Abstract
Europe and the world both need integrated creative approaches that promote new behaviours in line with the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals as both a formal and informal cultivation of durable sustainability. Theatre has long been a tool for the evolution of humanity and a fundamental element for practical and spiritual transformation of society. Theatre may act as a powerful and culturally sensitive tool to convey complex environmental and developmental messages to a widespread audience and can represent a variety of different perspectives in cross-cultural settings.
Poetry used as a tool in poetic performance and listening also functions to bring people together, reconnect people to culture, themselves, and each other, and improve their overall mental and physical health. Further, because of the participatory nature, poetic performance can act as an excellent platform to communicate sustainability goals. Performing arts in the broadest sense will by necessity play a pivotal role in bringing about the profound and required changes to society and thought processes in both tangible and intangible ways.
This chapter aims to define the state of the art of some of the experiences that tackle the issues of SDGs via theatre performances, and poetry in Europe. The encouragement and support from European governmental organizations, the private sector, and local arts-oriented organizations assists in the process tremendously. The author draws from the literature on sustainability and the arts to focus on the connection of the seemingly disparate pieces of the sustainable development puzzle.
References
Anabaraonye B, Nji IA, Hope J (2018) Poetry as a valuable tool for climate change education for global sustainability. Int J Scientific Eng Res 9(9):81–85
Ball R (2009) Climate change and sustainable futures. Syst Pract Action Res 22:139–148
Bernatek R (2018) Sound making space. Blueprint Magazine n. 358
Bertirotti A (2009) L’anima cerebrale. Acireale-Roma, Bonanno Editore
Blewitt J, Cullingford C (2004) The sustainability curriculum. Earthscan, London
Bonet N (2019) Musical borrowing in sonification. Organized Sound 24(2):184–194
Borutti, S. (2003), “Per un’ontologia dell’incompiutezza (Kant, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Freud)”. In Affergan, F., Borutti, S., Calame, C., Fabietti, U., Kilani, M., Remotti, F., Figure dell’umano. Le rappresentazioni dell’antropologia. Meltemi, Roma, pp 374–397
Brundiers K, Wiek A, Redman CL (2010) Real-world learning opportunities in sustainability: from classroom into the real world. Int J Sustain High Educ 11(4):308–324
Bulfaro D Haberland T (2022) Manifesto della Poetura, Poetry therapy Italia, 5–6
CAE, culture, action Europe (2021) Operational strategy for Culture Action Europe 2022–2024. https://cultureactioneurope.org/files/2021/05/V2CAEStrategy2022-2024.pdf. Last seen 5th sept 2022
Caradonna JL (2014) Sustainability: a history. Oxford University Press, New York
Cless D (2002) Ecocriticism of Western theater history: not so green, ASLE conference, Boston, MA, Giugno, p. 10
Davies EA (2018) Why we need more poetry in palliative care. BMJ Support Palliat Care 3:266–270. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2017-00147
Dessein J, Soini K, Fairclough G, Horlings L (eds) (2015) Culture in, for and as sustainable development. Conclusions from the COST action IS1007 investigating cultural sustainability. University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä
Dolci D (1968) Inventare il futuro. Bari, Laterza
Duxbury N, Kangas A, De Beukelaer C (2017) Cultural policies for sustainable development: four strategic paths. Int J Cult Policy 23(2):214–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2017.1280789
Felstiner J (2009) Can poetry save the Earth? A field guide to nature poems. Yale University Press, New Haven
Fletcher A (2004) New theory for American poetry: democracy, the environment, and the future of imagination. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Goldbard A (2010) New creative community. The art of cultural development, 1st edn. Oakland, New Village Press, 2006
Haberland T (2022) Ecopoetica: una tecnologia della tenerezza; l’esempio di Melina Riccio, in Poetry therapy Italia, vol. 5-6
Heras M, Tàbara JD (2014) Let’s play transformations! Performative methods for sustainability. Sustain Sci 9:379–398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-014-0245-9
Heras M, Galafassi D, Oteros-Rozas E et al (2021) Realising potentials for arts-based sustainability science. Sustain Sci 16:1875–1889. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-01002-0
Ives CD, Freeth R, Fischer J (2020) Inside-out sustainability: the neglect of inner worlds. Ambio 49:208–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01187-w
