After the Storm: Inter-disciplinary Dialogic Discourses With a Post-Fishing Community

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Applied Theater (AT)
• Community Engagement

Background:

• Disadvantaged communities often face complex social and economic challenges.
• Traditional engagement methods may not fully capture nuanced community experiences.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration offers potential for innovative community work.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically evaluate a unique interdisciplinary approach combining Applied Theater (AT) and sociology.
• To assess the effectiveness of this approach in a community impacted by industrial decline.
• To explore the facilitation of dialogic discourses and shared values in community projects.

Main Methods:

• A case study in Eyemouth, Scotland (2014-2017) involving community participants, an AT director, and a sociologist.
• Development of a creative performance based on a historical event (1881 fishing disaster).
• Facilitation through dialogic discourses emphasizing equal relationships, meaning-making, and active listening.

Main Results:

• Sociological observation uncovered nuanced social interactions within the creative process.
• Dialogic discourses facilitated mutually beneficial interdisciplinary sharing of practice, ideas, and theories.
• The creative process yielded insights into lived experiences, prompted public sociology discourse, and inspired social activism.

Conclusions:

• The interdisciplinary approach, while labor-intensive, offers an innovative method for engaging disadvantaged communities.
• Shared values and dialogic discourses are crucial for successful collaboration.
• This model can lead to deeper understanding and social action within communities.