El teatro como experiencia educativa para la inclusión social de grupos vulnerables

Résumé

In this thesis we examine the potential of theatrical experience applied to the field of social and educational intervention with socio-economically vulnerable people, exploring the possibilities it offers for disciplines such as Education or Social Work. To this end, a series of case studies were conducted on theatrical and performance experiences applied to social and educational work with the community in the city of Granada. However, all these studies draw from a common and fundamental ethnographic ground of enquiry, which constitutes, therefore, the central case study of the research — the contemporary theatre group "Fuera de la Campana", born out of a theatre workshop in Calor y Café, an association in Granada that helps homeless people. The research methodology applied was ethnographic, with participant observation as the main data collection strategy. Our research findings lead us to conclude that theatre can be a fundamental resource for the restitution of dignity — an "ontological refoundation" that improves the quality of life and social inclusion of people in socially vulnerable situations. In this sense, this investigation provides evidence of the potential of the artistic experience to combat the stigmatization and stereotypes suffered by vulnerable people. It also allows us to recognize the importance of culture and the arts as humanizing resources as opposed to the technocracy and bureaucratization brought about by the neoliberal model in the field of social and educational intervention. Furthermore, beyond the achievements of the applied theatre experiences analyzed, this thesis also delves transversally into the challenges inherent to the field of action and reflection. Thus, it explores the limitations that these experiences present when it comes to creating egalitarian spaces for socially vulnerable people. Finally, this thesis provides a sample of the ways in which the arts can engender experiences of dialogical knowledge sharing in diverse settings (from an NGO with homeless people to the university space). It is concluded that the experiences analyzed can offer micro-political alternatives that promote equality among human beings and activate communitarian and solidarity-based rationalities that differ from the individualistic, discriminatory, and instrumental logics common in the neoliberal social and educational contexts we inhabit.