An invitation to take part in a workshop and research project tackling professionalism on campus.
Theory and Introduction
We will question our listening subjectivity that channels traumatic memories and fear into defensive professionalism, which reduces our receptivity to the other and reinforces stereotypes and inequalities.
“Professionalisation… is the surveillance technique for privatisation.” Anna Tsing
Professionalism aids the privatisation tactics of neoliberal education by atomising participants’ and their fields of desires into assessment criteria and individual career paths. In our atomisation it becomes more difficult to collectivise
Sillyness aims to massage open our listening subjectivity with feelings of joy and humour, to become receptive to the other and build connection between participants. We want to reorient our field of desires to focus beyond our individual pathways towards a collective, where political action and critical knowledge production are more attainable.
question: are people comfortable with this excercise being recorded?
Instructions
- Gather in a circle, under the octaphonic ring of the performance lab.
- Begin with breathing and body excercise: arms up, inhale, arms down exhale.
- One volunteer will place themselves in the middle of the circle and close their eyes.
- The other participants will begin to circle the volunteer, making sounds with their bodies. The sounds aim towards care and humour, rather than shock or fright.
- The silly sound system continues until the volunteer laughs, or has enough.
(try not to laugh sound system)