Performing Power and Individualism on American and German Stages takes an intersectional, interdisciplinary, and intertextual approach to whiteness, critical race theory, and transnationalism. In light of the intertwined history of the United States and Germany for over 200 years, this course sets out to examine the contemporary moment in light of this history. This course will apply theory to theatre texts, performances, audio-visual materials, and other writings. This course consists of six modules that attempt to examine how whiteness works to remain a non-racialized subject position in order to protect and reify expectations of white privilege. Since whiteness uses “the other” in order to define itself, this course will rely and lean upon non-white voices to mark whiteness. Because whiteness persists in the contemporary, this course will identify and examine strategies for marking, unmasking, and undermining whiteness.

Module 2 (part 1) - Late 20th Century American and German Performance

In this module, we examined the body and how it represents and is represented. Suzan-Lori Parks asks, "Can drama involved Black people without the presence of the White?" This seems to mirror what Dyer set forth in Module 1 when he posited that whiteness cannot exist without the other. What makes it difficult to identify whiteness is its ability to remain unmarked, particularly by white people, as Frankenberg explains. In addition to, or in place of the prompts in the syllabus, please frame your comments around ways these materials have helped you understand how whiteness fights to remain invisible, absent, or a mirage.

Christopher MartinMarch 30, 2017Comment

Module 2 (part 1) - Late 20th Century American and German Performance

Northeastern roots, Midwestern education

Christopher Martin, Ph.D.

THR xxx - Performing Power and Individualism on American and German Stages

Module 2 (part 1) - Late 20th Century American and German Performance

Northeastern roots, Midwestern education

Christopher Martin, Ph.D.