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Seeking Alternative Research and Development Methods Through Theatre: A Case Study on Sanitation Issues Affecting Women in the Mathare Slum

Gaunce, Rachel
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1524844274577085

Abstract Details

2018, Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Ohio University, Theater.
This paper explores Theatre for Development (TfD) as a research and development tool through a case study conducted in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, Kenya. Mathare is densely populated, with over half-a-million people in one square kilometer. Sanitation and water systems are poorly constructed and often controlled by cartels. This leads to health and security issues that disproportionately affect women. Development initiatives that aim to address these issues often ignore the role that community members play in development. TfD, as I modify it for this project, is an adaptation of Augusto Boal’s forum theatre that generates community-led solutions to specific development issues. Using TfD, I rely on stakeholder participation to pursue a holistic research methodology that informs initiatives aimed at improving sanitation challenges. My research seeks to answer two questions: What information surfaces as a result of creating a TfD workshop in Mathare? And how does TfD succeed and fail as a methodology applied in Mathare? I present the data collected through the process of developing the workshop, conducting the workshop, and participant feedback. The data show that the practice of TfD in Mathare generates nuanced information on limitations to sanitation, and illustrates how gendered limitations restrict women’s ability to make choices about their own sanitation. The data also show that TfD is useful in empowering participants to guide community dialogue around issues and ways of addressing them, and clarifying areas of misinterpretation. However, challenges can arise with budgeting time and negotiating a language barrier. Overall, I will show that TfD is a research and development tool that empowers stakeholders in the process of information collection, and allows them to invest directly and specifically in the desired outcomes.
Edna Wangui, Dr. (Advisor)
88 p.
African Studies; Environmental Studies; Gender; Theater
Theatre; Theatre for Development; Theatre of the Oppressed; Applied Theatre; Environmental Studies; Sanitation; Kenya; East Africa; Informal Settlements; Development; Gender

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Gaunce, R. (2018). Seeking Alternative Research and Development Methods Through Theatre: A Case Study on Sanitation Issues Affecting Women in the Mathare Slum [Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1524844274577085

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Gaunce, Rachel. Seeking Alternative Research and Development Methods Through Theatre: A Case Study on Sanitation Issues Affecting Women in the Mathare Slum . 2018. Ohio University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1524844274577085.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Gaunce, Rachel. "Seeking Alternative Research and Development Methods Through Theatre: A Case Study on Sanitation Issues Affecting Women in the Mathare Slum ." Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1524844274577085

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ouhonors1524844274577085
358
© 2018, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University Honors Tutorial College and OhioLINK.