Doctoral Projects in Progress in Theatre Arts, 2005

This is the fifty-third annual report of dissertations in progress in theatre arts in the United States. The entries contained in this report were solicited from those universities offering a doctoral degree in areas related to theatre; the completeness and accuracy of the report depends largely on the immense cooperation of those students and faculty members who were kind enough to submit complete and timely information—either on-line (preferred), by e-mail, regular postal mail, or fax. A future request for information will be mailed in October 2005 for the 2006 edition. Please contact the researcher if an institution is not already receiving the annual call for submissions.

This report lists (in order) the doctoral student's name, dissertation title, university, department affiliation, faculty supervisor, and projected year of completion. Dissertation topics are arranged in two parts: in Part One, topics are listed first geographically and secondarily by time periods; Part Two provides additional divisions for those projects that do not fit easily according to geography or time but conform to the growing areas of contemporary research.

This is my second and final year as compiler of this report. I have certainly learned a lot and toiled to assure that all information is accurately reported, and I continue to be intrigued with the provocative and stimulating topics of research proposed by my up-and-coming colleagues. The work of this compilation has provided an eye-opening experience that confirms my faith in the scholarly and practical future of our unique and unparalleled profession.

Part I

Africa

Ferreira, Eunice. Cape Verde Theatre: Resisting, Reclaiming, and Recreating National and Cultural Identity in Post-Colonial Lusophone Africa. Tufts University Drama. Downing Cless. 2006.

China

Fan, Xing. Inherited Traditions and Experimental Innovations: Artistic Elements of Jingju Yangbanxi. University of Hawaii at Manoa. Theatre and Dance. Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak. 2007.

Tuan, Hsin-Chun. Feminist and Intercultural Approaches to the Alternative Theaters in Taiwan. University of California at Los Angeles. Theatre. Sue-Ellen Case. 2005.

Cuba

Frederik, Laurie. Pure Cuba: Preemptive Nostalgia and La Batalla to Defend National Culture in Rural Cuban Theater. University of Chicago. Anthropology. Loren Kruger. 2005.

Prizant, Yael. Theatre and Global Identities in Post-Soviet Cuba. University of California at Los Angeles. Theatre. Leo Cabranes-Grant (UCSB) and Shelley Salamensky (UCLA). 2006.

England

Medieval

Isola, Zia. Consuming Passion: Poetics of the Eucharist in Late Medieval England. UC Santa Barbara. English. L. O. Aranye Fradenburg. 2005.

Renaissance

Bjork, Mary Dudy. Spanish Literature in English Drama in the Age of Shakespeare and Cervantes. UC Santa Barbara. English. Richard Helgerson. 2005.

Bromley, James M. Failures of Intimacy in Early Modern English Literature. Loyola University Chicago. English. Suzanne Gossett. 2006.

Deiter, Kristen. The Tower of London: Icon of Early Modern English Drama. Binghamton University. English. Albert Tricomi. 2006.

Deng, Stephen. Embodied Money and Monetized Bodies in Early Modern English Literature. UC Santa Barbara. English. Richard Helgerson. 2005.

Gahan, William. Shakespeare's and Lope's Publics: Kingship, History, and the "Second Class." UC Santa Barbara. English. Richard Helgerson. 2006.

Klotz, Lisa. "Suspicion is No Proof": Legal Proof and Probability in Practice and Fiction in Early Modern England. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. English. Reid Barbour and Ritchie Kendall. 2005.

Stevenson, Jill. Visual Piety and Performance in Medieval York. CUNY. Theatre. Pamela Sheingorn. 2008.

Willcoxon, Jeanne. The Plague of "Strange" Bodies: Contagion and Containment in the Queen's Masque. University of Minnesota. Theatre Arts. Michal Kobialka. 2006.

Wood, David. "Very Now": Temporal Aspects of Melancholy in Early Modern English Literature. Purdue University. English. Charles Ross. 2004.

Nineteenth Century

Crabtree, Susan. The Grieve Family of Theatrical Scene Painters: Innovation and Tradition on the 19th Century English Stage. University of Colorado at Boulder. Theatre and Dance. James Symons. 2006.

Twentieth Century

Holcomb, Brian. Euphemistically Speaking: Comedy in Modernism. Michigan State University. English. Judith Roof. 2005.

Munch, Roxanne Frances. Comic Traditions and Innovations in the Plays of Caryl Churchill. Loyola...