PTO Conference 2008
The 14th Annual International Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed Conference:
May 22nd – 25th, 2008
With the University of Nebraska at Omaha,The UNO College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media, and The UNO College of Education
PTO Opening: Legislative Theatre Session
We open the 2008 PTO Conference with a wonderful and provocative session of Legislative Theatre jokered by Augusto Boal and Julian Boal. The session will be held in the Omaha City Council Chambers, between Harney and Farnam and between 18th and 19th streets. It’s a three block walk from the hotel to the building (ask the desk if not sure which way), and then up some stairs, in some doors, follow the signs, and you’re there. We’ve invited six Omaha-area elected officials and decision makers to sit in the Chamber seats to watch the Forum Scenes created in the workshops the previous three days. We will be invited to discuss these, to intervene, to try solutions, and then talk to each other so as to devise legislation. Our legislation will at long last be delivered to our guests with the question from Augusto, “Would you support this legislation proposed by this temporary community?” And the dialogue with our guests begins!
NEW: Tentative Conference Program
A tentative conference program is available for download on our Program Information page.
WHAT IS CHANGE?
WHAT IS SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE?
These questions are the theme for the 2008 Conference for the following reasons:
(1) 2008 is a year that likely will mark some major changes for PTO. Augusto Boal has attended twelve of our fourteen gatherings, beginning in 1995. Now Augusto sees himself cutting back or even eliminating his international travel. Thus, 2008 may well mark Augusto's last visit to PTO or even to the US. His son, Julian, will likely be more involved with PTO in the future.
(2) After fourteen years of service, two of PTO founding members -- Doug Paterson and Carol Lloyd -- are in the process of reducing their time and organizational commitment to PTO. PTO, in turn, is in serious and wonderful dialogues with educators, artists, and activists in the Twin Cities -- Minneapolis and St. Paul -- about the possibility of moving our base - meaning our incorporation and our official mailing address - to that area.
(3) Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Theatre of the Oppressed have been from the start part of a global movement advocating social change and social justice. But there is change, and there is substantial change. Buddhism suggests each moment of the life of the universe constitutes total change. Biologists see the cell/blood exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide as change. Countless social actions involve what might be called substantial change: Teachers who adopt the techniques of Paulo Freire. A TO Joker who encourages the spect-actor to change a Forum scene. Powerful lying their way into war. Paulo Freire publishing Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Progressive governments entering the world stage? Augusto Boal kidnapped and sent to prison, then publishing his Theatre of the Oppressed. Climate change. PTO adding "revolution" to its traditional efforts at "progressive social change." Change of PTO location and leadership. An even more segregated US from 1960 to 2007. The 2008 US elections ?
Perhaps above all is the question, "How?" How do we continue to understand change, analyze it, invite it, make it?
PRE-CONFERENCE BOAL WORKSHOPS
- Theatre of the Oppressed: Legislative Theatre Workshops with Augusto and Julian Boal: May 19th - 21st, 2008. Public Performance of Legislative Theatre in the Omaha City Council Chambers on the evening of May 22nd, 2008, the opening night of the
Conference. WORKSHOP CLOSED,JOIN US FOR THE PERFORMANCE - Theatre of the Oppressed: The Introduction to Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop with Augusto and Julian Boal: May 22nd, 2008-CLOSED
- Introduction to Pedagogy of the Oppressed with Victor Cole: May 22nd, 2008
POST-CONFERENCE BOAL WORKSHOP
- Theatre of the Oppressed: Rainbow-into-Forum Workshops with Augusto and Julian Boal: May 25th - 27th, 2008-CLOSED
Wait Lists: To be added to a wait list for closed workshops, click here to email our Treasurer.
FEATURED GUESTS
DR. AUGUSTO BOAL, internationally renowned theatre artist and activist, returns to provide Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) workshops prior to and after our conference. For the first time in many years, Augusto will attend the entire PTO Conference. He continues to share and develop TO around the world.
