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Toward Interdisciplinary Investigations of Flow in Performance Studies
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- Author / Creator
- Nemecek, Seairra K.
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To be in flow is typically described as a state where one becomes enmeshed with the performance of a task. Flow has been extensively investigated and pioneered by the late Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi in the field of positive psychology to optimize focus, presence, and pleasure. Explorations of flow extend far beyond Csikszentmihalyi’s work and across various fields of clinical and sport psychology, dance studies, sociocultural kinesiology, sociology, as well as theatre and performance studies. In this study, ten professionals across various disciplines that connect to the phenomenon of flow or flow states were contacted to participate in short 20-minute interviews. The semi-structured interviews investigate the central question of how different disciplines conceptualize flow and seek to understand some of the underlying value assumptions embedded in how different fields evaluate the phenomenon. The qualitative interviews were then inductively coded to identify themes and critically investigate discipline-specific assumptions and values placed onto flow and how one enters a flow state in a variety of performance contexts. Disciplinary values are brought into conversation with Pierre Bourdieu's habitus, Judith Butler's performativity, René Girard's notion of desire, Bruno Latour's actor-network-theory, as well as the theories of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. Following a nuanced interpretation of each interview, I evaluate the potential benefits and limitations of understanding interdisciplinary conceptualizations of flow from the lens of performance studies and a social constructivist paradigm.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2024
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Arts
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Library with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.