Lee, Gang-Im
(2009)
Directing Koreanness: Directors and Playwrights Under the National Flag, 1970-2000.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
In this dissertation, I venture to explicate the social and political significance of the Korean nationalist theatre performance. The Korean nationalist theatre utilizes elements of indigenous cultures and searches for the Korean ethnic archetype as the ideal Korean type or genuine Koreanness for the reconstruction of the Korean ethnic community. In this context, this dissertation thematically approaches rethinking the issue of rhetorical representation. As a methodological tool, I adopt feminist deconstruction to unfold the epistemological contradictions of the essentialist idea embedded in the notion of the Korean archetype, problematizing the ethnocentric and phallocentric nature of the representation. This dissertation interrogates the major task of the Korean nationalist theatre, which ideologically promulgates the idea of ethnocentric patriarchy supported by the traditional notion of community, inquiring if this type of theatre can provide useful and practical prospects for imagining a more democratic and plural civilian society in Korea today, when the interaction of globalization, nationalism, regionalism, and localism simultaneously impact our everyday life and cultural identification. In this dissertation, I explore genealogical trajectories of the Korean nationalist theatre contesting with other theatrical performances for nation building, cultural identification, and national unity. Paying close attention to changing social and political situations and conditions, I trace the routes, not roots, of the Korean nationalist theatre, and observe how its theorists and the practitioners were able or unable to come to terms with shifting situations and conditions. I have selected works mainly from the 1970s to the 1990s since the works provide grounding images, symbols, metaphors, and allegories pertinent to discussing how the Korean ethnic community has been narrativized through the performances of the Korean nationalist theatre during the turbulent epoch. Reflecting on the limits, accomplishments, and insights of the preceding researchers, I hope that this dissertation presents the Korean nationalist theatre with fully contoured critical views and ideas. This dissertation takes a small step towards a genealogy of the Korean nationalist theatre, and hopes to opens up a space for a dialogue among troubled artists and activists confronting globalization as a shared issue.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
28 January 2009 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
17 November 2008 |
| Approval Date: |
28 January 2009 |
| Submission Date: |
3 December 2008 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Theater Arts |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
community-based theatre; feminist deconstruction; history and memory; Korean contemporary theatre; globalization (nationalism) and gender; Korean nationalist theatre; tradition |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12032008-072230/, etd-12032008-072230 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 20:07 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:52 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9994 |
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