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2018

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Of The Crickets, Kathryn Lien Jan 2018

Of The Crickets, Kathryn Lien

Theses and Dissertations

Of the Crickets imagines the overlapping worlds of ethical ecological solutions to climate changed sustenance and the potential for collective excellence in female exclusive environments. Using garments, furniture, site-specific installation and directed performance, the project harnesses social and material sensitivity to mine solutions for idealized living.


Gender Beyond Binary, Sidra Zubairi Jan 2018

Gender Beyond Binary, Sidra Zubairi

Theses and Dissertations

Transgender individuals challenge the binary definition of gender accepted in Pakistani society and as a result, Pakistan’s transgender community is highly marginalized. Pakistani society regards transgender individuals as “abnormal,” because their physical appearance and behavior fail to conform with conventional expectations. Based on contextual research and interviews conducted with transgender individuals in Pakistan, my thesis explores the obstacles transgender individuals face in the course of everyday survival. My research responds to the physical realities of being transgender in Pakistani society and analyzes cultural norms associated with gender, which trigger harassment. By designing transformable apparel for these individuals, informed by primary …


Women In Music: Letting A Long Story Be Long Contemplating Women’S Sonic, Musical, And Spiritual Experiences In Prehistory, Deborah J. Saidel Jan 2018

Women In Music: Letting A Long Story Be Long Contemplating Women’S Sonic, Musical, And Spiritual Experiences In Prehistory, Deborah J. Saidel

Theses and Dissertations

Situated within deep history, this study explores the auditory and spiritual lives of Paleolithic women. It considers their personal agency in mediating the spiritual power of sound and how doing so contributes to a multifaceted musicality. The theoretical framework involves a wide spectrum of topics, from ways of rethinking the writing of history and reckoning with time, to sound studies and the study of acoustics in ancient sites, to a critical examination through a feminist lens of normative disciplinary scholarship in anthropology and archaeology, religious studies, and musicology. I explore potential audio-visual-lithic relationships for their implications for deepening an understanding …


I Am An Author: Performing Authorship In Literary Culture, Justin R. Greene Jan 2018

I Am An Author: Performing Authorship In Literary Culture, Justin R. Greene

Theses and Dissertations

Authorship is not merely an act of putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard; it is a social identity performance that includes the use of multiple media. Authors must be hyper- visible to cut through the dearth of information, entertainment options, and personae vying for attention in our supersaturated media environment. As they enter the literary world, writers consciously create characters and narratives around themselves, and through the consistent and believable enactment of these features, authors are born. In this dissertation, I analyze the performance of authorship in U.S. literary culture through an interdisciplinary framework. My work pulls from …


The Classical Versus The Grotesque Body In Edith Wharton's Fiction, Joshua T. Temples Jan 2018

The Classical Versus The Grotesque Body In Edith Wharton's Fiction, Joshua T. Temples

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In her landmark works The House of Mirth (1905), The Custom of the Country (1913), and The Age of Innocence (1920), Edith Wharton responds to earlier depictions of the classical, pure Victorian and Edwardian woman. Wharton's "inconvenient" women overturn popular stereotypes. Subsequently, they are barred from their social groups, but they are independent, unlike the complicit and obedient women of the classical body, most of whom ascribe to the trope of the "Angel in the House." The grotesque seeks to undercut the unrealistic expectations enforced by the classical through its embodiment of progression and humanity, and Wharton is drawn to …


2018-2019 Lindenwood University Graduate Course Catalog, Lindenwood University Jan 2018

2018-2019 Lindenwood University Graduate Course Catalog, Lindenwood University

Course Catalogs

Lindenwood University Graduate Course Catalog


2018-2019 Lindenwood University-Belleville Course Catalog, Lindenwood University Jan 2018

2018-2019 Lindenwood University-Belleville Course Catalog, Lindenwood University

Course Catalogs

Lindenwood University-Belleville Course Catalog


2018-2019 Lindenwood University Undergraduate Course Catalog, Lindenwood University Jan 2018

2018-2019 Lindenwood University Undergraduate Course Catalog, Lindenwood University

Course Catalogs

Lindenwood University Undergraduate Course Catalog


The Journalism Licensing Program: A Solution To Combat The Selective Exposure Theory In Our Contemporary Media Landscape, Matthew Lobello Jan 2018

The Journalism Licensing Program: A Solution To Combat The Selective Exposure Theory In Our Contemporary Media Landscape, Matthew Lobello

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.


