asked about the theatre at Holst Cultural Center. “When was the last time you visited Gaza?” Madhoun asked. “Hamas turned the Holst into a water sanitation center and the theatre hall became a storage place for water tanks and sewage pipes and pumps. All we have now is the Al Mishal.” At that moment the sound of a bomb shook the building they were in. It was still daytime, but the sky was black with smoke. Moments later Madhoun and his friends learned it was the Al-Mishal Cultural Centre that had been destroyed

My Heart is in the East: Exploring Theater as a Vehicle for Change, Inspired by the Poetic Performances of Ancient Andalucía

This study addresses the research question “How Do I Inspire Personal and Social Change Through My Theater Practice?” I implement the theory and practice of H.E.A.T., a fusion theater system, combining use of theater arts as healing practice, educational asset, activist tool, and an art form.I research different ways that theater can affect change, focusing specifically on the use of history in performance.I dramatically interpret a period of history where performance and poetry contributed to change.I utilize qualitative methods including performance ethnography, auto ethnography, arts-based research, and historical research.I describe the fieldwork in conflict zones in the Middle East, which led to the scripting of a full-length play, and the presentation of the play, which included discussion groups and audience participation through post-show events.The dissertation is a bricolage, combining scholarly chapters, performative writing, and scripted theater.The work explores ways of employing theater as a change agent by using history as an inspiration.In the city of Cordoba, Spain, in the 10th and 11th century Muslims and Jews lived in a state of relative peace.Looking at medieval Cordoba I explore the Judeo-Arabic poetry of the time, asking:Can what happened in Cordoba be a model for performance and peacebuilding?Based on historical research, the Judeo-Arabic poetry of ancient Al-Andalusia, and the theory of performative peacebuilding, the dramatically scripted section of the dissertation will take place in two realms:Present-day conflict zones in the Middle East; and medieval Cordoba where two ancient characters convey a story of coexistence through poetic expression.In three decades of working as a theater artist, I have come to believe that my work must be dedicated to facilitating change.The sacred and ancient art of theater needs to be meaningful to 21st-century life so that we can use it to awaken, heal, educate and repair the world.This dissertation is accompanied by five supplemental MP4 video files.This Dissertation is available in open access at AURA:Antioch University Repository and Archive http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohiolink ETD Center https://etd.ohiolink.edu

Global Terrorism and Nuclear Proliferation after 9/11

Arguably, the more likely route by which terrorists might gain access to nuclear or other WMD capabilities is not through the possible collaboration between ‘rogue states’ and terrorist groups but through theft from improperly-secured sites in countries like Pakistan. The two main routes by which a terrorist group could acquire a nuclear weapon are: (1) transfer, that is, the deliberate hand off of a weapon from a nuclear state to a terrorist group; and (2) leakage, an unauthorised transfer or theft of a weapon from an inadequately secured site. Although after 9/11 the nightmare scenario focused on the possible collaboration between ‘rogue states’ and terrorist groups, this paper argues that, in fact, the more likely route by which terrorists might gain access to nuclear or other WMD capabilities is through the accidental leakage (that is, theft) of dangerous materials and technologies from inadequately-secured sites, primarily in Russia and Pakistan

NT 520 Introduction to the New Testament

A modern translation of the Bible, preferably the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the English Standard Version (ESV), or the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Achtemeier, Paul J., Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson, Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Message. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm.B. Eerdmans, 2001. deSilva, David A. Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity, 2000. Gorman, Michael J., Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishes, 2001. Theissen, Gerd. The Shadow of the Galilean. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1987.https://place.asburyseminary.edu/syllabi/2869/thumbnail.jp

NT 520 New Testament Introduction

A modern translation of the Bible, preferably the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the English Standard Version (ESV), or the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Achtemeier, Paul J., Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson. Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Message. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm.B. Eerdmans, 2001. deSilva, David A. Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity, 2000. Gorman, Michael J. Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishes, 2001. Longenecker, Bruce. The Lost Letters of Pergamum: A Story from the New Testament World. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002.https://place.asburyseminary.edu/syllabi/2424/thumbnail.jp