170543 UE Colonial theatrical strategies in (re-)presentations of PoC in Europe 1700-1900. (2022S)

Contents
This seminar questions and problematises, from a postcolonial perspective and using exemplary examples, how theatrical practices have been used in Europe since the beginning of the modern era to (re)present and fix European ideas of non-European cultures: In the theatre, in museums, in zoos and at fairs, white imaginaries of what PoC were supposed to be like were (and are) exposed to a white audience. Through such scenic events, an often deeply racist and highly problematic "knowledge" was (and still is) transported, which does not stand up to scrutiny but remains powerful.
In order to approach such scenic events, the seminar provides basic knowledge on postcolonial theory in an introductory block. In the field of theatrical representations in the arts, the second block of the seminar covers the range from rhetorically danced so-called nation ballets of the 17th century, as they also existed at the Viennese court, to orientalising romantic ballets of the 19th century and Puccini's veristic opera creations at the turn of the century. In a third block, such theatrical representations will be set in relation to museum representations of PoC in so-called "ethnological museums" as well as to actual exhibitions of displaced non-European people in modern show spectacles and so-called "ethnological shows".

Aims
The participants acquire important basic knowledge of postcolonial theory and learn to describe power dispositives within scenic processes in a differentiated way. The students practise speaking analytically and precisely about the hierarchical arrangement of (re)presentation and the problems arising from these hierarchies around the knowledge that is conveyed. Implicitly connected to this are also exemplary insights into European and especially Viennese theatre history (understood here as the history of show events in the broadest sense) in a historicising perspective with special consideration of different scenic representation strategies.

Methods
Together, the students develop a glossary of central terms of postcolonial theory for later work on specific events. In small group work and moderated seminar discussions, the seminar participants then exercise themselves in application these terms and concepts. In small group activities, the seminar participants try their hand at critically and contextually analysing different types of source material (libretti, costume sketches, newspaper reviews, eyewitness reports, photographs, etc.). In front of the whole group, the students practise, for example, the short presentation of read texts on the one hand and the condensed reproduction of the previous small group discussion on the other.

Content warning: The seminar deals with (historical) racist and partly violent practices of exposition and representation, partially drawing on explicit source material.