The 'Blurred Lines' Of Marvin Gaye's 'Here, My Dear': Music As A Tortious Act, Divorce Narrative And First Amendment Totem, Bryan Adamson Jan 2018

The 'Blurred Lines' Of Marvin Gaye's 'Here, My Dear': Music As A Tortious Act, Divorce Narrative And First Amendment Totem, Bryan Adamson

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Cognitive Imagery Training In A Dancer’S Deliberate Practice: Skills Development, Confidence And Creativity, Sasha Brampton Jan 2018

Cognitive Imagery Training In A Dancer’S Deliberate Practice: Skills Development, Confidence And Creativity, Sasha Brampton

Theses : Honours

Cognitive imagery training is an effective tool in improving skill learning, technique, confidence, anxiety and arousal management, recovery, rehabilitation, and performance in dancers. Multiple studies (Abbott & Collins 2004; Hall 2009; and Nordin and Cumming 2006, 2011) have established the positive influence imagery can have on dance and sport, and numerous researchers in these fields promote the incorporation of cognitive imagery training into ‘deliberate’ practice. Cognitive imagery, in relation to dance, is the detailed imaging of the execution/performance of movement in the mind. This thesis will outline imagery use: such as the types of imagery and how it can be …


ดุษฎีนิพนธ์การประพันธ์เพลง : "นาก" ไทยเมโลดราม่า, แข เมตติชวลิต Jan 2018

ดุษฎีนิพนธ์การประพันธ์เพลง : "นาก" ไทยเมโลดราม่า, แข เมตติชวลิต

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

บทประพันธ์ดุษฎีนิพนธ์ "นาก" ไทยเมโลดราม่า เป็นบทประพันธ์เพลงที่ได้รับแรงบันดาลใจจากบทประพันธ์ประเภทเมโลดราม่าของนักประพันธ์ อาร์โนลด์ เชินแบร์ก ผสมผสานกับเรื่องเล่าเก่าแก่เกี่ยวกับภูตผีปีศาจของไทย บทบรรยายในเรื่องนำมาจากวรรณกรรมร้อยกรองเรื่องแม่นาคพระโขนง ฉบับตีพิมพ์ในปี พ.ศ. 2474 โดยผู้ที่ใช้นามปากกาว่าประภาศรี ได้คัดลอกบทร้อยกรองนี้จากต้นฉบับเดิมที่เขียนด้วยยางไม้สีเหลือง (รง) ซึ่งพบที่วัดร้างแห่งหนึ่งในจังหวัดสมุทรปราการ บทประพันธ์ดุษฎีนิพนธ์ "นาก" ไทยเมโลดราม่า เป็นบทประพันธ์เมโลดราม่าเรื่องแรกที่ใช้ภาษาไทยในการบอกเล่าเนื้อเรื่อง ผสมผสานกับดนตรีในสำเนียงไทยและตะวันตก บทประพันธ์แบ่งเป็น 4 องก์ ได้แก่ องก์ที่ 1) บทบรรเลงนำ เป็นการบรรยายนำเรื่องกล่าวถึงตำนานภูติผีปีศาจ องก์ที่ 2) พราก เป็นการบรรยายชีวิตในช่วงแรกของสองสามีภรรยา นางนากและนายมาก จนถึงตอนที่นายมากต้องเข้ารับการเกณฑ์ทหารยังวังหลวง องก์ที่ 3) หลอน เป็นช่วงที่นางนากเสียชีวิตจากการคลอดบุตร จนกลายมาเป็นภูติผี และองก์ที่4) นาก เป็นการสรุปบทเพลงโดยการนำศพของนางนากไปฝังที่ต้นตะเคียน และการจุดธูปขอขมา


การสร้างสรรค์นาฏยศิลป์ที่สะท้อนเปลือกนอกของคนในสังคมไทย, ศริยา หงษ์ยี่สิบเอ็ด Jan 2018

