Author: William S. Haney II Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing ISBN: 1443806358 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 158
Book Description
Different symbolic traditions have different ways of describing the shift of awareness toward sacred events. While not conforming to familiar states of phenomenality, this shift of awareness corresponds to Turner's liminal phase, Artaud's metaphysical embodiment, Grotowski's “translumination,” Brook's “holy theater,” and Barba's “transcendent” theater—all of which are linked to the Advaitan taste of a void of conceptions. This book argues that, by allowing to come what Derrida calls the unsayable, the theater of Tom Stoppard, David Henry Hwang, Caryl Churchill, Sam Shepard, Derek Walcott and Girish Karnad induces characters and spectators to deconstruct habitual patterns of perception, attenuate the content of consciousness, and taste the void of conceptions. As the nine plays discussed in this book suggest, the internal observer lies behind all cultural constructs as a silent beyond-ness, and immanently within knowledge as its generative condition of unknowingness. The unsayable (and the language used to convey it) that Derrida finds in literature has clear affinities with the Brahman-Atman of Advaita Vedanta. Derridean deconstruction contains as a subtext the structure of consciousness that it both veils with the undecidable trappings of the mind and allows to come as an unsayable secret through a play of difference. Although Derrida views theater and the text as mutually deconstructing and claims that presence or unity “has always already begun to represent itself,” the six playwrights discussed here show that cultural performance indeed points through its universally ambiguous and symbolic types toward a trans-verbal, trans-cultural wholeness.
Author: Sebnem Toplu Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing ISBN: 1443823066 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 395
Book Description
Literary and cultural studies in the later twentieth century were very much shaped by debates about modernism and postmodernism as labels for successive periods, but also for different competing interpretations of recent cultural history. In the twenty-first century, the shock waves that were sent through the global system on political, cultural, economic, and ecological levels by terrorist attacks, regional conflicts, poverty, the financial crisis and the threat of environmental disaster raise anew the question of how and to what extent the tradition of modernity can be newly defined in a situation where the problematic aspects of these ideas have rightly been exposed, but where they nevertheless appear to be crucial for any responsible assessment of contemporary world culture and its future perspectives. Redefining Modernism and Postmodernism offers a collection of critical articles that resulted from the International Cultural Studies Symposium at Ege University, Izmir, Turkey in 2009. Scholars from around the world have contributed to this volume reflecting the current perspective on modernism and postmodernism, shedding new light on literature, literary theory, philosophy, politics, religion, film and art. Providing an account of this field, this book enables readers to navigate the subject by introducing essays on transformations of modernism and postmodernism in the twenty-first century, and the debates beyond the modernism/postmodernism dichotomy.
Author: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Publisher: University of Wales Press ISBN: 1786834987 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 299
Book Description
First critical exploration of the history and endurance of masks in horror cinema Written by an established , award-winning author with a strong reputation for research in both academia and horror fans Interdisciplinary study that incorporates not only horror studies and cinema studies, but also utilises performance studies, anthropology, Gothic studies, literary studies and folklore studies.
Author: Namrata Pathak Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing ISBN: 1036402150 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 156
Book Description
This book, a collection of essays on and reviews of the life and works of Arun Sarma, contributes towards generating and sustaining academic engagement with the renowned litterateur of Assam, India, on both national and global platforms. It will push forth his legacy beyond the linguistic and geographical barriers of the Indian state, and develop a congenial environment for generating a new and active reading public—a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts all over the world. The book serves as an extension of the avowed goal of Arun Sarma as a playwright and novelist to rise above barriers of all kinds, resulting in the production of a body of knowledge on theatre of Assam. The book will be of use to academics, students, and research scholars of English literature, writings from North-East India, performance studies, theatre studies, India studies, south Asian cultures, and cultural studies, among others.
Author: Daphne M. Grace Publisher: BRILL ISBN: 9401204802 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 254
Book Description
This book deals directly with issues of consciousness within works of postcolonial and diasporic writers. It discusses fiction, autobiography and theory to re-formulate a “writing of consciousness”, addressing contemporary cultural theory related to a wide range of dynamic writers and ground-breaking novels. A critical analysis of literature contextualises consciousness (understood here as the source of language and human creativity), and explores ways in which consciousness is involved in the creative process. Tackling the controversial nature of consciousness itself, the book argues that consciousness must be understood in its philosophical and social contexts. The idea of relocating consciousness calls for a new aesthetics and ethics of living in the diasporic world where we are all to some extent “migrant”. The book explores notions of consciousness as alternative narrative structures to society, while expanding contemporary postcolonial theory beyond the limited dimension of power-based-on-violence to a more visionary exploration of experience based on consciousness as unity-in-diversity. Themes explored include sacred experience as empowerment; trauma, terror and the impact of consciousness; cosmopolitanism and globalisation; and the literature of human survival. Written in a lively and accessible manner the book will appeal to all readers who enjoy being on the cutting-edge of contemporary world literature.
