Communication 395P - S-Performance & Performativity

The course will consider two distinct genealogies of performativity - that of J. L. Austin and that of Judith Butler. This will be followed by an exploration of the importance of performance to an understanding of contemporary theories of blackness. Our enquires will proceed through a range of expressive sites, including sound, music video, film, TV, literature, photography, and everyday behavior. We will pay close attention to the distinction between the two ideas, and consider how each deals with common concerns such as gender formation, subjection, spectatorship, utterance and subversion.