Paper Example on Performing the Nation: Rwanda's Resurrection from Genocide to Reconciliation

Breed, Ananda. Performing the Nation: Genocide, justice, reconciliation. John Hopkins University Press, 2016.

Breed, in light of Rwanda's reputation, displays a country that has resurrected itself from a genocide via awe-inspiring campaigns on reconciliation and forgiveness. The book produces a sensitive and nuanced portrayal of the challenges of nationhood within the context of an authoritarian state. She shifts between analyses of various conventional theatre with that of a vast community-based justice system, i.e., that of Gacaca where the perpetrators of genocide are tried weekly from 2005 to 2012. She, regularly, quotes government officials who express their deep concern and loyalty to nation-building.

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Breed's work showcases the ability of a country to resurrect itself from the effects of genocide peace and economic growth using Rwanda as an example. This would add to the research topic by indicating how aspects of peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation would contribute to nation-building and unity and growth after being superseded with divisions of ethnic hatred.

Emma, Willis. Metatheatre and dramaturgies of reception in Jackie sibblies Drury's We Are Proud to Present... Journal of Contemporary Drama in English; ProQuest, 2016.

According to Emma, if metatheatre is having a "moment", then it is one that should reflect the character of the age, i.e., a time of endless parody and deconstruction. She argues that the current moment is characterized by ceaseless and endemic violence, which is distinct from the usual light-hearted pop-cultural 'meta'. The article finds out what would happen when these two aspects of the contemporary come together, i.e., how would the metatheatrical form 'do' and to what extent? she analyses this through a particular metadrama, Jackie Sibblies Drury's We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly known as Southwest Afrika.

The work significantly contributes to the research topic by enlightening the little-known genocides such as the Herero by the German colonizers. As a work of metatheatre, Drury's play provides a summary of the affordances offered by the genre when it comes to displaying aspects of extreme violence that would contribute to the development of the research topic.

Kurt, Umit. Theatres of violence on the ottoman periphery: Exploring the local roots of genocidal policies in Antep. Journal of Genocide Research, 2018.

Kurt explores how and why the deportation and elimination of the Armenians of Antep were carried out during the first world war. It scrutinizes the social and politic context in which the provincial elites, local authorities, and ordinary Muslims radicalized their policies and views against the Armenians. The paper also talks of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)'s genocide and deportation decision that enjoyed some level of social support via the practice of effective power and control mechanisms at the local level.

The paper is important for the research topic as it showcases the crucial role played by the actors and the local elites in propagating war to enable them to prosper through the acquisition of the affected people's property and wealth. This adds to the research topic on some people's use of power to enhance genocide for self-interests. The role of organizations to control the vice is also addressed.

Mckenna, Brian. Staging a Christopher Columbus play in a culture of illusion: Public pedagogy in a theatre of genocide. Sage journals, 2011.

Mckenna provides an exploration of the power of aesthetic theory and praxis in helping to overcome the rigid and psychological defense of the besieged students. He does this by carefully informing them about the genocide spawned by Columbus and the Spanish while connecting with the history of the US Indian genocide and imperialism.

The paper contributes to the research topic by delving into the politics of genocide, with the denial of the American Indian holocaust being a potent force in the united states as an example. The explorations in the article, including the use of aesthetic theory and praxis in enabling besieged young population in overcoming the rigid psychological defenses are also important for the development of the topic.

Peleg, Miri, et al. Reconstruction of self-identity of Holocaust Child Survivors who participated in "Testimony Theatre." Scholars Portal Journals, 2014.

Peleg et al. examine the experience of Holocaust Child Survivors (HCSs) who share their survival stories by performing with youths on one stage as part of a "Testimony Theatre" project. By using the qualitative data analysis, the findings indicate that the Holocaust experience is an essential element in the formation of the identity of the HCSs. Arriving in Israel, the Holocaust survivors were left with feelings of shame and inferiority that altered their self-identity. However, through the "Testimony Theatre" project, the transition occurred from collective identity to self-identity.

The article contributes to the research topic by providing an overview of the negative feelings and emotions experienced by survivors of the genocide. However, the use of theatre such as HCSs plays a vital role in reconstructing the survivor's self-identity, and positively empowering their role in the context of empathetic, attentive, and nonjudgmental relationship.

Robin, Stone. Theatre of Genocide: Four plays about mass murder in Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, and Armenia. New England Theatre Journal, 2009.

Stone provides four compelling plays that highlight the twentieth-century genocides, i.e., the mass murder in Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia, and Armenia. The plays provide excellent opportunities to enable amateur, professional, and educational theatres to engage in meaningful human rights activism. He displays the understanding of ideological genocides, with its lasting effect on survivors, hence going beyond the earlier plays whose major focus was on violence against indigenous people. He sets the stage for artists by creating awareness and a context for action.

