麻豆影院

Before the current far-right government took charge of Brazil, there was the far-left Workers Party.听

The Workers Party,听one of the largest political movements in Latin America, governed听Brazil from 2002 until 2016, when it abruptly fell from power due to a series of large-scale scandals that involved individuals from every political party in Brazil.听

The media and congress focused their attention on the limited involvement of the Workers Party in these scandals, leading to the ultimate downfall of the party鈥檚 leaders, Dilma Rousseff and Lula de Silva. From that fall, a seismic political change happened: the rise of current far-right Brazilian President听Jair听Bolsonaro.

Professor and author Marcos Steuernagel hopes to better understand the complexity of this shift, which took place while the Workers Party was in power, through specific theater and dance productions. Steuernagel will speak on the subject as part of the CU on the Weekend series on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m.听in the Butcher Auditorium at the听Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building听at 3415 Colorado Ave.

Steuernagel鈥檚 presentation, 鈥淧erformance and Politics: The Rise and Fall of the Brazilian Left,鈥� reflects his research, which examines how rising political polarization not only in Brazil but transnationally, has affected society.听

鈥淭here is a tax not only on political positions but on the very concept of diversity itself. That鈥檚 kind of the sign of fascism. This idea that you can't think differently, otherwise you鈥檙e excluded from a conversation. This has been happening everywhere, and it happened very strongly in Brazil.鈥澨�

Steuernagel holds an MA and a PhD in performance studies from New York University. He holds a specialization in cinema and video as well as a BA in theater directing from Faculdade de Artes de Paran脿 Brazil. Steuernagel is co editor of the digital book听What is Performance Studies, and his upcoming monograph follows the relationship between politics and aesthetics within contemporary Brazilian theater and dance.听

Researchers studying the political climate of a country tend to focus on factors that exclude discourse and narrative, Steuernagel notes. He contends that by examining the work of various theater and dance groups that experienced some of these political issues while they were occurring, the stories and narratives that drove this political shift can become clearer.听

鈥淟ooking at this is not just a call toward certain political positions or certain ways of understanding, but toward the possibility of diverse ways of understanding and seeing the world.鈥澨�听

The Brazilian theater and dance groups Steuernagel will discuss are prominent within Brazilian听theater and dance. They are aesthetically experimental and politically engaged. Steuernagel argues that Brazil鈥檚 unique performance traditions are what makes these types of groups not only possible but important when considering Brazilian politics.听

鈥淧erformance is not just an object of study but a way of knowing,鈥� says Steuernagel. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e able to process and understand political issues through the body and performance differently than you鈥檇 be able to do just by talking about it.鈥澨�

The CU on the Weekend series is sponsored by the CU Office for Outreach and Engagement. Reservations are not needed for the event, but attendance is limited to the first 200 people.