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CS92PROD
Performance Theory and Literature

ENGL 301
Fall 2012
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: FGSS 301
Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory

What is performance theory, where does it come from, and what happens when we apply it to dramatic literature and other literary and historical forms? In this course, we will explore the precedents of performance theory in both dramatic and non-dramatic literature, reading texts by Anton Chekhov, Virginia Woolf, Nella Larson, Lillian Hellman, Heiner Müller, and Adrienne Kennedy. We will delve into the major theories encompassed within the interdisciplinary rubric of performance studies, including theories of everyday life, play, performativity, gender and sexuality, race, and the archive and the repertoire. After mining both literature and theory for the major tenets of performance theory proper, we will apply what we have learned in a wider arena. Texts under investigation include the literary, the historical, and the corporal. Authors and artists include Maria Irene Fornes, Adrienne Rich, Jeanette Winterson, Judith Butler, Peggy Phelan, Anna Deavere Smith, Coco Fusco, John Cage, and Suzan-Lori Parks. This course provides an introduction to performance theory and its applications.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ENGL
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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