Madison presents the neglected yet compelling and necessary story of local activists in South Saharan Africa who employ modes of performance as tactics of resistance and intervention in their day-to-day struggles for human rights. The dynamic relationship between performance and activism are illustrated in three case studies: Act One presents a battle between tradition and modernity as the bodies of African women are caught in the cross-fire. Act Two focuses on water democracy as activists fight for safe; accessible public water as a human right. Act Three examines the efficacy of street performance and theatre for development in the oral histories of Ghanaian gender activists. Unique to this book is the continuing juxtaposition between the everyday performances of local activism and their staged enactments before theatre audiences in Ghana and the USA. Madison beautifully demonstrates how these disparate sites of performance cohere in the service of rights; justice; and activism.
#1382123 in eBooks 2007-04-01 2007-04-01File Name: B003L1ZZO6
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy DanaInsightful. gorgeous. well-informed commentary on art and culture.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Michael S BarclayGreat book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Mediocre at bestBy Walter Edward CarverThe reviewer who gave the book three stars was correct: the best part of the book included the references to film noir. It seemed that the author had a paucity of actual facts about the artist. Edward Hopper. and was forced to flesh out his meager material by including one random fact after another. whether they actually related to the subject at hand or not. Having spent hours in Chicago looking at the actual painting. "Nighthawks." this reviewer discovered reason after reason why the subject matter. and Hoppers treatment of it. has made it become an American icon. Including such artistic detail within Mr. Gordon Theisens manuscript might have made it far more interesting to the average reader. as well as to the critical art student wanting to learn why and how Mr. Edward Hopper was able to create such a masterpiece.
