In the previous article, we were looking for inspiration on how to raise security awareness in Aristotle’s approach to artistic communication between actor and audience. His Theater of Illusion with its catharsis momentum gave us some insights on how to manufacture communications measures in order to achieve a learning process by proxy.

In the present article, we’re going to have a closer look at Brecht’s more modern concept of Epic Theater. The German playwright strives to move away from the Theatre of Illusion, from identification and purification, towards the active re-evaluation of reality by the audience.

Continue reading “The Drama of Awareness – using Aristotle and Brecht to raise awareness: Part II”

There is a lot of drama surrounding the subject of security awareness. Whether it is because of the limited resources available in the face of ever-increasing demand, or the fact that awareness measures are still largely the responsibility of technically trained security experts – one could say that security awareness is surrounded by an air of tragedy.

How can you get users to manage data and devices securely? People have long wondered how to craft a message that moves people (to do something) – since well before the invention of advertising or awareness campaigns. It’s the same problem that lies at the heart of artistic communication between actor and audience. This article is, therefore, not about drama in the proverbial sense, but rather about literary drama as a work of art (of the theatre). Can literary scholarship provide us with insightful answers to this big question? First, we’re going to have a look at Aristotle  and the Classical Drama. Continue reading “The Drama of Awareness – using Aristotle and Brecht to raise awareness: Part I”