Edelman, J., 2012.

What phenomenology can bring to theatre sociology, and what it cannot, with reference to Radio Muezzin in Aarhus

Phenomenology is a powerful and subtle set of tools for theatre and performance studies, but like any approach, it has its biases and limitations. This article looks at the ways that phenomenology interacts with sociological methods of analyzing theatre as a field of cultural production in the sense proposed by Pierre Bourdieu. The article examines the uses that contemporary theatre scholars make of phenomenology, as well as semiotics, its standard interlocutor, through the analysis of Erika Fischer-Lichtes work in particular. It examines the particular contribution these methods can make to a sociology of theatre. It makes the case, however, that this contribution is not sufficient on its own, and that it is most helpful when placed into productive dialogue with specifically sociological tools that examine theatre as a meso-level social phenomenon. To demonstrate the potency of this dialogue, the article uses the two sets of tools to examine a moment from Rimini Protokolls recent performance of Radio Muezzin in Aarhus.