The panels will explore how the performing arts are connected with various modalities of power (political, religious, elites, protest movements, etc.) and how these are related to the performing arts (memory, identity, etc.). The workshop will explore how the performing arts generate collective identities, serve as a means of societal/political protest and feed into wider nationalist discourses.

The conference is free for paper givers. We welcome papers focusing on the performing arts in their widest definition such as theatre, dance, music (from opera to street music) as well as the visual arts. We encourage papers from different disciplines and from both post-graduates and established academics. Please submit a 300 word abstract by August 1st 2008 to Raffaella Bianchi (r.bianchi@lboro.ac.uk) stating ‘workshop’ in the subject heading. Proposals should also include institutional affiliation along with a brief biographical note