American ‘Unculture’ in French Drama

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

   PDF

2. Introduction: Part 1

   • Les Essif

   Pages 1-30

3. Introduction: Part 2

   • Les Essif

   Pages 31-62

4. The Hyperreality of the Western Frontier

   • Les Essif

   Pages 63-120

5. Homo Americanus War and Violence

   • Les Essif

   Pages 121-205

6. The Totalitarian Non-Tragedy of Americano-Global Business

   • Les Essif

   Pages 206-265

7. The (Supra-)Global Spectacle of American (Non-)Community

   • Les Essif

   Pages 266-293

8. Conclusion

   • Les Essif

   Pages 294-304

9. Back Matter

   Pages 305-341

   PDF

A book about the role America plays in the French imagination, as it translates to the French stage. Informed by a rich variety of Western cultural scholarship, Essif examines two dozen post-1960 works representing some of the most innovative dramaturgy of the last half century, including works by Gatti, Obaldia, Cixous, Koltes, and Vinaver.

• French drama
• drama
• stage
• tragedy

"No major dramatist confronted with American culture - a genre in itself and a must for French artists and playwrights has escaped Essif's precise but global, gentle but witty, generous but severe radar." - Patrice Pavis (University of Kent, UK) in his Foreword to American 'Unculture' in French Drama

"The author presents clearly and vividly the new perspectives on US people, places and events, which are viewed and scrutinized from afar, namely in French theatre. Reciprocally, he describes what light these theatrical representations shed on France itself, and its own attraction and anxiety towards US image culture, market economy, war, and religious evangelism. This is a highly impressive overview, that would usefully serve not only theatre specialists, but also any students or scholars in the Humanities seeking to compare and contrast contemporary US and French society and culture." - Clare Finburgh, University of Essex, UK

• University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

  Les Essif

Les Essif is the author of Empty Figure on an Empty Stage, The French Play, and numerous essays on French theatre and theories of drama and performance. He is currently a professor of French Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA.

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