Reading List

Each entry constitutes a single report.  The date on which I would like each report to be given appears at the end of the entry.  Graduate students should submit a list of your first three choices (in order of preference) to me at the second class meeting (Jan. 25).   Undergraduates should use this as a starting point for research on the final project. 

An asterisk before an entry (*) indicates that the book in question is on 2-day reserve at the Roosevelt University Library.  The other books are available at Columbia College’s library and/or DePaul University’s Lincoln Park campus library.  Failing that, I own these books and can loan my copy to you.  There are many other articles in these books that may be of interest to you than those listed here.  Take some time to look at them and read other pieces that catch your attention.

Theory:
*Aston, Elaine.  "Background" and "Feminist Theories of Representation."  An Introduction to
     Feminism and Theatre.  New York: Routledge, 1995.  1-11 and 35-44.  Due: Feb. 1

*Aston, Elaine.  "Performing Gender." An Introduction to Feminism and Theatre.  New York:
     Routledge, 1995.  92-106.  Due: April 5

Austin, Gayle.  "Feminist Theories" and "Moving Ahead."  Feminist Theories for Dramatic
     Criticism.  Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1990.  1-20 and 93-97.  Due: March 22

Austin, Gayle.  "The Madwoman in the Spotlight: Plays of Maria Irene Fornes."  Making a
     Spectacle: Feminist Essays on Contemporary Women’s Theatre. Ann Arbor: University of
     Michigan Press,1989.  76-85. Due: March 8

DeShazer, Mary K.  "Rejecting Necrophilia: Ntozake Shange and the Warrior Re-Visioned."
     Making a Spectacle: Feminist Essays on Contemporary Women’s Theatre. Ann Arbor:
     University of Michigan Press,1989. 86-100.  Due: March 1

Diamond, Elin.  "In)Visible Bodies in Churchill’s Theatre." Making a Spectacle: Feminist
    Essays on Contemporary Women’s Theatre. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1989.
    259-281.  Due: March 29

*Dickerson, Glenda.  "The Cult of True Womanhood: Toward a Womanist Attitude in African-
     American Theatre."  Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre. 
     Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1990. 109-118.  Due: Feb. 8

Dolan, Jill.  "Breaking the Code: Musings on Lesbian Sexuality and the Performer."  Presence &
     Desire: Essays on Gender, Sexuality, Performance. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
1993. 135-149.  Due: April 12

*Geis, Deborah R.  "Wordscapes of the Body: Performative Language as Gestus in Maria Irene
     Fornes’ Plays."  Feminist Theatre and Theory.  Helene Keyssar, ed.  New York: St. Martin’s
     Press, 1996.  168-188.  Due: March 8

*Schroeder, Patricia.  "American Drama, Feminist Discourse and Dramatic Form: A Defense of
     Critical Pluralism."  Theatre and Feminist Aesthetics.  Karen Laughlin and Catherine Schuler,
     eds.  Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1995.  66-81.  Due: March 22

*Yarbro-Bejarano, Yvonne.  "The Female Subject in Chicano Theatre: Sexuality, ‘Race,’ and
     Class." Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre.  Baltimore: John
     Hopkins University Press, 1990.  131-149.  Due: April 12

Performance Art & Performance Theory:
Hughes, Holly.  World Without End.  Out From Under: Texts by Women Performance Artists.
     Lenora Champagne, ed.  New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1990.  3-32. 
     Due: Feb. 15  (along with Forte essay, below)

Finley, Karen.  The Constant State of Desire. Out From Under: Texts by Women Performance
     Artists.  Lenora Champagne, ed.  New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1990.  55-70.
     Due: Feb. 22 (along with Forte essay, below)

*Forte, Jeanie.  "Women’s Performance Art: Feminism and Postmodernism." Performing
     Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre.  Baltimore: John Hopkins University
     Press,1990.  251-269.  Due: Feb. 15 and Feb. 22

Other Suggested Readings:
Dolan, Jill.  The Feminist Spectator as Critic. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991.

Wandor, Michelene.  Carry On, Understudies: Theatre & Sexual Politics.  New York: Routledge
     & Kegan Paul, 1981.

If you like the plays we’re reading, you might also like:

Childress, Alice.  Wine in the Wilderness.
Churchill, Caryl.  Fen, Mad Forest, Top Girls, The Skriker and Vinegar Tom.
Hansberry, Lorraine.   A Raisin in the Sun.
Hellman, Lillian.  The Children’s Hour.
Fornes, Maria Irene.  The Conduct of Life.
Keatley, Charlotte.  My Mother Said I Never Should.
Kesselman, Wendy.  My Sister in This House.
Schenkar, Joan.  Burning Desires and Signs of Life.
Shange, Ntozake. spell #7.
Smith, Anna Deavere.  Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities. 
(Features Ntozake Shange and Angela Davis as characters) 
Wasserstein, Wendy.  The Heidi Chronicles.