“Sisters of the Pen”: Restoring Women to Early Modern Theatre History Pedagogy and Practice
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Date
2020-02-27
Authors
Rogers, Jessica
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This dissertation looks at current theatre historiography in terms of pedagogy and performance practices on the topic of early modern (seventeenth century) female dramatists, via select dramatic works of Elizabeth Cary, Viscountess Falkland; Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle; and Aphra Behn. As early modern feminists, Cary, Cavendish, Behn, writing in different eras of the seventeenth century, each impacted theatre historiography by providing their unique perspectives on the roles of women in their times. Each of these women have a substantial history of literary study extending back decades; however, current practices in the areas of theatre history and theatre production minimize or dismiss the dramatic contributions of these women, generally for reasons pertaining to gender, and as such, there has been considerable oversight in the theatrical field as a result. Additionally, this study looks at the social contexts of the seventeenth century and later as a means of addressing issues pertaining to early modern female authorship and why these women have been so neglected as dramatists according to genre. Furthermore, it identifies and examines some of the feminisms evident in their dramatic works, and how said feminisms can contribute to current discourse on theatre history pedagogy and performance. The objective of this study is to reiterate the necessity of revising current theatre pedagogical and performance canons to include these women as a means of further understanding their individual milieus by recontextualizing their work as part of, rather than separate from, theatre historiography and practice. In doing so, the hope is to continue advocacy for the importance of a more inclusive feminist theatre historiography and, subsequently the need for revisions to the dramatic canons.
This dissertation includes previously published material.
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Keywords
Feminism, Restoration, Seventeenth Century, Theatre