The work is vital for the development of the research topic since the plays utilize a variety of conceptions to incorporate various space configurations. The use of poetic language, fragmented action, episodic structures, and overt theatricality aids in the understanding of the human condition to create sympathy for the afflicted. It provides information on the lasting effects of genocide on survivors which would help in establishing awareness and a call to action in the research topic.

Skloot, Robert. 'Where does it hurt?': Genocide, the theatre, and the human body. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

In the article "' Where does it hurt?': Genocide, the theatre, and the human body," Skloot displays his desire for a humane future, i.e., one that has diminished violence and increased in human possibility. He insists on the use of every means possible to work against acts of violence. He calls for the inclusion of political scientists, psychologists, and historians, among other disciplinaries towards the fight against genocide and the eruption of wholesale slaughter. Skloot calls for the contribution of arts towards spreading the message on the prevention of genocide and how they can be used to create a world that is less violent and more protective and supportive of human life.

The article provides solutions and stakeholder participation in the fight against genocidal activity and wholesale slaughter with a major focus on arts. This would be beneficial when establishing solutions to issues being addressed in the research topic. Other stakeholders highlighted include historians, political scientists, and psychologists.

Skloot, Robert. Old concerns and new plays in the theater of genocide. University of Toronto Press, 2010.

Skloot analyses the old concerns and the new plays concerning the theatre of genocide. He focuses on various major issues in theatre criticisms include the use of white, western characters to serve as surrogates for white, the effectiveness and nature of empathy, and the artistic application of historical events for theatrical, and human purposes. He highlights the requirement for genocide scholarships to incorporate discussions on the arts as they express the global problem of human violence and the mass murder of innocent people.

The paper articulates the traditional methods, an overlook on the power of arts and the use of social sciences in the genocide conversation. He displays the importance of arts in informing and addressing the universal problem of human violence and the mass murder of innocent people. This forms a vital part of the research topic on the role played by the arts in addressing the issue of genocide.

Skwirblies, Lisa. The first German genocide enters the popular stage: Colonial theatricality in Berlin, 1904-1908. Web of Science, 2017.

Skwirblies provides a representation of the first German genocide on the popular stages in turn-of-the-century Berlin. She provides a glimpse into the colonial war between 1904 and 1908 that led to the extermination of eighty percent of the Herero and Nama people in the former colony of Southwest Africa by the German military. The genocide has recently gained increased attention via an official apology from the German government. The article argues provides the theatrical strategies in which the colonial war was represented on stage with an inherent epistemological outcome of how the colonial war and the lives of the Herero people were professed in the German public sphere.

The article provides vital insights into the perpetration of colonial war that would help develop the research topic. It provides an analysis of the occurrence of the perspectives of the perpetrator (The Germans) and the afflicted (Herero and Nama people) via theatrical strategies.

Tyson, Adam. Genocide documentary as an intervention. Journal of Genocide Research, 2015.

Tyson analyses the power of filmmakers in genocide documenting and how in its quest to display the vice may spur social and political changes in post-conflict settings. He looks into the roles that interventionist filmmakers play in the process of establishing national reconciliation and transitional justice and contends genocide documenting as a form of antagonistic intervention that warrants systematic critical re-evaluation.

The article is pivotal in the research topic as it addresses an arising issue in the use of genocide documenting to showcase the occurrence. It provides arguments that can be further analyzed in the paper that link genocide documenting and political intervention. These include re-traumatization, power-laden truths, and the narrowing of impunity gaps.

Works Cited

Breed, Ananda. Performing the Nation: Genocide, justice, reconciliation. John Hopkins University Press, 2016.

Emma, Willis. Metatheatre and dramaturgies of reception in Jackie sibblies Drury's We Are Proud to Present... Journal of Contemporary Drama in English. ProQuest, 2016.

Kurt, Umit. Theatres of violence on the ottoman periphery: Exploring the local roots of genocidal policies in Antep. Journal of Genocide Research, 2018.

Mckenna, Brian. Staging a Christopher Columbus play in a culture of illusion: Public pedagogy in a theatre of genocide. Sage journals, 2011.

Peleg, Miri, et al. Reconstruction of self-identity of Holocaust Child Survivors who participated in "Testimony Theatre." Scholars Portal Journals, 2014.

Robin, Stone. Theatre of Genocide: Four plays about mass murder in Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, and Armenia. New England Theatre Journal, 2009.

Skloot, Robert. 'Where does it hurt?': Genocide, the theatre, and the human body. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Skloot, Robert. Old concerns and new plays in the theater of genocide. University of Toronto Press, 2010.

Skwirblies, Lisa. The first German genocide...