. . . continues Dolan's material feminist attack on censorship,
cultural feminism, anti-theory sentiment, and realism. Dolan's
intellectual thrust is so powerful, her language so precise,
deliberate, and ravenous, that the very reading resembles a sexual
act." —Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review
"Writing in a clear and cogent style, Dolan examines current issues
centering on representation, sexuality, social relations,
pornography, and gender. Believing in the potential of certain
performance strategies to provoke American culture to both critique
and reimagine itself, she encourages 'actors and dramaturgs and
critics to be multilingual in theatre studies as well as in the
cultural sense.' Providing a model for such an approach, Dolan
eloquently demonstrates the significance of psychoanalytic theory,
a materialist approach, and deconstruction as tools-of-the-trade
for her overarching feminist concerns. The collection is avowedly
autobiographical, and it is Dolan's personal insights coupled with
her willingness to critique her own work that give these essays
much of their power and strength. . . . Dolan's writing is
unabashedly exuberant." —The Drama Review
"Jill Dolan's Presence and Desire is at once a chronicle of the
struggles and debates that have taken place in American feminist
theatre studies since the mid-1980s, a theoretical work addressing
issues of representation, and a work of theatre pedagogy. Above all
else, it is a portrait of a lively mind confronting, from a lesbian
feminist perspective, a series of thorny issues in the theory and
practice of theatre. . . . [A] rich and consistently engaging
text." —Theatre Journal
"This is a book that is not only immensely 'readable' but essential
reading for those people who wish to gain a greater understanding
of the growth of culture—and its contradictions—in
twentieth-century Europe."
—Theatre History Studies
". . . an invaluable collection of provocative essays which explore
the potential for performance strategies and theatrical
representation to interrogate normative constructs of sexuality and
gender. Provoking a reimagination of social relations, and claiming
presence and recognition for women's bodies and desires, she
embarks on a subject with interdisciplinary significance. . . .
Dolan examines various aspects of the construction of gender and
sexuality within theatrical performance and audience reception. Her
close reading of several performance texts and her astute chronicle
of historical changes within feminist thought make this book
indispensable for theatre studies, women's studies, cultural
studies, and lesbian studies, as well as for women who are actively
involved in feminist performance. Dolan's acute elucidation of the
potential political effectiveness of making alternative sexualities
and scenarios of desire visible makes Presence and Desire: Essays
on Gender, Sexuality, Performance most highly recommendable."
—Women's Studies
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