Theater without Borders? Humanitarianism and Representation from Aid Networks to the Théâtre du Soleil
A lecture by Dr. Emine Fisek ‘03
Tuesday, April 3rd, 4:30 pm
301 LPAC
Over the course of the last decade, French theater has witnessed a wide variety of commercial and non-commercial works that portray narratives of exile, displacement, and suffering from undocumented immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. In this talk my goal will be to place this emergence within the larger context of changing immigration laws, medical humanitarianisms and immigrant social movements. The representative practices of these domains increasingly influence both how artists think about the capacities they attribute to “humanitarian” art, and the explanatory principles they use to position themselves in relation to the suffering they wish to portray. What then does a humanitarian theater, “without borders”, look like?
Emine Fisek ’03 is currently a Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow in French Literature/Francophone Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She has completed an M.A. and Ph.D. in the Department of Theater, Dance & Performance Studies at UC-Berkeley. She will join the faculty of Western Languages and Literatures at Bogazici University in Istanbul in Fall 2012. At Swarthmore, Dr. Fisek was a double major in Theater and English Literature.
Emine Fisek’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility, the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures (Arabic and French Sections), English Literature, and Film & Media Studies.
Taiko drumming has been a feature of the College’s dance offerings for nearly a decade, thanks largely to the efforts of Associate Professor of Dance Kim Arrow . This event showcases the significant relationship between the College and Tamagawa University in Japan. The renowned Tamagawa Taiko Drum and Dance Group return to Philadelphia for a week of performances as part of the Greater Philadelphia Cherry Blossom Festival. In the first stop in their annual tour, the Taiko drummers and dancers from Tamagawa University will perform with colorful costumes, intricate dances and thundering drums. Truly one of the highlights of the Festival, Tamagawa’s performances are a delight for the whole family. Heart-pounding drum rhythms intermingle with elegant dances in breath-taking fashion to create unforgettable memories. Experience the relentless energy and stunning visuals as Tamagawa takes you on a journey through ancient and modern Japan.
Arrow, an accomplished dancer and choreographer, is the recipient of two Fulbright Fellowships and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts for choreography, among other awards. He joined Swarthmore’s faculty in 1991 and teaches a taiko repertory class.
For more info on this event and other Cherry Blossom Festival offerings: http://sakura.japanphilly.org/
Taiko drumming has been a feature of the College’s dance offerings for nearly a decade, thanks largely to the efforts of Associate Professor of Dance Kim Arrow . This event showcases the significant relationship between the College and Tamagawa University in Japan. The renowned Tamagawa Taiko Drum and Dance Group return to Philadelphia for a week of performances as part of the Greater Philadelphia Cherry Blossom Festival. In the first stop in their annual tour, the Taiko drummers and dancers from Tamagawa University will perform with colorful costumes, intricate dances and thundering drums. Truly one of the highlights of the Festival, Tamagawa’s performances are a delight for the whole family. Heart-pounding drum rhythms intermingle with elegant dances in breath-taking fashion to create unforgettable memories. Experience the relentless energy and stunning visuals as Tamagawa takes you on a journey through ancient and modern Japan.
Arrow, an accomplished dancer and choreographer, is the recipient of two Fulbright Fellowships and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts for choreography, among other awards. He joined Swarthmore’s faculty in 1991 and teaches a taiko repertory class.
For more info on this event and other Cherry Blossom Festival offerings: http://sakura.japanphilly.org/
In his new book Unionists, Loyalists, and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland, Associate Professor of Sociology Lee Smithey discusses how grassroots movements have transformed the conflicts in Northern Ireland. The book, which launched earlier this month at the Parliament Buildings of the Northern Ireland Assembly in Stormont, recently received the Donald Murphy Book Prize for Distinguished First Book by the American Conference for Irish Studies.
In an interview at the Stormont launch, Smithey discusses his inspiration for the book. A second launch event, also with audio, took place at No Alibis Bookstore in Belfast.
“Unionists, Loyalists, and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland draws attention to the ins and outs of how peace and conflict are being navigated at grassroots levels among Protestants who deeply value their identities as unionists and loyalists and want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom,” Smithey says. “Many of the ways they have publicly expressed their collective identities, such as parades, bonfires, and murals, remain contentious today, but increasingly, attempts are being made to make those practices less disconcerting outside of unionism and loyalism, even if the practices are not abandoned. The implications for how ethnopolitical identities can also become less exclusive in the process lie at the heart of the book.”
Smithey coordinates Swarthmore’s Peace and Conflict Studies program and teaches about social movements and nonviolent conflict resolution. He also contributed to the development of a study abroad program in Northern Ireland with an emphasis on peace and conflict resolution. The program allows students to take graduate level coursework in Northern Ireland while interning with grassroots organizations involved in the peace-building process.
Smithey is currently working on a mural mapping project with Professor Greg Maney of Hofstra University. The pair walk every street of Belfast in Northern Ireland every two years to document the murals in order to analyze the shifting contents and themes of the murals in the various neighborhoods. He’s also working on a book with Professor Lester Kurtz of George Mason University on the paradox of repression, with a focus on nonviolent resistance.
Sex! Intrigue! Stuffed bunnies! The Swarthmore College Department of Theater the Honors Directing Thesis of Paula Vogel’s THE BALTIMORE WALTZ on Friday, March 30th at 7PM, Saturday, March 31st at 7PM and Sunday, April 1st at 2PM and 7PM in the LPAC Frear Ensemble Theatre. Directed by senior Honors student Michelle Fennell with Alexandra Izdebski, Ben Hattem, and Sam ‘Swift’ Shuker Haines and scenic design by Eric Verhasselt, costume design by Ryane Disken-Cahill, lighting by David Todaro and sound by Mark Valenzuela.
Written by Paula Vogel in 1988 just after her own brother’s death, the play is a farcical envisioning of Anna, a thirty-something spinster and grade school teacher, and her brother Carl’s trip to Europe after one of them gets diagnosed with an incurable illness. They, along with Carl’s childhood toy named Bunny, try to make the most of their vacation, even when a sinister Third Man enters the picture. Part homage to Vogel’s brother, part social commentary, part innuendos, the text is a series of connected and usually comedic vignettes as we tour the stereotyped European countryside.
Will the doctor in Vienna have answers for them? Or is he just in it for the urine samples? Will Anna ever satiate her lust? And what are Carl and the mysterious Third Man doing with those bunnies?
For more information please contact Tara Webb at 610.328.8260 or email lpacevents@swarthmore.edu. Swarthmore College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you or anyone in your party anticipate needing any type of special accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please let us know or contact Susan Smythe, ADA Program Manager at 610-690-2063 in advance of your participation or visit.
Ian Kysel ’04 will speak on Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union
Tuesday, March 27, 2012; 5:30pm in Science Center room 183 at Swarthmore College
“Peace and Protest: Nigerian Civil War Activism and the 1960s Milieu”
A Lecture by Brian McNeil
(University of Texas, at Austin, 2010 Moore Fellow)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Keith Room, Lang Center for Social Change
Swarthmore College
Co-sponsored by the Friends Historical Library and the Swarthmore College Peace Collection