DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/5AP7-2489
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7633-4988
Defense Date
2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Theatre
First Advisor
Keith Byron Kirk
Second Advisor
Jesse Njus
Third Advisor
Kendra Rai
Fourth Advisor
Ryan Smith
Abstract
This thesis examines the intersection of performance theory and material culture through the practices of garment reconstruction. In chapter 1, I examine key theorists in the fields of material culture and performance studies and articulate the connections between the two fields. In chapter 2, Using practice as research, I recount the experience of building reproduction garments from the eighteenth century using historically appropriate tools and methods, as well as the experience of wearing those garments. Finally, in Chapter 3, I walk through a possible historical examination of my encounter with these reconstructed garments, and consider the way in which feminine clothing in this period signified maternity -- a conclusion drawn as a result of the embodied research practices here employed. The construction of an entire period outfit acts as an embodiment of my research of the interconnected theory and the way history performs for/with modern bodies, and offers an exciting way forward for two disciplines to inform and enhance one another.
Rights
© Katharine M Given
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
4-13-2021
Included in
American Material Culture Commons, Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Labor History Commons, Performance Studies Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons