Literature, Ethics and Globalization
Summary
This course studies theatre produced in Britain from the last decade of the twentieth century to the present day. Through close exploration of a selection of plays, students are invited to consider both the formal/aesthetic innovations and the cultural and political interventions that they formulate and to read them in the light of the recent events occurred in Britain, Europe and in the context of the ongoing process of neo-liberal globalisation.
As much attention as possible is devoted to the theatrical or staging component, whether through screenings of (excerpts from) filmed versions of the plays, photographs of actual productions, reviews, or visits to the theatre to see plays by the selected playwrights or by other contemporary playwrights.
What Do We Study
1. Introduction and conceptual foundations:
a) The “ethical turn” in literary and theatrical studies.
b) Globalisation, precariousness, theatricality, and the function of the spectator.
2. Case studies:
- Mark Ravenhill, Mother Clap’s Molly House (2000)
- Mojisola Adebayo, Moj of the Antarctic: An African Odyssey (2006)
- Cordelia Lynn, Lela & Co. (2016)
- Caryl Churchill, Escaped Alone (2016)
- Travis Alabanza, Burgerz (2018)
- debbie tucker green, ear for eye (2018)
- Scottee, Class (2019)
- Charlie Josephine, I, Joan (2022)
Which is the Line of Thought
We will examine the selected works in the light of a range of theoretical/critical perspectives including the ethical turn and the ethics of care, globalization studies, precariousness, affect theory, queer studies, critical antiracist studies, and the role of the spectator. The overall objective is to determine and describe to what extent and in what way these works invite us, as a receiving public, to transform our perception and experience of the world around us. For more details, you can consult the Basic Bibliography that you will find below.
Theoretical and Practical Approaches
Ahmed, Sara. The Cultural Politics of Emotion. Edinburgh UP, 2004.
Ahmed, Sara. Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others. Duke University Press, 2006.
Andrews, Kehinde. The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World. Penguin Books, 2021.
Aragay, Mireia, et al., eds. British Theatre of the 1990s: Interviews with Directors, Playwrights, Critics and Academics. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Aragay, Mireia & Enric Monforte, eds. Ethical Speculations in Contemporary British Theatre. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
Aragay, Mireia, Delgado-García, Cristina, & Martin Middeke (Eds.). Affects in 21st-Century British Theatre: Exploring Feeling on Page and Stage. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.
Bauman, Zygmunt. Postmodern Ethics. Blackwell, 1993.
Bauman, Zygmunt. Globalization: The Human Consequences. Blackwell, 1998.
Blattès, Susan. “Is the Concept of ‘Character’ Still Relevant in Contemporary Drama?”. Drama and/after Postmodernism. Ed. by Christoph Henke & Martin Middeke. Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2007, p. 69-81.
Butler, Judith. Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence. Verso, 2004, p. 128-51.
Butler, Judith. Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable? Verso, 2009.
Butler, Judith. “Precarious Life, Vulnerability and the Ethics of Cohabitation”. Journal of Speculative Philosophy. vol. 26, no. 2, 2012, p. 134-151.
Butler, J. Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly. Harvard University Press, 2015.
Campbell, Alyson & Stephen Farrier. (Eds.). Queer Dramaturgies: International Perspectives on Where Performance Leads Queer. Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
Chatzidakis, Andreas, Hakim, Jamie, Littler, Jo, Rottenberg, Cathering & Lynne Segal (The Care Collective). The Care Manifesto: The Politics of Interdependence. Verso Books, 2020.
Dolan, Jill. Utopia in Performance: Finding Hope at the Theater. U of Michigan P, 2005.
Goddard, Lynette. Staging Black Feminisms: Identity, Politics, Performance. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Grehan, Helena. Performance, Ethics and Spectatorship in a Global Age. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Greer, Stephen. Queer Exceptions: Solo Performance in Neoliberal Times. Manchester University Press, 2019.
Lehmann, Hans-Thies. Postdramatic Theatre. 1999. Trans. by Karen Jürs-Munby, Routledge, 2006.
Levinas, Emmanuel. “Ethics as First Philosophy”. The Levinas Reader. Ed. by Seán Hand. Blackwell, 1989, p. 75-87.
Levinas, Emmanuel. “Reality and its Shadow” .The Levinas Reader. Ed. by Seán Hand. Blackwell, 1989, p. 130-43.
Muñoz, José. Esteban. Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity. New York University Press, 2009.
Rancière, Jacques. The Politics of Aesthetics: The Distribution of the Sensible. Continuum, 2004.
Rancière, Jacques. The Emancipated Spectator. Verso, 2009.
Rebellato, Dan. Theatre & Globalization. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Ridout, Nicholas. Theatre & Ethics. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Rosenberg, Tina, D’Urso, Sandra, & Anna Renée Winget (Eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Queer and Trans Feminisms in Contemporary Performance. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.
Stuart Fisher, Amanda, & James Thompson (Eds.). Performing Care: New Perspectives on Socially Engaged Performance. Manchester University Press, 2020.
Tomlin, Liz. Political Dramaturgies and Theatre Spectatorship: Provocations for Change. Bloomsbury, 2019.
Wallace, Clare, Escoda, Clara, Monforte, Enric & José Ramón Prado-Pérez. Crisis, Representation and Resilience: Perspectives on Contemporary British Theatre. Bloomsbury, 2022.