In a very broad sense, my paper discusses the connections between Ruhe (calmness, stillness, peace, tranquility)/Unruhe (restlessness), theater and politics. My initial question concerns the human im/possibility of finding Ruhe, and will require further research into the level of social and cultural productions of Ruhe. The decision to focus on theater (and not on film, video, virtual worlds or literature) is based on the assumption that, in a specific way, theater can provide an escape from the contemporary consumer world, which might evoke the (viewers’) production of Ruhe. Prominent theories of theater (Plato, Aristotle, Schiller, Brecht) suggest that theater is a place of political disturbance (Be/un/ruhigung). Discussions of theater at the beginning of the 21st century are a rarity in the fields in which I am working – cultural studies, gender studies, and deconstructive thinking
Tracing Tranquility: A Proposal in Progress
JVF Conference Papers