JULIAN BOAL, son of Augusto and a leader in developing TO in Paris while networking TO world-wide, will join us for the fourth time, assisting Augusto in leading workshops. Julian has attended the last three PTO Conferences and works with North African immigrants in Paris as one of the focuses of hiswork -work.
DR. DONALDO MACEDO is the Applied Linguistics Graduate Program Director and teaches the core linguistics courses, including Sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, and Linguistics and Contrastive Analysis at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. His primary areas of interest include second language acquisition, Pidgins and Creoles and critical literacy. He has for his entire academic career focused intensely on the theory and practice of Paulo Freire.
DR. SONIA NIETO is Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture, School of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Nieto's scholarly work has focused on multicultural and bilingual education, curriculum reform, teacher education, Puerto Rican children's literature, and the education of Latinos, immigrants, and other culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. She has written numerous book chapters and articles on these themes, and her articles have appeared numerous journals. She has completed a new book titled DEAR PAULO -- a collection of letters from teachers to Freire, which may be out by conference time.
Conference Fees
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Membership Dues |
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Early |
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Regular |
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PTO Member: Non-Student |
$40.00 |
$40.00 |
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PTO Member: Student |
$15.00 |
$15.00 |
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Conference Registration |
Early |
Regular |
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PTO Member: Non-Student |
$155.00 |
$180.00 |
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PTO Member: Student |
$60.00 |
$75.00 |
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Non-Member: Non-Student |
$190.00 |
$220.00 |
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Non-Member: Student |
$80.00 |
$100.0 |
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Secondary School Student |
$5.00 |
$5.00 |
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Boal Workshop Registration (Only Pre-Registration Accepted) |
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3-day “Legislative Theatre” |
$475.00 |
CLOSED |
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1-day Intro to TO w/Boals |
$175.00 |
CLOSED |
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1/2 day Intro to PO w/Victor Cole |
$35.00 Non-Student $25.00 Student |
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3-day “Rainbow Into Forum” |
$475.00 |
CLOSED |
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And then there's Omaha. You might find this interesting:
Over the years it has become clear that Omaha, which sees itself as a model small city, has created, perpetuated, and buried social and economic divisions. On the one hand, white flight was more a stampede here, creating a huge west Omaha built since 1975 that is almost completely white and middle to upper class. With the presence of Warren Buffett and those his stock made rich over the last 60+ years, Omaha is routinely cited as the city with the most millionaires per capita in the nation. On the other hand, the Northeast part of the City is mainly black and very poor, while the Southeast part is mainly Latino with some black and white residents, and only marginally better off than "North Omaha".
Last winter it was announced that Omaha had achieved the distinction of being #4 in the US for the percentage of African-Americans in poverty, and #1 for African-American child poverty. While the re-segregation of the United States is a national phenomenon, it is clear that millionaires don't lessen and probably create poverty, and that PTO and its seven conferences in the last fourteen years has not stemmed the tide.
In the last year, very wealthy individuals and families have initiated a deep-pockets program called Building Bright Futures. BBF says it aims its efforts directly at marginalized children and students, and proposes to address the issues through education and para-educational support. While it claims to be a private/public partnership, it is mainly a private initiative. Word is out that the national microscope is now on Omaha because of Building Bright Futures. We hope to develop some conference programming with the leaders of Building Bright Futures. Here is an opportunity for PTO to engage in dialogue with one of the most ambitious educational and community efforts in the nation.
Omaha is PTO's place of origin. We will be in the Magnolia, a funky art deco hotel four blocks from the Old Market. It is one of the few places in Omaha, if not the only place, where several classes, colors, genders, ages, nationalities and languages regularly come together. We plan as usual to give workshop and conference participants plenty of time to gather, to examine, to refresh, to talk, and to play.
For more information please contact:
Doug Paterson (On-site Conference Chair) & Kate Wintz (On-site Conference Coordinator) at pto2008@gmail.com.
Submit your conference proposal.