Author: Konstantinos Moraitis Publisher: World Scientific ISBN: 9813141956 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 292
Book Description
Urban Ethics under Conditions of Crisis investigates the states of urban planning, architectural design, sustainability, landscape architecture, and engineering, and examines their correlation with social attitudes and dispositions that can impact on socio-cultural and political engagement internationally in conditions of crisis. The theme of the book emphasizes the need to acknowledge the controversial character of contemporary social life under critical social conditions, in correlation with urban space. It concerns the evaluation of critical issues such as:
Author: Hussein Al-Badri Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing ISBN: 1443870331 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 160
Book Description
The book is an insightful and thorough examination of one of the most prominent political dramatists in the US today, Tony Kushner, and his theatricalization of politics. Moreover, it draws heavily on Kushner’s wide range of themes and techniques. As such, it will be beneficial for graduate students and scholars who are concerned with the realm of contemporary American drama at the threshold of the twenty-first century. In addition, the book will appeal to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of Kushner and his major influences such as Bertolt Brecht, and will also be valuable for readers with a general interest in American drama. This book is primarily concerned with exploring and analyzing political discourse as dramatized in the work of Tony Kushner. The author’s point of departure is the concept of political theatre as developed by Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht. This theoretical exploration serves a double purpose: first, it is meant to provide a statement of the definitions and concepts central to this study, such as political discourse, political theatre, and postmodern theatre; second, it offers the tools of analysis by which to read and analyze Tony Kushner’s postmodern, politically-oriented texts. Through this, the book defines the major features of Kushner’s postmodern theatre and explores how he theatricalizes politics. American drama in the 1980s and the 1990s witnessed a noticeable thematic shift from the exclusively personal plays and musicals that once dominated American theatre for a long period of time to an increasing number of plays which put greater emphasis on exploring issues and questions of socio-political interest. As a result of this thematic shift, the predominantly private settings and familial character relationships of the traditional family play have been replaced by a great variety of public settings and non-familial characters. Tony Kushner’s theatre is a pioneering attempt in this respect. In Kushner’s theatre, there is no room for the traditional family plays which dominated the American stage in the 1960s and 1970s. Kushner has found that there is not enough political discourse in contemporary American Theatre. For this reason, he writes his plays to shed special light on the politics of American society in the 1980s, the 1990s, and in the beginnings of the 21st century.
Author: Matthew Causey Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1134205694 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 252
Book Description
Theatre and Performance in Digital Culture examines the recent history of advanced technologies, including new media, virtual environments, weapons systems and medical innovation, and considers how theatre, performance and culture at large have evolved within those systems. The book examines the two Iraq wars, 9/11 and the War on Terror through the lens of performance studies, and, drawing on the writings of Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou and Martin Heidegger, alongside the dramas of Beckett, Genet and Shakespeare, and the theatre of the Kantor, Foreman, Socíetas Raffaello Sanzio and the Wooster Group, the book positions theatre and performance in technoculture and articulates the processes of aesthetics, metaphysics and politics. This wide-ranging study reflects on how the theatre and performance have been challenged and extended within these new cultural phenomena.
Author: Lara Maleen Kipp Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 0429668236 Category : Art Languages : en Pages : 322
Book Description
Influential contemporary British playwright and director Howard Barker has been engaging with the scenography of the Wrestling School’s productions since 1998. Despite this active involvement in the design of set, costume, lighting, and sound, no in-depth published study on this aspect of his work exists to date. This monograph therefore offers the first comprehensive and detailed analysis of Barker’s scenographic practice. Combining aesthetic analysis of play texts and production records with original interview materials, this book presents the first full-length foray into Barker’s scenography. It features extracts from conversations with designers working with Barker, and with Barker himself. In addition, it presents the first printed versions of select set and costume designs by Barker. With the first fully detailed analysis of Barker’s scenographic work, this book will be a vital read for scholars and postgraduates of Barker Studies, contemporary British and European drama, theatre, and scenography.
Author: William S. Haney II
Author: Sebnem Toplu
Author: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Author: Namrata Pathak
Author: Daphne M. Grace
Author: Konstantinos Moraitis
Author: Hussein Al-Badri
Author: 
Author: Matthew Causey
Author: Lara Maleen Kipp