การสร้างสรรค์นาฏยศิลป์ที่สะท้อนเปลือกนอกของคนในสังคมไทย, ศริยา หงษ์ยี่สิบเอ็ด

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

วิทยานิพนธ์ฉบับนี้ มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษารูปแบบและแสวงหาแนวคิดที่ได้หลังการสร้างสรรค์นาฏยศิลป์ที่สะท้อนเปลือกนอกของคนในสังคมไทย ด้วยวิธีการวิจัยเชิงคุณภาพและวิจัยเชิงสรรค์ที่มีการเก็บรวบรวมข้อมูลจากเอกสารทางวิชาการ การสังเกตการณ์ การสัมภาษณ์ การสัมมนา สื่อสารสนเทศ เกณฑ์มาตรฐานศิลปิน และประสบการณ์ของผู้วิจัย นำมาวิเคราะห์ สังเคราะห์ และสร้างสรรค์ผลงานนาฏยศิลป์ตามกระบวนการที่กำหนดไว้ ผลการวิจัยพบว่า การสร้างสรรค์ผลงานทางนาฏยศิลป์ครั้งนี้ เป็นการนำประเด็นเรื่องเปลือกนอกของคนในสังคมไทยเข้ามาเป็นสาระสำคัญในการออกแบบสร้างสรรค์รูปแบบการแสดงโดยสามารถจำแนกองค์ประกอบทางนาฏยศิลป์ออกเป็น 8 ประการ ได้แก่ 1) บทการแสดงนำแนวคิดมาจากการตีความประเด็นเปลือกนอกของคนในสังคมไทยทางด้านสังคมศาสตร์ วิทยาศาสตร์ และมนุษยศาสตร์ 2) นักแสดงมีความสามารถทางด้านนาฏยศิลป์และการแสดงอารมณ์ความรู้สึกแบบละคร 3) ลีลาการเคลื่อนไหวใช้ลีลาที่หลากหลาย ได้แก่ ลีลาละครใบ้ (Mime) ลีลาในชีวิตประจำวัน (Everyday Movement) ลีลาการทำซ้ำ (Repetitive Movement) และลีลาการเคลื่อนไหวที่แสดงอารมณ์แบบละคร (Acting) 4) เครื่องแต่งกายคัดเลือกจากเสื้อผ้าในชีวิตประจำวัน ได้แก่ เครื่องแต่งกายที่เรียบง่าย (Simplicity) และเครื่องแต่งกายที่เป็นเครื่องแบบ (Uniform) 5) อุปกรณ์ประกอบการแสดงเน้นความเรียบง่าย โดยนำเสนอผ่านการใช้สัญลักษณ์เพื่อสื่อความหมายตรงและความหมายแฝง ได้แก่ หน้ากาก แท่นแสดงสินค้า (Display) และเก้าอี้ 6) เสียง เป็นการใช้ความเงียบเพื่อให้ความสำคัญกับภาพและลีลาการเคลื่อนไหว เสียงจากบทพูดของนักแสดง เสียงประกอบเรื่อง และเสียงสังเคราะห์จากเครื่องอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ 7) แสงใช้ในการสื่อความหมายเชิงสัญลักษณ์ เสริมอารมณ์ความรู้สึกและบรรยากาศ ตลอดจนใช้แสงสร้างพื้นที่การแสดงบนเวที และ 8) พื้นที่การแสดงใช้สถานที่ภายในโรงละคร นอกจากนี้แนวคิดที่ได้หลังการสร้างสรรค์นาฏยศิลป์ที่สะท้อนเปลือกนอกในสังคมไทย ปรากฏแนวคิดที่สำคัญ 7 ประการ ได้แก่ 1) การคำนึงถึงเปลือกนอกในสังคมไทย 2) การคำนึงถึงแนวคิดนาฏยศิลป์หลังสมัยใหม่ 3) การคำนึงถึงความคิดสร้างสรรค์ 4) การคำนึงถึงสัญลักษณ์ในงานนาฏยศิลป์ 5) การคำนึงถึงทฤษฎีทางด้านทัศนศิลป์ 6) การคำนึงถึงการสร้างสรรค์ผลงานศิลปะเพื่อศิลปะ และ 7) คำนึงถึงความเรียบง่ายในงานนาฏยศิลป์ การวิจัยครั้งนี้จึงเป็นการรวบรวมองค์ความรู้ เชื่อมโยงประสบการณ์และพัฒนากระบวนการสร้างสรรค์ให้เกิดประโยชน์ต่อวงการวิชาการและวงการนาฏยศิลป์ ตลอดจนเป็นแนวทางในการสร้างสรรค์ผลงานของผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงานในอนาคต


On Nature's Prototypes: Character Design And Worldbuilding, Taylor J. Bardon Jan 2018

On Nature's Prototypes: Character Design And Worldbuilding, Taylor J. Bardon

Theses and Dissertations

Nature’s Prototypes is an ongoing narrative series that blends realism and fiction to create both dialectic plot structures and image sets. For substance, the series utilizes biological inquiries into fields, like ecology, pathology, and bioengineering, to imagine action-centric vignettes, where animalistic to monstrous characters become the predominant actors in a post-dystopian worldscape. Throughout these vignettes, these characters are subjected to the trials and tribulations of the catalysts and flux that are imposed upon them. In the series’ larger scope, these vignettes are sequential events within a larger timeline and an original mythos that delve into the implications and the intrigue …


Modern Electronic Commerce: A Primer For Business Students, Harika Rao Jan 2018

Modern Electronic Commerce: A Primer For Business Students, Harika Rao

Lynn University Digital Press Books

Modern Electronic Commerce: A Primer for Business Students was created for BUS 255: Fundamentals of E-Business, and serves as an introduction to conducting e-commerce. The interactive textbook focuses on the basics of internet business operations and details e-commerce theories on infrastructure, presence, strategies, SEO, and law and ethics. The material is further enhanced by the inclusion of hands-on widgets, videos, and case studies that supplement the theory and practice presented in the textual content. Course: BUS 255


One-Third Of A Nation, The Second Amendment, A Living Newspaper Play, Linda Ann Watt Jan 2018

One-Third Of A Nation, The Second Amendment, A Living Newspaper Play, Linda Ann Watt

Theses and Dissertations

One-Third of a Nation, the Second Amendment, a Living Newspaper Play

Thesis By Linda Ann Watt for a MFA Degree in Theatre Pedagogy

Documentary theatre, including living newspapers and verbatim theatre, use socio-political commentary at critical moments in history to disseminate facts and offer ideological critique dramatizing the crisis through the lens of emotion, which can incite societal change. This thesis explores this didactic medium with a written play about the second Amendment and gun violence.


Tommi's Place: An Adaptation And Commentary On Uncle Tom's Cabin, Vanessa L. Jackson Jan 2018

Tommi's Place: An Adaptation And Commentary On Uncle Tom's Cabin, Vanessa L. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Harriet Beecher Stowe penned Uncle Tom’s Cabin which was published in 1852. This book exposed and condemned the atrocities of slavery. Her book became a bestseller and is said to be one of the primary reasons why slavery was eventually abolished. Though slavery has been dismantled the system of oppression which allowed the marginalization of others to thrive has never been eliminated. This system established a dominant culture; one which oppresses those of African descent and has endured for centuries. Tommi’s Place retells Uncle Tom’s Cabin in contemporary corporate America. Tommi’s Place reflects that this system of oppression is still …


Inquiry-Based Methods In The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Art Room, Andrew Bell Jan 2018

Inquiry-Based Methods In The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Art Room, Andrew Bell

Theses and Dissertations

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program [IB PYP] is a student-driven, inquiry-based elementary school level educational program that has grown rapidly in the United States since its creation in 1997. This study explores how IB PYP art teachers define and implement inquiry-based instructional methods in their art rooms through a nation-wide, online survey of art teachers, coordinators, and administrators. The Survey consists of 22 questions which ask respondents to describe their classroom practices and provide examples of how they make use of inquiry-based methods in the art room. The responses to this survey were then value coded for four different …


More Than The Moon: Building The World Of Into The Woods, Katherine Field Jan 2018

More Than The Moon: Building The World Of Into The Woods, Katherine Field

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis details the evolution of my scenic design for VCU’s 2018 production of Into The Woods. The document explains key factors for my design concept featuring a unit set instead of implementing traditional staging methods for James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical, based on the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm.


