This essay proposes that it is time to redesign educational curricula to take account of recent discoveries in the neuroscience of the human brain. The identification of mirror neurons has drawn attention to the importance of empathy as a determiner of action and their function is replicated in communication between actors, characters, and…

A meditation on drama practice from an artist in Canada. My university students are preoccupied with damage and trauma. There are paralyzing obstacles to working across differences that were useful for a time but no longer serve a robust solidarity. The stories we collect, tell and re-tell ourselves to prepare for a 'never again' are stifled if…

Notable theorists have argued that theatre and drama play positive roles in the moral education of children and adults, including cultivating their capacity for empathy. Yet other theorists have expressed concerns that plays and educational practices involving improvisation might not lead to positive changes in real life, and might even have…

Certain repeated moral narratives support justifications for humanitarian interventions, and simultaneously inform perspectives of 'the figure of the refugee'. How does 'the humanitarian' appear in these narratives? How are the characters of 'the refugee' and 'the humanitarian' constructed in relation to one another? How does their interlinkage…

In recent years, museums have recognized the urgent need to address several challenging issues. These topics include gender equality, racism, and environmental issues, just to name a few. As museums embrace the role of community-building change-makers, how can we include our audiences in the mission of making positive change? How can our…

Following the devastating result of the May 2015 general election in the UK, the Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home organised "Compassion is dissent: Manifesto Slam." It put out an open call for participants, asking them to bring a three-minute manifesto as means of admission to the event. Here, the Institute showcases…

In this article, the authors describe how an embodied arts-based approach to teaching the story of Anne Frank enhanced eighth graders' experiences in three middle school classrooms. The article begins by framing the theories that guide the authors' perspectives on embodiment and drama-infused instruction to promote literacy learning. This is…

Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed has been the basis for radical performance techniques practiced around the world. Widely a staple for theatre performance syllabi, it also has an innovative application for the social work classroom. This article designates Boal's four stages of his poetics of the oppressed and concomitant theatrical…

Virtual environments have the potential to be an important teaching tool for emotionally sensitive issues capable of producing a sense of presence, perspective-taking and introspection in users in a risk-free, rapid feedback experience. In designing such experiences, it is essential that users are regularly engaged in a collaborative design…

In November 2011, the author--Ivan Fuller, a professor of theatre and associate dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts at Rider University--attended a joint symposium of the American Conference of Academic Deans and Phi Beta Kappa that was designed to wrestle with the question of why the humanities matter. At one session, participants…

This article examines students' participation in Boalian Theater activities to role-play, rehearse, and develop strategies to use when bullied or witnessing bullying. One intention of the theater was for students to respond and to engage in perspective-taking and empathy as one of the ways of responding to bullying experiences and making sense of…

The idea that theater fosters social cognition has long been championed by drama therapists and some psychologists, neuropsychologists, and special educators. But the research is only now emerging, and researchers suggest that the very nature of theater makes it an inherently useful tool for children on the spectrum. Children with autism struggle…

Abstract: Developing and nurturing empathy in medical trainees has been recognized as an essential element of medical education. Theater may be a unique instructional modality to increase empathy training. Methods: A multi-disciplinary team developed a theater workshop for first year medical students. Through the use of theater games, art images…

To inform students about global violence against women and to empower them to take action, the authors developed an interdisciplinary course focused on experiential learning and theatre education. Their article discusses the development of the course; the implementation of active learning strategies to develop critical thinking, empathy, and…

Students in an eighth-grade, urban, low-achieving reading class were introduced to critical literacy through engagement in Image Theatre. Developed by liberatory dramatist Augusto Boal, Image Theatre gives participants the opportunity to examine texts in the triple role of interpreter, artist, and sculptor (i.e., image creator). The researchers…