Cultural Mediation and the Case of "I, Claudia" Study Guides

Abstract

Five study guides prepared for two productions of I, Claudia by Kristen Thomson will serve as a case study to determine the nature and orientations of the tools provided by theatre companies to pedagogues, who in turn teach students how to understand and read theatrical performance. More specifically, this case study will seek to explain how processes typical of “cultural mediation” help students accumulate what Pierre Bourdieu names “cultural” or “social capitals”, both necessary when training future citizens. This thesis will thus serve as a first critique of the workings, strengths and failings of a sociological mechanism typical of English Canadian theatre designed to help teachers mediate theatre and create more informed audience members.