Jedlowski P (2012) In un passaggio d’epoca. Esercizi di teoria sociale. Orthotes, Napoli, pp 69:88
Kagan S, Kirchberg V, Weisenfeld U (eds) (2019) Stadt als Möglichkeitsraum: Experimentierfelder einer urbanen Nachhaltigkeit. Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld
Keleş Ö (2015) Creative drama in the teaching of education for sustainable development: sample activity about sustainability and sustainable production. J Environ Sustain 4(4):1–15
Kühtz S (2007) Adoption of sustainable development schemes and behaviours in Italy: barriers and solutions – what can educators do? Int J Sustain High Educ 8(2):155–169
Kühtz S (2011) Challenges posed by climate change: is environmental protection an ethical issue? Environ Dev Sustain 13(1):79–85
Kühtz S (2018) Quel che resta del bello. Spagine LE. ISBN: 9788890977862
Kühtz S (2021) Abitare poeticamente l’architettura. Il corpo e l’incontro. In SPAZIO SUONO CORPO, Sconfinamenti nel campo dell’architettura, (eds) Sara D’Ottavi e Alberto Ulisse collana Mosaico casa ed. Libria. ISBN 978-88-6764-260-1
Kühtz S (2022) Sensoriality, arts, poetry, and sustainability. In: Leal Filho W, Azul AM, Doni F, Salvia AL (eds) Handbook of sustainability science in the future. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68074-9_65-1
Kühtz S, Gallinari L (2017) La rivoluzione sostenibile – utopia o reale possibilità? AIEMS Riflessioni sistemiche n.17 http://www.aiems.eu/files/kuhtzgallinari_-_n_17.pdf
Lavery C (2016) Introduction: performance and ecology – what can theatre do? Green Letters, 20:3, 229–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/14688417.2016.1206695
Leavy P (2015) Method meets art–arts-based research practice, 2nd edn. Guilford Press, New York. ISBN 978-1-462-51332-1
Marcoaldi F (2015) Il Mondo sia lodato. Einaudi, Torino, pp 33–34
Martínez i Illa and Rius i Ulldemolins (2011) Cultural planning and community sustainability: the case of the cultural facilities plan of Catalonia, Culture and Local Governance / Culture et gouvernance locale, vol. 3, no. 1–2, 2011. ISSN 1911-7469
Mazza N (2016) Poetry therapy - theory and practice. Routledge, New York, USA
Merleau-Ponty M (1968) The visible and the invisible: followed by working notes. Northwestern University Press, Evanston
Moeschler OE, Nikoghosyan N, Riom L, Sahakian M, Schwegler G (2020) Introduction: sustainability through art, and vice-versa. Reflections on the conference. Sustainable consumption research and action initiative, sustainable consumption transitions series. hal-03543485
Paci E (1950) Il nulla e il problema dell’uomo. Torino; in E de Martino, 1997, pp. 254–262
Panozzo F (2021) Cultura e creatività in azienda. L’esperienza del progetto SMATH. Hefte, issue #2 franzLAB. ISBN 9788894480917
Pottecher M (1899) Lettre à M. Ferdinad Brunetière, in ID., Le Théâtre du Peuple: Renaissance et destinée du Théâtre populaire, Paris, Ollendorff, 1899, now in ID, Œuvres théâtrales, Amiens, Les Provinciales, 1995, p. 14
Purvis B, Mao Y, Robinson D (2019) Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins. Sustain Sci 14:681–695
Recalcati M (2016) è possibile educare al desiderio? https://www4.ti.ch/fileadmin/DECS/DS/Festival_educazione/documenti/Festival_educazione_prospetto_programma_2016.pdf
Somers JW (2004) The therapy of drama: an intervention in rural communities in trauma. Paper presented at the IDEA 2004 5th World Congress of International Drama, Theatre and Education Association, Ottawa, Canada, 2–8 July
Steiner G, Posch A (2006) Higher education for sustainability by means of transdisciplinary case studies: an innovative approach for solving complex, real-world problems. J Clean Prod 14:877–890
Sterling S, Huckle J (2014) Education for sustainability. Routledge, Abingdon
Throsby C (2010) The economics of cultural policy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Vygotsky LS (1976) Play and its role in the mental development of the child. In: Bruner J, Jolly A, Sylva K (eds) Play: its role in development and evolution. Basic Books, New York, pp 76–99
Wright EO (2010) Envisioning real utopias. Verso, London. ISBN: 978–1–84467-617-0
Zeldin T (2015) Ventotto domande per affrontare il futuro. Sellerio, Palermo, Italy
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Kühtz, S. (2023). Tackling Sustainable Development Issues via Theatre and Performing Poetry. In: Leal Filho, W., Dinis, M.A.P., Moggi, S., Price, E., Hope, A. (eds) SDGs in the European Region . Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Regional Perspectives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17461-2_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17461-2_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-17460-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-17461-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences