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I Was Never Alone or Oporniki: An Ethnographic Play on Disability in Russia

By Cassandra Hartblay

© 2020

I Was Never Alone or Oporniki presents an original ethnographic stage play, based on fieldwork conducted in Russia with adults with disabilities. The core of the work is the script of the play itself, which is accompanied by a description of the script development process, from the research in the field to rehearsals for public performances. In a supporting essay, the author argues that both ethnography and theatre can be understood as designs for being together in unusual ways, and that both practices can be deepened by recognizing the vibrant social impact of interdependency animated by vulnerability, as identified by disability theorists and activists.

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Product Details

  • Series: Teaching Culture: UTP Ethnographies for the Classroom
  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 168 pages
  • Dimensions: 6.0in x 1.0in x 9.0in
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SKU# HE000817

  • AVAILABLE NOV 2020
    From: $26.95
    ISBN 9781487588403
  • AVAILABLE DEC 2020

    From: $56.25

    Regular Price: $75.00

    ISBN 9781487588410
  • AVAILABLE JAN 2021
    From: $21.56
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Quick Overview

This ethnographic play and supporting commentary contribute to the development of disability anthropology, and to a conversation about the use of performance methodologies in anthropology and ethnographic research.

I Was Never Alone or Oporniki: An Ethnographic Play on Disability in Russia

By Cassandra Hartblay

© 2020

I Was Never Alone or Oporniki presents an original ethnographic stage play, based on fieldwork conducted in Russia with adults with disabilities. The core of the work is the script of the play itself, which is accompanied by a description of the script development process, from the research in the field to rehearsals for public performances. In a supporting essay, the author argues that both ethnography and theatre can be understood as designs for being together in unusual ways, and that both practices can be deepened by recognizing the vibrant social impact of interdependency animated by vulnerability, as identified by disability theorists and activists.

Continue Reading Read Less

Product Details

  • Series: Teaching Culture: UTP Ethnographies for the Classroom
  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 168 pages
  • Dimensions: 6.0in x 1.0in x 9.0in

  • Author Information

    Cassandra Hartblay is an assistant professor of Anthropology and Health Humanities at the University of Toronto, Scarborough.

  • Table of contents

    About This Book

    Foreword

    Play Script

    Cast of Characters
    Setting
    Time 
    Portrait I: Vera
    Portrait II: Vakas
    Portrait III: Alina
    Portrait IV: Sergei
    Portrait V: Rudak
    Portrait VI: Anya

    Photos

    Ethnographer’s Essay: Rituals of Vulnerability

    Introduction
    Background

    a. Words for Disability
    b. Disability in Russia
    c. Defining Performance Ethnography
    d. Performance Ethnography and/in Anthropology

    Staging Disability: Interdependency and Crip Time
    Making I Was Never Alone or Oporniki: Origins and Writing Process
    Representing Russia on the North American Stage
    Making I Was Never Alone or Oporniki: Casting and Rehearsing Access: Disability Theatre in Practice

    Conclusion

    Afterword

    Appendix 1: Performance Ethnography Exercises

    Appendix 2: Disability Terminology

    Appendix 3: Russian and Soviet Historical References

    Appendix 4: Suggestions for Reading this Work in the Classroom

    Appendix 5: Prop List and Dramaturgical Note

    Appendix 6: An Ethic of Accommodation

    Appendix 7: Glossary and Pronunciation of Russian Words

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