> Hi Alison,

     I checked the site you suggested, but it seemed more about government
planning for using drama in primary & secondary schools than about
drama itself.  If I find one better, I'll let you know.

Maureen


Hi Maureen,
> we Thesps and Dionysiacs must stick together...I don't know of a specific
> e-list but do you know about this? http://www.scudd.org.uk
> Slainte
> A
>
> Maureen Hawkins <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi again, Alison,
>
> I quite agree with all you've said, especially with what you've said
> about the interdisciplinary possibilities inherent in teaching drama.
> In an academic world increasingly carved into smaller & smaller boxes,
> interdisciplinarity tends to disappear to the detriment of each
> discipline & of the students.
>
> It's rather ironic that most post-colonial cultures find the
> establishment of a national theatre essential & that the task of
> developing one is most often undertaken by a nation's leading poets
> (I'm thinking here of Yeats, the Nigerian Wole Soyinka, and the
> African-American LeRoy Jones [aka Amiri Baraka]), yet the academic
> establishment which reveres them as poets frequently ignores their
> drama. I once wrote an article about one of Baraka's plays as a
> response to Yeats, but it was published in a text on intertextuality
> in global literature and thus escaped just about everyone's notice. I
> was speaking to a colleague in African-American studies about the
> play, which she disparaged until I started talking about the Yeats
> connection; then she was fascinated. The problem is that those who
> know Baraka are unlikely to know Yeats & vice versa. It's not just
> interdisciplinarity that is being lost.
>
> One of the most fascinating teaching experiences I've ever had was
> co-teaching a modern drama course with a woman from the drama
> department (who also did a fabulous job of playing McGuinness' BAGLADY
> for a conference I hosted). That, however, was at another university;
> I couldn't arrange anything like that at my current university because
> of budgetary issues (English is in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, &
> Drama is in the Faculty of Fine Arts, so which faculty would pay for
> what, how such a course would count for our respective teaching loads,
> & which faculty would get the tuition revenues would all be
> potentially contentious).
>
> Is there, do you know, an e-list for drama scholars? If not, there
> should be. I hope that you & I are not talking just to one another
> but that some of our colleagues on the Women's list will also take
> note.
>
> I, too, enjoyed our meeting in Liverpool. All I can do is hope I win
> th lottery.
>
> All the best,
> Maureen
>
>> Hi Maureen,
>>
>> I tend to agree with you on this. I think in some institutions there is
>> a
>> hierarchy of genre that, sadly places Drama at the bottom of the pile,
>> yet
>> when students are actually encouraged, and brought into the frame they
>> actually love the subject. My Contemporary Irish Drama course is always
>> extremely highly attended, and it's something that students can get
>> passionate about. I also agree about the different methods of teaching
>> having taught in Performing Arts departments also, [am currently
>> programme
>> leader for English and Drama]! I spent a lot of time discussing how
>> Artaud, or Grotowski or Brook would do, and rather less analysing text!
>> This is not to impugn Performing Arts departments, or indeed to
>> generalise
>> about them. I just make the point that while most of us teach
>> Shakespeare,
>> (and how many as dramatist, as opposed to bard)? it is more difficult to
>> get other, less canonical courses on to the timetable, and that it would
>> be helpful to teach text, context and performance across the timetable.
>> Drama, I think is an excellent vehicle for teaching applied theory,
>> anthropology, linguistics, philosophy, politics...the list goes on.
>>
>> I really enjoyed talking to you at Liverpool, Maureen, and I hope you
>> have
>> a windfall allowing you to come to Sunderland
>> Slainte
>> Alison
>>
>> Maureen Hawkins wrote:
>>> Hi Alison,
>>
>> I agree with you about the good audiences for Friel, but one thing I
>> noticed in Liverpool & Galway last year was that though they had good
>> audiences, there were fewer panels on drama than had been usual in the
>> past.
>>
>> I don't know if this is the case in Ireland, the UK, and Europe in
>> general, but in North America it appears that postgraduate studies have
>> shifted away from a focus on genre to one on period--but "period" seems
>> to
>> focus on prose (whether fiction or not) & poetry. The result is that
>> there are fewer and fewer young faculty who even think of including
>> plays
>> in their courses and, therefore, a declining focus in academia on drama.