Black Lives Examined: Black Nonfiction And The Praxis Of Survival In The Post-Civil Rights Era, Ariel D. Lawrence Jan 2018

Black Lives Examined: Black Nonfiction And The Praxis Of Survival In The Post-Civil Rights Era, Ariel D. Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations

The subject of my thesis project is black nonfiction, namely the essay, memoir, and autobiography, written by black authors about and during the Post-Civil Rights Era. The central goals of this work are to briefly investigate the role of genre analysis within the various subsets of nonfiction and also to exemplify the ways that black writers have taken key genre models and evolved them. Secondly, I aim to understand the historical, political, and cultural contributions of the Post-Civil Rights Era, which I mark as hitting its stride in 1968. It is not my desire to create a definitive historical framework …


The Feldenkrais Method In The Voice And Speech Classroom: Intertwining Linklater Voice And The Feldenkrais Method, Janel Miley Knipple Jan 2018

The Feldenkrais Method In The Voice And Speech Classroom: Intertwining Linklater Voice And The Feldenkrais Method, Janel Miley Knipple

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

INTEGRATING THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD INTO THE VOICE AND SPEECH CLASSROOM: INTERTWINING LINKLATER VOICE AND THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD

By Janel R. Miley Knipple, MFA

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018.

Major Director: Karen Kopryanski, Head of Voice and Speech, Assistant Professor

Department of Theatre

Proprioception and kinesthetic awareness are important factors in actor training as performers strive to increase their physical and vocal prowess in order to respond to the demands of roles. The Feldenkrais Method, a somatic approach to …


Candor & Ebb: Searching For My Truth Through Solo Performance, Andrew Ross Wynn Jan 2018

Candor & Ebb: Searching For My Truth Through Solo Performance, Andrew Ross Wynn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of autobiographical solo performance. It explores the use of personal trauma and illness in the dramatic form. In addition to investigating how other solo performing artists utilize their medical conditions in their work, this thesis gives some historical context to the author’s own process and development. The thesis culminates in the author’s solo performance script and a desire for its audience to find solace and compassion through the experience of witnessing it being performed.


The Cognitive And Functional Impact Of Open Heart Surgery: A Pilot Study Including Three Common Procedures (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Heart Valve Replacement, And Left Ventricular Assist Device), Robert Fix Jan 2018

The Cognitive And Functional Impact Of Open Heart Surgery: A Pilot Study Including Three Common Procedures (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Heart Valve Replacement, And Left Ventricular Assist Device), Robert Fix

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of open heart surgery (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Heart Valve Replacement, or Left Ventricular Assist Device placement) on cognition, functional performance, and mood in the three months following surgery. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Kettle Test (KT), Physical Self Maintenance Scale (PSMS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HD) measured global cognition, functional cognition, functional performance, and mood states, respectively.

Thirteen male participants (ages 38 – 75) completed assessments at four time points -- when they were scheduled for surgery, within one week prior to surgery, before hospital discharge after surgery, and three months after …


Mobile Enchantment: The Virginia Theatre Machine Llc, A New Twist On Drive-In Theatre, Mark J. Lerman Jan 2018

Mobile Enchantment: The Virginia Theatre Machine Llc, A New Twist On Drive-In Theatre, Mark J. Lerman

Theses and Dissertations

A disassembling of the Virginia Theatre Machine (VTM), LLC and its annual restaging of an adaption of Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol. The VTM is a custom-built trailer theater that combines the performance energy of street theater with the magic and wonder of a fully designed theatrical production. I provide a historical context for this 21st century revising of mobile theater that switches the paradigm of the traditional theater experience by bringing the stage to audiences, for free. I draw from critical social and cultural theory to make sense of the audience impact in public and private outdoor …


Acting Mindfully, Dawn Souza Jan 2018

Acting Mindfully, Dawn Souza

Theses and Dissertations

Acting Mindfully, is a form of embodiment pedagogy that investigates the ways in which actors can explore their craft through a lens that connects them closer to their mind, body, and voice. The document draws content from a wide variety of theatrical movement and vocal practitioners in combination with mindfulness techniques including yoga, meditation, and energy work. Embodiment pedagogy allows the acting student to approach and perform scenes and monologues with truth and authenticity; while allowing them the ability to tell their own stories.

