This I Wonder – Spiritual Journey of a Wondering Heart

By Yiyi Zhang

“This I Wonder” is a staged monologue on struggles and transformations along my spiritual journey with aural landscapes of places I traveled to and stories from three of the narrators I interviewed. It went from my childhood memory to the beginning of my journey as a baptized Christian, to my trip in India which challenged me to appreciate people from other religions, to interviews I conducted last year and then to my manifesto of what I believe and wonder at that point in life. Audiences were also engaged in group discussions before and after the performance. The performance presented the sphere of subjectivity and intersubjectivity not only during oral history interviews, but also its on-going influence in shaping one’s interpretation after interviews. And through its vulnerability, transparency and inquiry, the performance opened a space for audiences to engage with questions around faith and identity struggles.

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You can hear the audio from the performance here:

Yiyi Zhang holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Brandeis University and two Master’s degrees from Columbia University, which are Philosophy and Oral History. She is committed to build understanding and compassion among people through oral history with a special interest in religious context.

Yiyi is a world traveler. Besides countries in North America, Europe, East Asia and Middle East, she has also done volunteer works in South Asia, Central Asia and Africa. She is always ready to encounter and be inspired by new people and new stories.

 

 

 

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