Pedagogy of the Oppressed, the Musical? Using Theatrical ScholARTistry to Transform Teaching and Learning

Every classroom is a performance space (Pineau, 1994). The relations of power inherent to every classroom must be dismantled to transform pedagogy and make learning mutually liberatory for both teacher and student (Freire, 1996). Using Friere’s (1996) Pedagogy of the Oppressed as a theoretical foundation, this article presents ScholARTistry as a medium to (re)imagine teaching and learning. Simply put, ScholARTistry is a hybrid practice that combines tools used by the literary, visual, and/or performing arts with tools used by educators and other social scientists to explore the human condition (Cahnmann, 2006). First, Freire’s (1996) contributions to emancipatory scholarship and educational discourse are discussed. Next, ScholARTistry is reviewed as a medium exploring the transformative relationship between art and social justice. Finally, using an instrumental case study (Stake, 2003), I illustrate how theatrical ScholARTistry can be used to dismantle normalized discourse and transform teaching and learning