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Performance Philosophy is an international network of researchers, practitioners, scholars and activists engaged in investigating new forms and formats of thinking, philosophizing, performing and doing, in, and beyond, the academic, aesthetic and artistic spheres.

Become a core convener

Structure

Performance Philosophy aims to develop itself as a non-hierarchical organization – both in terms of the relationships between conveners and between the conveners and the wider PP community. There has been a conscious decision not to adopt the Executive Committee structure of other academic professional associations, such as the pyramid structure of President, Vice-President etc. with a view to putting into practice with more horizontal and collective approaches.

We do not assume any guarantee of a lack of hierarchy by refusing this model, and commit to being self-reflective and vigilant in the ways in which invisible or informal power structures might appear within supposedly ‘flat’ approaches to organization. However, Performance Philosophy is committed to cultivating the practice of collective thinking – at the level of the organization itself, as well as in the field it represents.

Core conveners

Core conveners consider the structures by which they gather, make decisions, and share their work with others to be as important as the content of those activities. These structures form an evolving ecology as the core conveners initiate, support and learn from undertakings such as conferences, fundraising, publication initiatives, communication and the governance of the organisation itself.  Rather than being elected to fixed roles, the conveners organize themselves on the basis of the changing work that needs to be done, according to a series of ‘task forces’ or ‘working groups’ focused on specific activities and goals.

There are at present 16 conveners. Further information about the application process to become a core convener and the terms of service can be found here. 

Working Groups

In addition to the group of core conveners, the Performance Philosophy network is structured via working groups, which form around a shared theme or as locally-based satellites of the larger network. The network’s website provides a place of exchange and organization for these groups and is committed to enabling many more opportunities for working group development, such as panel proposals, grant applications, journal issues, and interim events. We welcome initiatives and input from our membership in these and other, yet-to-be-discovered, ways as we attempt to foster horizontal models of composition.

Communication 

The current conveners acknowledge the need for greater transparency in the communication between the core conveners and the wider communities who engage with Performance Philosophy through the activities of the network, journal, book series and biennial. We encourage feedback from the network’s membership and wish to foster a healthy culture of exchange in practical ways.

We therefore commit to providing:

  • regular updates on our meetings, discussions, and decisions as well as financial reports
  • open-source funding opportunities in which each member can see and contribute to the network’s financial capabilities
  • an improved website that more adequately hosts an open forum for all members as well as forums for each working group
  • invitations to request seed funding for locally-organized events as the network’s finances allow
  • opportunities for working groups and satellites to take initiative and to organize events, productions, publications, etc, with the support and sponsorship of the larger network
  • increased access to the book series and journal by members of the network
  • open calls to host the network’s biennial conferences

Core Activities

  • A book series of monographs and edited collections, published internationally by Palgrave Macmillan (2014-2020) and Rowman & Littlefield (2020-current)
  • An open access, peer-reviewed journal published independently using open-source software
  • Events, including a biennial international conference, as well as interim events between conferences organised by network members
  • Hosting a network website to facilitate new connections and dialogue, and to share resources