Thesis (M.A.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2007. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Susan Kollin. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-77).

Bibliography: pages 617-630. / This dissertation proposes to examine the work of John McGrath and the 7:84 Theatre Company as part of a continuum of theatrical experimentation culminating in postmodernism. To clarify the relationship between aesthetic form and social praxis the inquiry proceeds in two salient lines of direction: the first tracing the withdrawal from "realism" of major theorists of modernist ideology, the second defining the political and social milieu which provided the matrix for the development and staging of McGrath's plays. Recognising the partisan disposition of the 7:84 Theatre Company, the focus is on not only the division between political commitment and aesthetic experimentation, but also their potential for conciliation. At stake here is the socio-political nature of dramatic form itself and the contradictions implicit in political theatre's inherent structure. Tested against actual modes of procedure in the staging of McGrath's plays, and against the plays themselves, are the modernist propositions on aesthetics and politics argued within the context of German Marxism by Bloch, Lukacs, Benjamin, Adorno, and Brecht. The inquiry into problematising representational modes is then extended to include the postmodernist resistance to both realism and modernism, seeking precisely where and how McGrath's theatre supports this opposition. Following a critical dissection of representative texts, the conclusion attempts to establish their validity as postmodernist art, wordlessly disclosing within the parameters of their own language structure what cannot be asserted effectively by the practice of politics itself.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. S.E. Gontarski, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Humanities Program. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2004. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Arts. Bibliography: leaves 298-325.

published_or_final_version / Literary Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This thesis explores the ways that certain artists-including Joseph Conrad, Alan Moore, Richard Attenborough, and Francis Ford Coppola-break from their inherited traditions in order to speak from an alternative perspective to western discourse. Conventional narrative formulas prescribe that meaning will be revealed in a definitive end, but all of the texts discussed reveal other avenues through which it is discerned. In Heart of Darkness, the tension between two divergent narratives enables Conrad to speak beyond his social context and imperialist limitations to demonstrate that identity is socially constructed. In Watchmen, Moore breaks from comic convention to illustrate ways meaning may be ascertained despite the lack of plot ends. The third chapter explores the ways that Attenborough and Coppola subvert technical and plot conventions to resist static constitutions of identity endemic to Hollywood film. The several texts discussed subvert the Self/Other duality by suggesting alternatives to the western narrative model. / by Adam Berzak. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Abstract not available