Abstract

In this dissertation I examine the implications of John Dewey's life and ideas for contemporary performance studies theory and praxis. I conduct the aforementioned examination by combining narrative accounts of my experiences in scripting, rehearsing, and performing a one-person show about Dewey with key concepts from Dewey's philosophical writings. I also make a case for reconceptualizing performance knowledge in light of Dewey's arguments against the epistemological tradition and his subsequent development of a particular conception of inquiry. ;In the first chapter of the study, I begin with an examination of the ways in which the term "knowledge" is used by performance practitioners. I discuss Dewey's rejection of epistemology, and I also present two methodological frameworks: narrative approaches to knowledge, and Victor Turner's performance methodology. In chapter two I provide a narrative account of my "First Impulse" to study Dewey, and I begin to discuss Dewey's theory of inquiry. Chapter three focuses on Dewey's account of inquiry as an artistic process and includes a narrative which details my process of preparing and presenting a one-person show about Dewey titled Quest for Understanding. In chapter four, I provide a detailed rehearsal journal of my process of preparing the show for a second public presentation, and I explain how I came to understand Dewey's philosophical writings as works of art. ;I conclude the study by making a case for defining performance as "aesthetic inquiry." I begin by discussing some of the implications of viewing Dewey as an artist, and I then proceed to revisit the central issues of this dissertation. I also discuss some of the potential benefits of bringing Dewey's ideas to bear on the study of performance, as well as some of the benefits that Dewey scholars might accrue from exploring performance theory. Finally, I emphasize the notion that inquiry is a process which has no end