This essay seeks to unpack some of the issues concerning representation when performing refugee stories using playback theatre. It questions the reductive influence of narrative structure and, using the framework of "artist as ethnographer," it argues that strong aesthetic production is required to overcome the dampening effect of empathy when…

The acting out of personal experiences with bullying promotes compassion and allows all students, including bullies, victims and witnesses, to stand up for justice. Playback theaters interpret personal experiences in a creative, nonconfrontational and nonjudgmental way, demonstrating to students that the playback stage is a safe place where they…

Ponders what students might learn from a course in playwriting: the ability to think in vivid instances and moments; the habit of close observation of the details of human behavior; the ability to think through and see through cliches; making hard choices; sympathy; dreaming within limits; and concision. (SR)

Using the theater as an example, four successive stages of affect can be distinguished in any work of art: detachment from ordinary life, enjoyment of the decorative aspects of the work, emotional enrichment through empathy with its content, and, finally, spiritual fulfillment through comprehension of its meaning. (Author/SJL)

Seven articles explore ways in which students, administrators, and faculty can initiate and sustain conversation about the public life they share, and about dealing with the multiculturalism of today's campuses. The articles are: (1) "Backing into the Future: Columbus, Cleopatra, Custer, & the Diversity Revolution" by Carlos E.…