Performance Theory and Literature
ENGL 301
Fall 2012
| Section:
01
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| 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. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Henry Bial, editor, THE PERFORMANCE STUDIES READER
Nella Larson, PASSING
Virginia Woolf, THREE GUINEAS
Lillian Hellman, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR
Heiner Müller, HAMLETMACHINE
Anna Deavere Smith, FIRES IN THE MIRROR
Maria Irene Fornes, FEFU AND HER FRIENDS
Suzan-Lori Parks, THE AMERICA PLAY AND OTHER WORKS
Jeanette Winterson, WRITTEN ON THE BODY
John Cage, SILENCE
Henry David Thoreau, WALDEN and CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE and SELECTIONS FROM THE JOURNALS
Coco Fusco, ENGLISH IS BROKEN HERE
Strongly recommended:
Adrienne Rich, DIVING INTO THE WRECK
Additional readings TBA.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly reading responses (1-2 pages each), 2 short studies (3-4 pages each), one long essay (10-12 pages), one in-class presentation, one attendance at a performance outside of class (with response). |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
English Major Requirements: Theory; Literatures of Difference
English Major Concentration: Theory & Literary Forms |
| Instructor(s): Moore,Alice Rebecca Times: ...W... 01:10PM-04:00PM; Location: FISK114; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 8 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 3 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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