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”Du förstår men du förstår ingenting” : Communityteater, utvisningsbarhet och översättningspolitik

Söderman, Emma LU and Lundberg, Anna LU (2020) In Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift 27(3-4). p.291-308
Abstract
In the following article, based on two years of participatory ethnographic field-work with the No-border musical, as well as interviews with 16 of the musical’s 30 participants, community theatre is investigated in a context of deportability. We analyse the working process in the theatre group, in which actors with and without resident permits participated, through the concept of politics of translation. We show how inequalities due to the constant threat of deportation for several members, were put to the forefront during the work process of creating the musical. It concerned risks of detection for the undocumented participants as well difficult living conditions related to deportability (for example insecure access to livelihood,... (More)
In the following article, based on two years of participatory ethnographic field-work with the No-border musical, as well as interviews with 16 of the musical’s 30 participants, community theatre is investigated in a context of deportability. We analyse the working process in the theatre group, in which actors with and without resident permits participated, through the concept of politics of translation. We show how inequalities due to the constant threat of deportation for several members, were put to the forefront during the work process of creating the musical. It concerned risks of detection for the undocumented participants as well difficult living conditions related to deportability (for example insecure access to livelihood, healthcare, housing etc.). The article conceptualizes various dimensions of working together in a group where participants live in unequal conditions as a politics of translation. This concept includes the work of language translation, and also captures translations of the different experiences mentioned above, and how different positions of power can be handled and understood, within a group who has the ambition to work together, in this case with a theatrical performance. Our analysis shows how theatre in a context of asylum rights activism can challenge and create alternatives to the conditions of deportability, whilst these simultaneously condition the activism and translation. The article contributes to knowledge about mobilization in the context of vulnerability and inequality. We hope to also contribute to a development of critical social work both within and outside of academia. (Less)
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author
and
organization
alternative title
‘You understand but you don’t understand a thing’ : Community theatre, deportability and the politics of translation
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
no-border, asyl, um migration, community theater, activism, migration, communityteater, samarbete, aktivism
in
Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift
volume
27
issue
3-4
pages
18 pages
publisher
Forsa
ISSN
1104-1420
DOI
10.3384/SVT.2020.27.3-4.3666
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
9e94eb7a-eb44-42b2-b204-d32719bc350f
date added to LUP
2023-02-14 09:02:23
date last changed
2023-02-14 10:22:15
@article{9e94eb7a-eb44-42b2-b204-d32719bc350f,
  abstract     = {{In the following article, based on two years of participatory ethnographic field-work with the No-border musical, as well as interviews with 16 of the musical’s 30 participants, community theatre is investigated in a context of deportability. We analyse the working process in the theatre group, in which actors with and without resident permits participated, through the concept of politics of translation. We show how inequalities due to the constant threat of deportation for several members, were put to the forefront during the work process of creating the musical. It concerned risks of detection for the undocumented participants as well difficult living conditions related to deportability (for example insecure access to livelihood, healthcare, housing etc.). The article conceptualizes various dimensions of working together in a group where participants live in unequal conditions as a politics of translation. This concept includes the work of language translation, and also captures translations of the different experiences mentioned above, and how different positions of power can be handled and understood, within a group who has the ambition to work together, in this case with a theatrical performance. Our analysis shows how theatre in a context of asylum rights activism can challenge and create alternatives to the conditions of deportability, whilst these simultaneously condition the activism and translation. The article contributes to knowledge about mobilization in the context of vulnerability and inequality. We hope to also contribute to a development of critical social work both within and outside of academia.}},
  author       = {{Söderman, Emma and Lundberg, Anna}},
  issn         = {{1104-1420}},
  keywords     = {{no-border; asyl; um migration; community theater; activism; migration; communityteater; samarbete; aktivism}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  number       = {{3-4}},
  pages        = {{291--308}},
  publisher    = {{Forsa}},
  series       = {{Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift}},
  title        = {{”Du förstår men du förstår ingenting” : Communityteater, utvisningsbarhet och översättningspolitik}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/SVT.2020.27.3-4.3666}},
  doi          = {{10.3384/SVT.2020.27.3-4.3666}},
  volume       = {{27}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}