Gendering the nation: nationalism and gender in theatrical and para-theatrical practices by Canadian women artists, 1880-1930

Date

2019-11-13

Authors

Bock, Christian

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Abstract

This dissertation examines the intersection of nationalism and gender in theatrical and para-theatrical practices by Canadian women artists between 1880-1930, including the works of Madge Macbeth, Mazo de la Roche, Sarah Ann Curzon, Pauline Johnson and Constance Lindsay Skinner and their historical context in order to elucidate why and how these dramatic and para-theatrical works appeared as they did, where they did and when they did. Drama and para-theatrical performances such as mock parliaments, flag drills, Salvation army spectacles, and closet drama serve an important role as discursive public spaces in which a young democracy and budding nation negotiates its gendered struggles concerning cultural hegemony and political participation. Employing postcolonial and feminist critical practices, “spoken” and “unspoken” ideologies regarding gender and nation manifested in these performances are explored and feminist, nationalist and imperialist discourses informing nineteenth- and early twentieth-century theatricality are analyzed.

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Keywords

Canadian theatre, Early Canadian literature, Women's writing

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