Performing Trauma in Central Africa: Shadows of Empire
Bloomington: Indiana University Press (2018), xviii, 348 pp.
Contains illustrations, bibliogr. pp. 309-338, index
Series: African Expressive Cultures
ISBN 978-0-253-03247-8 (pbk); 978-0-253-03551-6
"What are the stakes of cultural production in a time of war? How is artistic expression prone to manipulation by the state and international humanitarian organizations? In the charged political terrain of post-genocide Rwanda, post-civil war Uganda, and recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Laura Edmondson explores performance through the lens of empire. Instead of celebrating theatre productions as expression of cultural agency and resilience, Edmondson traces their humanitarian imperatives to a place where global narratives of violence take precedence over local traditions and audiences. Working at the intersection of performance and trauma, Edmondson reveals how artists and cultural workers manipulate narratives in the shadow of empire and how empire, in turn, infiltrates creative capacities." (Publisher description)
Introduction, 1
1 Competitive Memory in the Great Lakes: Touring Genocide, 35
2 Marketing Trauma and the Theatre of War in Northern Uganda, 79
3 Trauma, Inc. in Postgenocide Rwanda, 111
4 Repetition, Rupture, and Ruined: Narratives from the Congo, 161
5 Gifted by Trauma: The Branding of Post-Conflict Northern Uganda, 217
6 Confessions of a Failed Theatre Activist, 269
Afterword: Faustin Linyekula and the Labors of Hope, 297
1 Competitive Memory in the Great Lakes: Touring Genocide, 35
2 Marketing Trauma and the Theatre of War in Northern Uganda, 79
3 Trauma, Inc. in Postgenocide Rwanda, 111
4 Repetition, Rupture, and Ruined: Narratives from the Congo, 161
5 Gifted by Trauma: The Branding of Post-Conflict Northern Uganda, 217
6 Confessions of a Failed Theatre Activist, 269
Afterword: Faustin Linyekula and the Labors of Hope, 297
