The construction of selfhood is always to some extent a performative act-"All
the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely players" as
Shakespeare's Jacques famously remarks. And that performance is inherently
dual, since constituted both for the audience of the wider social world and for the
"self" who seeks to act. Drama as a genre, with its constant negotiation of the
competing claims of illusion and the operations of reality, has invariably been
centrally interested in the exploration of social identity, in the tensions between
public and private selfhood, and in the functions of "performance." In this
course we will examine theatre's response to the challenge of self-fashioning in
the modern era, and consider the wider ontological status of performance as a
category within the context of twentieth century drama and theatrical staging.
Readings will include plays by Strindberg, Wilde, Shaw, Pirandello, Beckett,
Pinter and Stoppard, along with selected criticism, theory, and psychoanalytical
writings.
Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: two 7-page papers, several short
responses, active participation in discussion.
Prerequisites: a 100-level English course, except 150. Enrollment limit: 25
(expected 25). Preference given to junior and senior English and Theatre
majors.
(Post-1900)