>>
>> In fact, as long as 15 years ago, I considered applying for a job in
>> po-co studies that seemed from the ad to be focused on the novel, so I
>> called to ask if they were interested in other genres. When I replied
>> "drama" when asked what genre, I was told, "Oh no, we teach only serious
>> literature here." About the same time, I got a 1-year lectureship in
>> "Politics and Literature" in spite of the fact that the ad seemed most
>> focused on medieval lit. When I asked why, I was told that my
>> application
>> made them realize that they were not & had not for several years offered
>> any undergraduate or postgraduate courses in drama other than
>> Shakespeare.
>> Both universities were major research institutions. Nor has the
>> situation improved. My department recently hired a Canadianist who, when
>> asked to teach our course in Canadian drama, responded, "but I was hired
>> to teach
>> Canadian literature!"
>>
>> Of course, all this leads to fewer and fewer young faculty and
>> students who have/learn the reading skills necessary to read a play
>> (i.e., consider the interpretational implications of performance
>> elements indicated in the text in both stage directions and lines).
>> In 20th & 21st century drama, I find that plays "say" increasingly
>> more & more via performance elements; a study of dialogue alone often
>> leaves the reader clueless. This leads to a further decline in the
>> teaching of dramatic literature (except, of course, in drama
>> departments, which teach it in a far different way); this is often
>> excused on the grounds that "there are no good (American, Canadian,
>> contemporary, fill in the blank) plays"--a reaction that I think has
>> much to do with the speaker's inability to read a play in the ways
>> mentioned above.
>>
>> This is further compounded by the fact that few drama departments focus
>> on dramatic literature in the way an English department would; their
>> focus
>> (at least in North America) is usually more on the practical (often
>> purely
>> material) aspects of staging a play, not on what it is "saying." This
>> leads to abominations such as an expensive professional production of
>> THE
>> PLOUGH AND THE STARS I once saw which cut the last scene of the Tommies
>> drinking tea & singing "Keep the Home Fires Burning." I later had an
>> opportunity to ask the director why he had cut the scene. He replied,
>> "Well, you can't do a play just the way everyone else has." I pressed
>> him
>> a bit & soon realized that he hadn't a clue as to why the scene was
>> there.
>>
>> I realize that this is not strictly a "woman's" issue, but it is one
>> that should be important to everyone on the list who teaches literature
>> and perhaps especially to those who teach literature. Now that women
>> have
>> finally broken into the male-dominated world of the theatre, it is
>> especially dangerous to marginalize the genre. In general (at least in
>> the 20th & 21st centuries), poetry and prose privilege the individual:
>> an
>> individual voice speaks to an individual ear--only relatively rarely do
>> we
>> have the opportunity to attend poetry or prose readings. This endorses
>> our period's privileging of the individual over the community and the
>> subjective over the political. Drama is the only genre which is innately
>> "political." It is meant to be enacted by a group for a group and
>> usually
>> deals in some way with the doings of the "polis"--particularly with
>> power
>> relations within the community--an area which is of major concern for
>> women. The marginalizing of drama marginalizes "issues"--including
>> women's issues, which remain important even in the world of relatively
>> individualized and subjective Third Wave feminism.
>>
>> I suspect that part of Friel's appeal lies in the fact that, though
>> his plays tend to use a single performance element in an innovative way,
>> they are dominantly realistic and dialogue-oriented and thus accessible
>> to
>> the majority of readers and directors. For example, to stay within the
>> sphere of male playwrights, McGuinness, who uses performance elements &
>> anti-realistic techniques far more than Friel, receives far less
>> attention--when's the last time you heard a paper on MARY AND LIZZIE or
>> even on CARTHAGINIANS?
>>
>> What I fear is that your "utopian vision" that your student who is
>> working on Reid, Carr and Devlin will get equal interest with those
>> working on Friel & other male playwrights (other than Shakespeare) may
>> come horribly true--in that dramatists, whether male or female, will
>> get little interest. The decline in the study of dramatic literature
>> is, in terms of "women's issues," I think, important to us all.
>>
>> Sorry, all, for polemicizing--I guess I just can't resist the lectern
>> or the soap-box.
