Civic Engagement Through Theatre: Running a Brechtian Workshop in the Classroom

Abstract

This article presents an innovative active-learning technique for supporting the development of civic education: a theatrical workshop based on the dramaturgy of Bertolt Brecht. The author argues that the Brechtian workshop can develop three skills necessary for effective civic engagement—perspective taking, collaboration, and critical judgment/self-reflection—and that these skills are directly tied to the three civic values of pluralism, community, and civic responsibility. Using qualitative data gathered while teaching this workshop to two distinct student populations (i.e., a self-selecting group of students in a liberal arts environment and a group of students at a commuter campus taking a course required for their major), the author reflects on the workshop’s varying levels of success in developing these skills and offers recommendations for future use of this learning technique.