ABSTRACTS

(Post)Colonial Performances: Theater in Francophone North America

Jane Moss
(Duke University/Colby College (summer/fall))

The notion of world literature in French has a special appeal to French intellectuals yearning to reclaim their dominance of the French-speaking world, to francophone writers residing outside their countries of origins, and to those seeking recognition beyond their own borders. Even if we set aside our skepticism and try to see littérarure-monde as an idealistic concept meant to unite French-speakers in the age of globalization rather than as a new form of cultural imperialism, the concept has dangerous implications for francophone North American theater. Over the last forty years, theater has been an important site for the performance of collective historical memories, the creation of distinct francophone identities, and the affirmation of unique linguistic communities. What happens to the performance of these identitary differences when francophone North American theater is subsumed under the label of world literature in French? The experience of Québécois playwrights whose works have been performed in France might offer some insight into the question.