For peace to flow like a river we need a durable bridge: Performance Text as call to action

The desire for hope and authentic change symbolized by the new administration in Washington is both far reaching and deep. In these times of financial crisis, however, it is essential not to lose sight of ‘yesterday's' issues and of all of us still affected by them: the casualties and wounded of ongoing wars, the uninsured and homeless, individuals and families trapped within a crumbling health care system. Performance ethnography combines critical theory and social action. Taking seriously the Public Health mandate for social justice, faculty and students at the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Nursing have been experimenting with the creation of Performance Texts, an innovative pedagogical technique which brings narratives of injustice to academic and community based audiences for the purpose of inciting them to action. Framing the individual story within a social context provides a bridge between performer and audience and involves both in a call to political engagement. In this session a faculty member and graduate student from UIC's College of Nursing will perform 2 texts which remind us that although change has come, the waters remain troubled indeed. The work of public health nursing is enhanced by bringing these stories to the community and by working together at affect real and durable change. For peace to flow, we must bridge the distance between story and politics, performer and audience, academia and community. Performance Texts remind us of our vital connection.