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Drama and utopian forms of relationality
This paper begins by challenging the use of “domestication” in the phrase the “domestication of utopia” because of the term’s gendered, raced, and classed histories. It emphasizes how “domestication” is both a (patriarchal) metaphor for femininity, and a potential site of resistance, particularly within Black feminism. Instead, a range of alternative terms, such as co-option or appropriation are offered in its place. The paper then moves on to argue for the importance of centring fundamental, systemic change in engagements with utopian art (drama in this instance). It discusses the difficulty of discovering utopian theatre texts, and suggests that one of the reasons for this might be the tightly circumscribed field of utopian studies itself, which has been historically preoccupied with measurement, categorisation, narrow definitions, and exclusions. The paper then proposes that drama and performance are potentially rich sites for the exploration of new, utopian forms of subjectivity, social relationality, and utopian affective attachments. The paper ends by noting the importance of encouraging an ongoing process of self-critique within the field of Utopian Studies, as well as pointing to the limitations of academic critique and practice for a utopian politics.
History
School
- The Arts, English and Drama
Department
- English and Drama
Published in
mediAzioniVolume
27Pages
D33 - D38Publisher
University of Bologna, Department of Interpreting and TranslationVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Rights holder
© The AuthorPublisher statement
This is an Open Access article. It was first published in the journal mediAzioni: Adiseshiah, Siân (2020), “Drama and Utopian Forms of Relationality”, mediAzioni 27: D33-D38. http://mediazioni.sitlec.unibo.it, ISSN 1974-4382.Publication date
2020ISSN
1974-4382Publisher version
Language
- en
Depositor
Dr Si�n Adiseshiah. Deposit date: 13 March 2020Usage metrics
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