Performing Trauma in Central Africa: Shadows of Empire

Author:   Laura Edmondson
Publisher:   Indiana University Press
ISBN:  

9780253032478


Pages:   366
Publication Date:   26 March 2018
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Performing Trauma in Central Africa: Shadows of Empire


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Overview

What are the stakes of cultural production in a time of war? How is artistic expression prone to manipulation by the state and international humanitarian organizations? In the charged political terrain of post-genocide Rwanda, post-civil war Uganda, and recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Laura Edmondson explores performance through the lens of empire. Instead of celebrating theatre productions as expression of cultural agency and resilience, Edmondson traces their humanitarian imperatives to a place where global narratives of violence take precedence over local traditions and audiences. Working at the intersection of performance and trauma, Edmondson reveals how artists and cultural workers manipulate narratives in the shadow of empire and how empire, in turn, infiltrates creative capacities.

Full Product Details

Author:   Laura Edmondson
Publisher:   Indiana University Press
Imprint:   Indiana University Press
ISBN:  

9780253032478


ISBN 10:   0253032474
Pages:   366
Publication Date:   26 March 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments List of Acronyms Introduction 1. Competitive Memory in the Great Lakes: Touring Genocide 2. Marketing Trauma and the Theatre of War in Northern Uganda 3. Trauma, Inc. in Postgenocide Rwanda 4. Repetition, Rupture, and Ruined: Narratives from the Congo 5. Gifted by Trauma: The Branding of Post-Conflict Northern Uganda 6. Confessions of a Failed Theatre Activist Afterword: Faustin Linyekula and the Labors of Hope Bibliography Index

Reviews

Edmonson's book is an outstanding addition to the literature on theatre and performance in situations of conflict and post-conflict. It will be an indispensable work for students, academics and activists concerned with the role of the arts in war-affected communities and within the humanitarian sector more broadly. * New Theatre Quarterly * [T]his important volume [is] particularly valuable as an honest and accurate critique of art for social change. . . . Essential. * Choice * While the arguments put forward in Performing Trauma in Central Africa are impressive, the methodological and ethical commitments that buttress the text are even more so. Edmondson's research for the book spans well over a decade and encompasses a rich variety of ethnographic and archival investigations on three continents. * Modern Drama *


[T]his important volume [is] particularly valuable as an honest and accurate critique of art for social change. . . . Essential. * Choice *


Edmonson's book is an outstanding addition to the literature on theatre and performance in situations of conflict and post-conflict. It will be an indispensable work for students, academics and activists concerned with the role of the arts in war-affected communities and within the humanitarian sector more broadly. * New Theatre Quarterly * [T]his important volume [is] particularly valuable as an honest and accurate critique of art for social change. . . . Essential. * Choice *


Author Information

Laura Edmondson is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Theater at Dartmouth College, where she is also affiliated with African and African American Studies. She is author of Performance and Politics in Tanzania: The Nation on Stage (IUP).

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