In order to explore this work, a course, Acting and Mindfulness, was introduced at Virginia …


Polyanthroponemia: A Pursuit Of Mystery, Magdolene Dykstra Jan 2018

Polyanthroponemia: A Pursuit Of Mystery, Magdolene Dykstra

Theses and Dissertations

I wish I could believe in something. Having grown up in a religious household, I have continually teetered between faith and doubt. Landscapes seen and unseen are my last source of awe; here my doubt is suspended – for a moment. Using unfired clay, I create alternate landscapes inspired by sublime philosophy. The sublime experience is born in a sense of amazement linked to fear of something beyond our understanding or control. The amazing intricacy of microbiology, a whole universe existing alongside and inside us, fascinates me. The abundance of unfamiliar life in my work triggers a cautious curiosity. My …


Devising Empathy: Working With Devising, Theatre For Young Audiences, And The Snow Queen, Mary C. Lennon Jan 2018

Devising Empathy: Working With Devising, Theatre For Young Audiences, And The Snow Queen, Mary C. Lennon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a workbook for creating a course that combines researching both theatre for young audiences and devised theatre to create a touring production and company. Devised theatre is a form of theatre where the script originates from collaborative creation, improvisation, and physical movement. This course explored the past, present and future of theatre for young audiences both domestically and abroad. Students worked in a collaborative effort devising and producing a TYA piece based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen and studied the child audience through reading assignments and practical experience. This thesis is intended to showcase the …


Lessons, Kathryn K. Murphy Jan 2018

Lessons, Kathryn K. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

I am learning through these lessons.

The following document includes my convoluted musings about my work, making process, and body leading up to my thesis exhibition, Avoidance Kitchen. My struggle with my reflected image comes from my struggle with my self-perceived physical image.

What does it mean for a piece to disappear, only to find the reflection of someone else's work or body in its place? Is my craft rendered obsolete if all you want to do is take a funny selfie? Is my work unacknowledged if all you see is the sculpture across the room, in reverse? What happens …


Privileging The Oriental In Paco Bezerra's El Señor Ye Ama Los Dragones, Jeffrey K. Coleman Jan 2018

Privileging The Oriental In Paco Bezerra's El Señor Ye Ama Los Dragones, Jeffrey K. Coleman

Spanish Languages and Literatures Research and Publications

Paco Bezerra's 2015 thriller-comedy El señor Ye ama los dragones destabilized the immigration narrative that often appears in Spanish theatre by creating a story in which Chinese immigrants are the focus, thus giving visibility and agency to a community that is little discussed in Spanish cultural production. Throughout his play, Bezerra inverts the common approach to immigration drama in which the Western is privileged in structure and in plot. Rather, in this play, the Oriental is privileged on a structural and narrative level, and the play concludes with the triumph of Xiaomei over her white Spanish counterparts. I propose that …


Death Of The Emissary: Language, Metonymy, And European Complicity In Juan Diego Botto’S “La Carta”, Jeffrey K. Coleman Jan 2018

Death Of The Emissary: Language, Metonymy, And European Complicity In Juan Diego Botto’S “La Carta”, Jeffrey K. Coleman

Spanish Languages and Literatures Research and Publications

Juan Diego Botto’s 2005 monologue “La carta” explores the real-life death of Yaguine Koita and Fodé Tounkara, two Guinean boys who in 1999 died attempting to reach Europe with a letter addressed to European officials. A close reading of Botto’s monologue illustrates how the letter by Yaguine and Fodé functions as an archive that explores and redefines the liminal spaces, and therefore the relationship, between Europe and Africa. The monologue and the letter elucidate the boys’ position as emissaries who seek to reconcile the European continent with its complicity in the state of Africa.