Both 'performance' and 'performativity' have become popular concepts in critical theory, with scholars in fields as disparate as anthropology, rhetoric, literature, psychology, and cultural studies citing one or both of them frequently in recent research. Though they often operate in tandem and both take the embodied practices of a human body as their central focus, theories of performativity and theories of performance have quite different things to say about what bodies do and what bodies are. In this advanced interdisciplinary seminar, we will explore the points of intersection and divergence between 1) performative theories of bodily identity, beginning with Judith Butler's seminal theory of gender as a performative, rather than material, state of the body, and 2) theoretical approaches to performing bodies. At least half of our readings will be drawn from critical theatre history and theatre studies, fields of research that have been largely overlooked in contemporary body theory.
Course objectives:
- Students will be able to define clearly how the notion of 'performativity' is related to but distinct from the practice of 'performance'
- Students will be able to apply both types of theories to critical analysis of social, cultural, theatrical, and literary texts
- Students will practice revising their own written work based on feedback from peer reviewers
- Students will practice giving constructive feedback (technical, structural, and content-oriented) to student peers on weekly writing assignments