Revisiting Jon McKenzie?s Perform or else: Performance, labour and pedagogy

Tim Edkins and Stevphen Shukaitis interviewed Jon McKenzie on 24 March 2013 about his book Perform or else: From discipline to performance (2001a), its current resonance and his recent research. We begin by asking about Perform or else?s playful tone and composition. Then we ask about contemporary labour struggles, including in the state of Wisconsin where he is based as a Professor of English and Director of DesignLab at University of Wisconsin. We end by discussing how he sees the current role of the university. We focus on how DesignLab forms part of his applied research program, based on the multifaceted conception of performance theorised in Perform or else and instantiated in higher education.