Performance and Power
Examines political theater, performance art, and documentary film, focusing on artists like Eisenstein, Brecht, Abramovic, and Pussy Riot to explore power structures.
Summary
What you’ll be able to do
Build the necessary historical and theoretical foundation for analyzing a broad range of performances and other artistic works through discussion of critical and theoretical readings.
Acquire a greater awareness of other cultures and become more adept at engaging with perspectives and ways of thinking that are different from their own.
Consider and describe the ways that ideas and works of art are rooted in their unique cultural and political contexts, while having a life span that stretches far beyond them.
Source: UW Guide
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Prerequisites
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Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
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Student experience
the class
What does it mean "to perform" and what does performance do? How does performance help impose or challenge oppressive structures of power? Focusing on artists and authors like Sergei Eisenstein, Bertold Brecht, Marina Abramovic, and Pussy Riot, learn about political theater in the 20th and 21st centuries, the emergence and evolution of performance art and art actionism, the aesthetic and juridical functions of documentary theater and film, and the recent performative turn in New Left poetry.
difficulty & workload
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Topics
- Political theater in the 20th and 21st centuries
- Performance art and art actionism
- Documentary theater and film
- Performative turn in New Left poetry
Skills
- Analyze performances and artistic works using critical and theoretical readings.
- Engage with diverse cultural perspectives and ways of thinking.
- Describe how art is rooted in cultural and political contexts.
Grades
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Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
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Model & dataset provenance
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