>>
>> I wish I could make it to the conference--there I could speak about a
>> woman dramatist to a good-sized audience--but finances, I fear, make
>> it impossible. I wish you all the luck (even though my face is
>> turning a bit green with envy); I know it will be a great conference.
>>
>>
>> Maureen Hawkins
>> Department of English
>> University of Lethbridge
>> Lethbridge, Alberta
>> T1K 3M4
>> Canada.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Deidre,
>>> It's a troubling situation. I do hope you do come along, particularly
>>> as
>> I
>>> have a new Ph.D student who is working on Irish Women playwrights,and
>> I'd
>>> like to get the experience of othe women working on women's writing. As
>> you know, much of the work I do is on Friel and performance
>> anthropology.
>>> Papers on Friel [like Heaney] are always well-attended. My utopian
>> vision
>>> is that one day, my student who is working on Reid, Carr and Devlin
>>> will
>> get equal interest. As Boland says, woman is not poet by poetry, perhaps
>> the same extends across the whole canon of Irish Women's writing.
>> Bernard was a contemporary of Catherine. He read at the first conference
>> with McGuckian. We are hoping for Ciaron Carson and Luke Gibbons
>> too...and, in particular some of our friend from WOIRN.
>>> Slan go foill
>>> Alison
>>>
>>> O'Byrne Deirdre wrote:
>>> Alison
>>> Yes, I'll be there! I really enjoyed last year's, and I'm delighted to
>> see
>>> that Catherine Byron is doing a reading as I know her and her work
>>> well.
>> I've never heard B Donoghue and am looking forward to that too.
>>> It wasn't by any means meant as a criticism of you or the other
>> organisers
>>> that the audience for Irish women writer panels is small - similar
>> happens
>>> at all Irish Studies conferences in my experience. The agenda still
>> seems
>>> to be pretty masculinist even after all these years. We were discussing
>> that in Liverpool at the ACIS conference. That conference was so huge
>> that
>>> the smaller audiences for women's panels wasn't particularly noticeable
>> unless you were watching out for it, which I admit I was. The male
>> presence was particularly tiny at those panels.
>>> Still, we keep battling in there, though I have been doing more papers
>> lately that include men's writing as well. That is partly because I
>> teach
>>> both, but there is a small element of hope too that I might actually
>>> get
>> someone along to listen. Sometimes though I wonder why we are still
>> coming up against what someone whose name I've shamefully forgotten
>> described as the 'ampersand' problem in relation to black women's
>> writing.
>>> The point she made was that Women's Studies don't include black women,
>> and
>>> Black Studies don't include women. Things have certainly changed in
>>> that
>> area (I think), but in 1989 or thereabouts I remember writing an essay
>> on
>>> how that is paralleled in the case of Irish women: Women's Studies
>> courses
>>> don't include them, and Irish Studies courses are male-dominated. I
>> would
>>> like to think that we have made inroads since then, but whenever I give
>> a
>>> paper where there are more people on the panel than in the audience I
>> have
>>> my doubts.
>>> Maybe I should be giving a paper on that! (but who would be
>>> listening??)
>> Deirdre
>>>
>>> Alison Younger wrote:
>>> Deirdre,
>>> I'm really glad you responded to this. Whether it's been under
>> publicised
>>> in this area I'm not sure, but as you'll know from years one to two,the
>> conference is growing in size and status without a commnesurate growth
>> in
>>> women's writing and women's history panels. I, like you would love to
>> see
>>> this remedied.
>>> I hope to see you there this year
>>> Slainte
>>> Ax
>>>
>>> O'Byrne Deirdre wrote:
>>> I couldn't agree more, especially as I have presented and attended
>> papers
>>> on Irish women's writing for the past two years to a very tiny
>>> audience.
>> I
>>> know I'm not a Big Name or anything, but I wonder about the apparent
>> lack
>>> of interest in women's writing indicated by the small numbers attending
>> these panels and discussions.
>>> Deirdre O'Byrne
>>>
>>> Alison Younger wrote:
>>> Dear All,
>>> would it be possible to post these conference details on the network?
>>> It
>> would be great to see some panels on Gender or Women's Studies
>>> Slan go foill
>>> Alison O'Malley-Younger
>>>
>>> CALL FOR PAPERS
>>>
>>> The University of Sunderland
>>> Third Annual Irish Studies Conference
>>> (incorporating the inaugural North East of England Celtic Studies
>> Symposium)
>>> 11-13 November 2005
>>> Word, The Icon and The Ritual [ii] - Lands of Saints and Scholars
>>>
>>> Following the success of its last two international conferences:
>> Representing-Ireland: Past, Present and Future, [2003] and The Word, The
>> Icon and The Ritual, [2004] the University of Sunderland is soliciting
>> papers for an interdisciplinary conference, which will run from 11-13
>> November 2005. This year we are also delighted to welcome proposals from
>> scholars working within the broader field of Celtic Studies.
>>> The conference organisers hope to represent a wide range of
>>> approaches to Irish and Celtic culture from academics and
>>> non--academics alike. Performances, roundtables, collaborative
>>> projects, and other non--traditional presentations are
>>> encouraged in addition to conference papers. As with last
>>> year’s conference, we welcome submissions for panels and papers
>>> under the thematic headings of: The Word, The Icon, The Ritual
>>> in the following areas: Literature, Performing Arts, History,
>>> Politics, Folklore and Mythology, Ireland in Theory,
>>> Anthropology, Sociology, Art and Art History, Music, Dance,
>>> Media and Film Studies, Cultural Studies,Gender Studies and
>>> Studies of the Diaspora. North American and other international
>>> scholars, practitioners in the arts, and postgraduate students
>>> are all encouraged to submit proposals to the conference
>>> organisers. We also welcome proposals for papers in absentia
>>> for d! elegates who wish to participate but may find it
>>> difficult to attend the event.
>>> The last two conferences have resulted in the publication of a
>>> selection
>> of essays, and we hope to continue this with essays from this year’s
>> conference.
>>> Readings
>>> Bernard O’Donoghue
>>> Catherine Byron
>>> Plenary Speakers Include:
>>> Professor Robert Welch – University of Ulster
>>> Professor Michael O’Neill – University of Durham
>>> Professor Werner Huber, University of Chemnitz, Germany
>>> Dr Kevin Barry, UEI Galway
>>>
>>> Organisers:
>>> English/Literary Studies: Dr Alison O'Malley-Younger, (Sunderland),
>> Professor Stephen Regan, (Durham)
>>> Media and Cultural Studies: Professor John Storey (Sunderland)
>>> History/Diaspora/Celtic Studies: Dr Richard Allen,(Sunderland)
>>> Proposals of not more than 500 words should be sent by 20th June 2005
>>> at
>> the latest to either:
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> And copied to the Conference Adminstrator
>>> Susan Cottam – [log in to unmask]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Slan agus beannacht
>>>
>>> Alison O'Malley-Younger [Dr]
>>> Department of English
>>> University of Sunderland
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------
>>> How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday snaps for
>> FREE
>>> with Yahoo! Photos. Get Yahoo! Photos
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------
>>> Yahoo! Messenger - want a free & easy way to contact your friends
>> online?
>>>
>>> Slan agus beannacht
>>>
>>> Alison O'Malley-Younger [Dr]
>>> Department of English
>>> University of Sunderland
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------
>>> Yahoo! Messenger - want a free & easy way to contact your friends
>> online?
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------
>>> Yahoo! Messenger - want a free & easy way to contact your friends
>> online?
>>>
>>> Slan agus beannacht
>>>
>>> Alison O'Malley-Younger [Dr]
>>> Department of English
>>> University of Sunderland
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------
>>> How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday snaps for
>> FREE
>>> with Yahoo! Photos. Get Yahoo! Photos
>>
>>
>> Slan agus beannacht
>>
>> Alison O'Malley-Younger [Dr]
>> Department of English
>> University of Sunderland
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------
>> How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday snaps for
>> FREE
>> with Yahoo! Photos. Get Yahoo! Photos
>
>
> Slan agus beannacht
>
> Alison O'Malley-Younger [Dr]
> Department of English
> University of Sunderland
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
>  Yahoo! Messenger  - want a free & easy way to contact your friends
> online?