RUcore Resource Object
RUcore Resource Object
TitlePerforming modernity
NameGitre, Carmen Mary Khair (author), Adas, Michael (chair), Smith, Bonnie (internal member), Chatterjee, Indrani (internal member), Jones, Toby (internal member), Baron, Beth (outside member), Powell, Eve M. Troutt (outside member), Rutgers University, Graduate School - New Brunswick,
Degree Date2011-10
Date Created2011
SubjectHistory,
Theater and state--Egypt--History—19th century,
Theater and state--Egypt--History—20th century,
Egypt--Civilization—19th century,
Egypt--Civilization—20th century
Description“Performing Modernity” examines the intimate relationship between politics and culture in debates over identity and modernity in Egypt. Tracing changes in theater and performance, from the opening of the Khedivial Opera House and Suez Canal (1869) to a
flourishing Cairene theatrical scene and demands for independence from colonial rule (circa 1919), it argues that modern theater was integral to shaping a uniquely Egyptian modernity. This project takes modernity to be a lived historical experience that affected social and cultural practices in all segments of society, reshaping and framing notions of changing Egyptian identities. New technologies and sites of sociability of the latenineteenth century—theaters, cabarets, the phonograph—alongside the old—streets, places of prayer, coffeehouses—offered myriad spaces for the articulation of that modernity. A focus on the content of performances, discussions surrounding them, and
the physical spaces in which they took place offers a unique window onto the ways in which Egyptians understood themselves, their relationships to one another, and their roles and responsibilities in a modernizing society. Critically, this project contends that
modernity in Egypt was localized; while it incorporated European influences, it shaped them to fit local contexts, histories, and needs. Drawing upon underutilized sources like opera, plays, and musical recordings, it focuses on the Khedivial Opera House, middle class Arabic theater, folk and women’s performances to demonstrate how each
contributed to notions of modernity and “Egyptianness” invoked in post-WWI demands for Egyptian independence.
flourishing Cairene theatrical scene and demands for independence from colonial rule (circa 1919), it argues that modern theater was integral to shaping a uniquely Egyptian modernity. This project takes modernity to be a lived historical experience that affected social and cultural practices in all segments of society, reshaping and framing notions of changing Egyptian identities. New technologies and sites of sociability of the latenineteenth century—theaters, cabarets, the phonograph—alongside the old—streets, places of prayer, coffeehouses—offered myriad spaces for the articulation of that modernity. A focus on the content of performances, discussions surrounding them, and
the physical spaces in which they took place offers a unique window onto the ways in which Egyptians understood themselves, their relationships to one another, and their roles and responsibilities in a modernizing society. Critically, this project contends that
modernity in Egypt was localized; while it incorporated European influences, it shaped them to fit local contexts, histories, and needs. Drawing upon underutilized sources like opera, plays, and musical recordings, it focuses on the Khedivial Opera House, middle class Arabic theater, folk and women’s performances to demonstrate how each
contributed to notions of modernity and “Egyptianness” invoked in post-WWI demands for Egyptian independence.
NotePh. D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Noteby Carmen Mary Khair Gitre
Genretheses
Persistent URLhttp://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000063412
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.