Conclusions

Derrida, Habermas, and Rancière were the concluding triumvirate in “Theatre and Democracy Today.” “Theatre and Philosophy” ended with the dyad of Wittgenstein and Stoppard, specifically the Philosophical Investigations paired with Dogg’s Hamlet.... Read more about Conclusions

"What if we just say this?"

Samuel Beckett’s Endgame was on the table in “Theatre and Philosophy” today, in conversation with Theodor Adorno and Stanley Cavell. (We were happy to be joined by David Herskovits and David Greenspan, in a way staging our very own encounter of philosophers and thespians, with a nod to Freddie Rokem.)... Read more about "What if we just say this?"

“A scholar no matter what he thinks…”

Both seminars were on hold today, so our day began—appropriately enough—with a little armchair philosophy by the fireplace as the rain came down outside. The idyllic scene, with philosopher Dieter Thomä taking the central armchair and our own Martin Puchner in the armchair just to the left (with Freddie Rokem at the far left), is pictured below:... Read more about “A scholar no matter what he thinks…”

"It's art. It's not nice."

Act Two began today (with a citation to Martin Puchner for the metaphor). Sovereignty was the topic du jour in “Theatre and Democracy,” with Brecht’s Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Derrida’s The Sovereign and the Beast as the main texts. Brecht also made an appearance in “Theatre and Philosophy,” though in what we might call his “vulgar” form as one of Jacques Rancière’s main artistic antagonists.... Read more about "It's art. It's not nice."

"Theatre and Democracy" at last

Today’s dispatch comes to you (at last!) from the “Theatre and Democracy” seminar, as “Theatre and Philosophy” is on hiatus. The full seminar lineup is smiling below:... Read more about "Theatre and Democracy" at last

“Its identity resides not in any single transcendent personality…”

“Theatre and Democracy” embarked on Coriolanus today, but we in the “Theatre and Philosophy” seminar can’t help but be suspicious of this so-called man of action (just like the Tribunes themselves, perhaps) after reading Oscar Wilde.... Read more about “Its identity resides not in any single transcendent personality…”

“She possessed the faculty of comparison…”

Plato, we can’t escape you. “Theatre and Democracy” was on hiatus today, but “Theatre and Philosophy” more than made up for them in fervor. We began with a brief return to Nietzsche, examining the origins of the linguistic turn (or perhaps its back-formation?) in “On Truth and Lying in an Extra-Moral Sense.”... Read more about “She possessed the faculty of comparison…”

"There is often a passage in even the most thoroughly interpreted dream…”

For those of us in the “Theatre and Philosophy” seminar, today began with Nietzsche—quite literally. Witness the photographic evidence, courtesy of Jon Sherman, of BoT (Birth of Tragedy) in ABP (Au Bon Pain):... Read more about "There is often a passage in even the most thoroughly interpreted dream…”

“Come hither, O fire-god…”

It was 51 degrees and raining in Cambridge today, but through the alternating downpour and drizzle we made our way to the Barker Center to begin the second annual Mellon School for Theatre and Performance Research. Some of us (ahem) came from warmer climes; some of us from around the world: Poland, France, Turkey, Brazil, Germany, England, to name a few.... Read more about “Come hither, O fire-god…”

Donna Kornhaber