Description
What can theatre and live performance tell us about mental life? Ever since Freud's use of a Greek tragedy to explain his foundational psychoanalytic theory the 'Oedipus Complex', there has been a close cultural relationship between the ways we conceive of mental life, and theatre. ÌýThe seminar series examines the way that the mind and the brain have been represented in theatre. Each week we will examine a play alongside a theoretical essay about the mind and/or the brain. We will look at production photos, scenography and recordings of past productions to explore how theatre-makers in the Twentieth Century tried to communicate the inner workings of the mind through live performance. In these seminars we will ask why the metaphor of the mind as a theatre gained cultural salience in the Twentieth Century, and examine how dramatists have attempted to represent madness and mental life. We will explore performance theory, psychoanalysis and cognitive science as frameworks for understanding a range of landmark plays.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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