Colonialism and Slavery in Performance brings together original archival research with recent critical perspectives to argue for the importance of theatrical culture to the understanding of the French Caribbean sugar colonies in the eighteenth century. Fifteen English-language essays from both established and emerging scholars apply insights and methodologies from performance studies and theatre history in order to propose a new understanding of Old Regime culture and identity as a trans-Atlantic continuum that includes the Antillean possessions whose slave labour provided enormous wealth to the metropole.
Carefully documented studies of performances in Saint-Domingue, the most prosperous French colony, illustrate how the crucible of a brutally racialized colonial space gave rise to a new French identity by adapting many of the cherished theatrical traditions that colonists imported directly from the mainland, resulting in a Creole performance culture that reflected the strong influence of African practices brought to the islands by plantation slaves. Other essays focus on how European theatregoers reconciled the contradiction inherent in the eighteenth century's progressive embrace of human rights, with an increasing dependence on the economic spoils of slavery, thus illustrating how the stage served as a means to negotiate new tensions within "French" identity, in the metropole as well as in the colonies. In the final section of the volume, essays explore the place of performance in representations of the Old Regime Antilles, from the Haitian literary diaspora to contemporary performing artists from Martinique and Guadeloupe, as the stage remains central to understanding history and identity in France's former Atlantic slave colonies.
Featuring contributions from Sean Anderson, Karine Benac-Giroux, Bernard Camier, Nadia Chonville, Laurent Dubois, Logan J. Connors, Beatrice Ferrier, Kaiama L. Glover, Jeffrey M. Leichman, Laurence Marie, Pascale Pellerin, Julia Prest, Catherine Ramond, Emily Sahakian, Pierre Saint-Amand, and Fredrik Thomasson.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'None of the sections of this well-organized and thought-provoking collaborative work disappoint. They contain well-articulated and well-researched contributions at the intersections of history and culture, with the French essays translated for English-speaking readers. The book enriches the field of Colonial Studies with contributions that explore fascinating dialogues between colonies and the metropole... Colonialism and Slavery in Performance beautifully fills historiographic lacunae with vibrant and thorough discussions of theatrical culture and practices.' Jacqueline Couti, New West Indian Guide 'Relevanz, die das Theater und die Auffuehrenden Kuenste im 18. Jahrhundert besassen, tragen diese Analysen viel bei zum Verstaendnis historisch-kultureller bzw. politischer Entwicklungen zwischen Europa und der Karibik, zwischen Schwarzen und weissen.'
Annika Raapke, DAS ACHTZEHNTE JAHRHUNDERT Relevance that the theatre and the performing arts had in the 18th century, these analyses contribute a great deal to the understanding of historical-cultural and political developments between Europe and the Caribbean, between blacks and whites.
Annika Raapke, DAS ACHTZEHNTE JAHRHUNDERT (translated from German) 'By turning to the French Caribbean, Leichman and Benac-Giroux's volume complements existing scholarship on theater and performance in the Anglophone Caribbean in important ways, but their collection also highlights some of the challenges associated with making non-English-language materials accessible to a wider Anglophone readership.'
Juliane Braun, Early American Literature
Reihe
Sprache
Verlagsort
Verlagsgruppe
Liverpool University Press
Zielgruppe
Maße
Höhe: 234 mm
Breite: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80034-804-2 (9781800348042)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Jeffrey M. Leichman is Jacques Arnaud Associate Professor in the Department of French Studies at Louisiana State University, where his research and teaching focus on French theatrical literature and culture. He is also project director for the NEH-supported VESPACE project, an international digital humanities collaboration building an interactive VR model of an eighteenth-century Paris Fair theatre. Karine Benac-Giroux is maitresse de conferences at Universite des Antilles. A specialist in questions of personal identity in 18th century comedy, she has opened a field of research on racial/gender stereotypes in literature and contemporary dance in the West Indies. She is a member of the steering team of the project Matrimoine-Afro-Americano-Caribeen, https://matrimoine.art, and has created several research-creation pieces.
