Staging History: Brecht's Social Concepts of Ideology
Staging History analyzes the commitment to social change present in the theatrical and theoretical writings of Bertolt Brecht. Challenging previous notions, Astrid Oesmann argues that Brecht's work was less dependent on Marxist ideology than is often assumed and that his work should be seen as a coherent whole. Brecht used the stage to release political ideas into experimental spaces in which actors and spectators could explore the relationships between abstract thought and concrete social life. Oesmann places Brecht within the context of the major leftist theorists of the twentieth century, particularly Adorno, Benjamin, and Lukàcs, focusing on their discussions of realism, aesthetics, natural history, and mimesis. Oesmann elaborates upon the vision of a "counter-public sphere" in a number of Brecht's theoretical texts and plays—especially The Three Penny Trial and Fear and Misery of the Third Reich—that present the emergence of such a sphere in the face of fascism. By exploring Brecht's theoretical writings, selected plays, and recently published theatrical fragments, Oesmann reveals unpredictable constructions of history and surprising distinctions among various political ideologies, while also proving that Brecht remains vitally relevant to a "post-communist" world.
"1122238519"
Staging History: Brecht's Social Concepts of Ideology
Staging History analyzes the commitment to social change present in the theatrical and theoretical writings of Bertolt Brecht. Challenging previous notions, Astrid Oesmann argues that Brecht's work was less dependent on Marxist ideology than is often assumed and that his work should be seen as a coherent whole. Brecht used the stage to release political ideas into experimental spaces in which actors and spectators could explore the relationships between abstract thought and concrete social life. Oesmann places Brecht within the context of the major leftist theorists of the twentieth century, particularly Adorno, Benjamin, and Lukàcs, focusing on their discussions of realism, aesthetics, natural history, and mimesis. Oesmann elaborates upon the vision of a "counter-public sphere" in a number of Brecht's theoretical texts and plays—especially The Three Penny Trial and Fear and Misery of the Third Reich—that present the emergence of such a sphere in the face of fascism. By exploring Brecht's theoretical writings, selected plays, and recently published theatrical fragments, Oesmann reveals unpredictable constructions of history and surprising distinctions among various political ideologies, while also proving that Brecht remains vitally relevant to a "post-communist" world.
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Staging History: Brecht's Social Concepts of Ideology

Staging History: Brecht's Social Concepts of Ideology

by Astrid Oesmann
Staging History: Brecht's Social Concepts of Ideology

Staging History: Brecht's Social Concepts of Ideology

by Astrid Oesmann

eBook

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Overview

Staging History analyzes the commitment to social change present in the theatrical and theoretical writings of Bertolt Brecht. Challenging previous notions, Astrid Oesmann argues that Brecht's work was less dependent on Marxist ideology than is often assumed and that his work should be seen as a coherent whole. Brecht used the stage to release political ideas into experimental spaces in which actors and spectators could explore the relationships between abstract thought and concrete social life. Oesmann places Brecht within the context of the major leftist theorists of the twentieth century, particularly Adorno, Benjamin, and Lukàcs, focusing on their discussions of realism, aesthetics, natural history, and mimesis. Oesmann elaborates upon the vision of a "counter-public sphere" in a number of Brecht's theoretical texts and plays—especially The Three Penny Trial and Fear and Misery of the Third Reich—that present the emergence of such a sphere in the face of fascism. By exploring Brecht's theoretical writings, selected plays, and recently published theatrical fragments, Oesmann reveals unpredictable constructions of history and surprising distinctions among various political ideologies, while also proving that Brecht remains vitally relevant to a "post-communist" world.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780791483602
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Publication date: 02/01/2012
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 241
File size: 391 KB

About the Author

Astrid Oesmann is Associate Professor of German and Comparative Literature at The University of Iowa

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Brecht and Theory

Realism and Reversed Perception
Art as the Speaker of History
Natural History
Mimetic Activities

2 Prehistories

The Theatrical Destruction of Subjectivity
The Unorganized Material
Instincts and Transformations

3 Man Between Material and Social Order

Material Against Identity: Mann ist Mann
Brecht’s Concept of the Public Sphere
The Captured Material (Exploitation/Imploitation)
Political Distinctions

4 Revolution: Change and Persistence

The Teaching Plays: Brecht’s Theatre of Poverty
Social Space and Human Standing
Einverständnis: Consent in Crisis
Subject Bound/Thought Unbound
Defacement and Death

5 Brecht’s Archaeology of Knowledge

The Genealogy of Terror
Memory and Morality
Body in Time: Haltung
Thought in Time: Lehre

Notes
Index

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