Completing the thesis: masculinities, education and theatre of the oppressed

Abstract

In this article I explore the possibilities of the theatre of the oppressed in the questioning and subversion of some expressions of hegemonic masculinity in educational contexts. This is based on an experience carried out with graduate students, using the technique of the image theatre for the critical analysis of the themes and objectives of some theses written by women. In this way, I understand masculinity here as a series of actions that are not always linked to male bodies, but rather as a configuration of discourses and practices that can be embodied by diverse corporealities, social groups and institutions. From the image theatre we were able to construct several collective images; in one of those, called the image of submission, we explored the articulations between masculinity and university teaching. The construction of these images and the work with the theatre of the oppressed made it possible for the students to collectively socialize their research processes, and also to reflect ethically and politically on them, from a gender perspective aimed at questioning and eradicating androcentrism in epistemologies and research methodologies in academia.