About this Episode
This episode deepens the exploration of self-estrangement by analysing what happens before, during, and after a performance of character. Through a critical reflection on her own video tutorial, Katarina questions the distinction between “real” and “performed” identity, exploring how genre conventions and expressive habits shape even our most habitual selves. Drawing on Erving Goffman’s concept of expressive equipment, the video introduces the introspective performance experiment—a method for observing the cognitive and embodied shifts that occur when transitioning between characters. Key insights include the tension between narrative and character, the role of mood in shaping thought, and the surprising creative power of stepping into someone else’s frame of mind.
About this Series
Scripting for Agency: An Artistic Enquiry into Selfhood, Character and Agency in the Age of AI is a video lecture series based on Dr Katarina Ranković’s practice-based PhD in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. Combining philosophy, performance, creative writing, and AI theory, the series explores how our understanding of the self shapes our personal lives, our politics, and our relationship to intelligent technologies.
Links
Series Playlist: https://bit.ly/sfa-series
PhD thesis (PDF format): https://bit.ly/sfa-pdf
Thesis artworks: https://bit.ly/sfa-art
Introspective Performance Experiment: https://www.katarinarankovic.art/scripting-for-agency-appendix-2
References
- Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. London: Penguin, 2013.- Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. London: Penguin, 1990. (Original 1959)
