Symposium

This symposium arises from the research project funded by the Australian Research Council that addresses the broad question of how culture and politics are to be understood in relation to the complex challenges of the contemporary era.

Melbourne, Australia
School of Creative Arts, University of Melbourne
Friday 15- Saturday 16 September 2006
Convenor Dr Denise Varney

PROGRAM

Keynote Speakers:

Dr. Birgit Haas - Lecturer in Drama, University of Exeter, UK (Macgeorge Visiting Speaker)

Assoc. Prof. Alison Lewis - Department of German, Russian and Swedish Studies, University of Melbourne

THURSDAY 14th SEPTEMBER 2006

Free Public Lecture by Dr. Birgit Haas - Macgeorge Visiting Speaker:

The Brecht Renaissance: German Playwriting since 1990

6pm - 7pm in the open stage, Arts Centre Building

Symposium Launch

Symposium participants are invited to welcome drinks in the foyer of the open stage after the Public Lecture.

FRIDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2006

Registration 9:30 - 10:30

Session 10:30-12:10

Dr. Denise Varney, Convenor, University of Melbourne

Welcome & introduction

Dr. Birgit Haas, University of Exeter (Keynote)

How Political is the New German Drama?

Lunch 12:10 - 13:10

Session 13:10 - 15:00

Sabine Zolchow, Archiv der Akademie der Künste

The Isle of Berlin

Charlotte Menin, Technische Universität Berlin

Models for dealing with history: The history discourse of Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Break 15:00 - 15:20

Session 15:20 - 16:40

Dr. Gert Reifarth, University of Melbourne

Fostering Cultural Schizophrenia: East German theatres re-create the GDR

Dr. John Guthrie, University Cambridge

Classical plays on the contemporary German stage. Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus adapted by Botho Strauss (Schändung) and Schiller’s Maria Stuart in Berlin.

Afternoon Tea 16:40-17:10 (Change of venue)

Session 17:10 - 19:00

Prof. Moray McGowan, Trinity College Dublin (virtual presentation)

What was the ‘Wende’ and what of the ‘Volk’? Fidelio’s questions and the Weavers’ answers

Dr. Laura Bradley, University of Edinburgh (virtual presentation)

Contesting the legacies of Socialism: Brecht's Die Mutter in the Berlin Republic


SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2006

Registration 8:30 - 9:30

Session 9:30 - 11:40

Prof. Katrin Sieg, Georgetown University (virtual presentation)

Transnationalizing the German Theater

Assoc. Prof. Alison Lewis, University of Melbourne (Keynote)

German Reunification and the Postwar Alliance between German Politics and Culture

Morning Tea 11:20-11:40

Session 11:40-13:40

Dr. Laura Ginters, University of Sydney (virtual presentation)

“Wir sind das Volk!” How a failed revolutionary wrote about the French Revolution – and thereby helped cause one 154 years later.

Dr. Peter Eckersal, University of Melbourne

Shakespeare, Müller, Kawamura: revolution and suburbia in Daisan Erotica's 'Hamletclone'

Dr Birte Giesler German, University of Sydney

Staging the Genetic Debate and the performative force of history in Igor Bauersima’s futur de luxe

Lunch 13:40-14:40

Session 14:40 - 16:40

Dr. Tara Forrest, Sydney University of Technology

Acting out Prejudice: Schlingensief's Political Theatre

Dr. Ulrike Garde, Macquarie University

Actor v. critic: A scandal in the German theatre scene and some underlying cultural and political issues

Bronwyn Tweddle, Victorian University of Wellington

Pan-European Diplomacy and Eraritjaritjaka

Afternoon Tea 16:20-16:40

Session 16:40 - 18:00

Ralf Rauker, Edith Cowan University (video presenation)

Biomechanics, Ostermeier and the Wende

Panel Discussion

German Theatre and the world: New directions, Lessons to be learnt, Tradition and change

Dr. Denise Varney, Convenor

Summary

Finish 18:00

Participants are invited to meet for an informal dinner at 18:30 Saturday, details to be advised closer to the date.

View Abstracts and Bios

Travel and Accommodation Information

Call for papers - View (html) or Download (pdf)

If you would like further information on the symposium sent to you, please email: (german-theatre@unimelb.edu.au)

The international keynote speakers at the symposium are kindly supported by the Macgeorge Visiting Speaker Award

in co-operation with the Goethe-Institut Melbourne

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