Embodied Cognition and Shakespeare's Theatre

Embodied Cognition and Shakespeare's Theatre PDF Author: Laurie Johnson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134449283
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
This collection considers issues that have emerged in Early Modern Studies in the past fifteen years relating to understandings of mind and body in Shakespeare’s world. Informed by The Body in Parts, the essays in this book respond also to the notion of an early modern ‘body-mind’ in which Shakespeare and his contemporaries are understood in terms of bodily parts and cognitive processes. What might the impact of such understandings be on our picture of Shakespeare’s theatre or on our histories of the early modern period, broadly speaking? This book provides a wide range of approaches to this challenge, covering histories of cognition, studies of early modern stage practices, textual studies, and historical phenomenology, as well as new cultural histories by some of the key proponents of this approach at the present time. Because of the breadth of material covered, full weight is given to issues that are hotly debated at the present time within Shakespeare Studies: presentist scholarship is presented alongside more historically-focused studies, for example, and phenomenological studies of material culture are included along with close readings of texts. What the contributors have in common is a refusal to read the work of Shakespeare and his contemporaries either psychologically or materially; instead, these essays address a willingness to study early modern phenomena (like the Elizabethan stage) as manifesting an early modern belief in the embodiment of cognition.

Embodied Cognition and Shakespeare's Theatre

Embodied Cognition and Shakespeare's Theatre PDF Author: Laurie Johnson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134449283
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Get Book Here

Book Description
This collection considers issues that have emerged in Early Modern Studies in the past fifteen years relating to understandings of mind and body in Shakespeare’s world. Informed by The Body in Parts, the essays in this book respond also to the notion of an early modern ‘body-mind’ in which Shakespeare and his contemporaries are understood in terms of bodily parts and cognitive processes. What might the impact of such understandings be on our picture of Shakespeare’s theatre or on our histories of the early modern period, broadly speaking? This book provides a wide range of approaches to this challenge, covering histories of cognition, studies of early modern stage practices, textual studies, and historical phenomenology, as well as new cultural histories by some of the key proponents of this approach at the present time. Because of the breadth of material covered, full weight is given to issues that are hotly debated at the present time within Shakespeare Studies: presentist scholarship is presented alongside more historically-focused studies, for example, and phenomenological studies of material culture are included along with close readings of texts. What the contributors have in common is a refusal to read the work of Shakespeare and his contemporaries either psychologically or materially; instead, these essays address a willingness to study early modern phenomena (like the Elizabethan stage) as manifesting an early modern belief in the embodiment of cognition.

Embodied Cognition and Shakespeare's Theatre

Embodied Cognition and Shakespeare's Theatre PDF Author: Laurie Johnson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134449216
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
This collection considers issues that have emerged in Early Modern Studies in the past fifteen years relating to understandings of mind and body in Shakespeare’s world. Informed by The Body in Parts, the essays in this book respond also to the notion of an early modern ‘body-mind’ in which Shakespeare and his contemporaries are understood in terms of bodily parts and cognitive processes. What might the impact of such understandings be on our picture of Shakespeare’s theatre or on our histories of the early modern period, broadly speaking? This book provides a wide range of approaches to this challenge, covering histories of cognition, studies of early modern stage practices, textual studies, and historical phenomenology, as well as new cultural histories by some of the key proponents of this approach at the present time. Because of the breadth of material covered, full weight is given to issues that are hotly debated at the present time within Shakespeare Studies: presentist scholarship is presented alongside more historically-focused studies, for example, and phenomenological studies of material culture are included along with close readings of texts. What the contributors have in common is a refusal to read the work of Shakespeare and his contemporaries either psychologically or materially; instead, these essays address a willingness to study early modern phenomena (like the Elizabethan stage) as manifesting an early modern belief in the embodiment of cognition.

Cognition in the Globe

Cognition in the Globe PDF Author: E. Tribble
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230118518
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Early modern playing companies performed up to six different plays a week and mounted new plays frequently. This book seeks to answer a seemingly simple question: how did they do it? Drawing upon work in philosophy and the cognitive sciences, it proposes that the cognitive work of theatre is distributed across body, brain, and world.

Theatre, Performance and Cognition

Theatre, Performance and Cognition PDF Author: Rhonda Blair
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472591801
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Theatre, Performance and Cognition introduces readers to the key debates, areas of research, and applications of the cognitive sciences to the humanities, and to theatre and performance in particular. It features the most exciting work being done at the intersection of theatre and cognitive science, containing both selected scientific studies that have been influential in the field, each introduced and contextualised by the editors, together with related scholarship from the field of theatre and performance that demonstrates some of the applications of the cognitive sciences to actor training, the rehearsal room and the realm of performance more generally. The three sections consider the principal areas of research and application in this interdisciplinary field, starting with a focus on language and meaning-making in which Shakespeare's work and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia are considered. In the second part which focuses on the body, chapters consider applications for actor and dance training, while the third part focuses on dynamic ecologies, of which the body is a part.

Knowing Shakespeare

Knowing Shakespeare PDF Author: L. Gallagher
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230299091
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
A collection of essays on the ways the senses 'speak' on Shakespeare's stage. Drawing on historical phenomenology, science studies, gender studies and natural philosophy, the essays provide critical tools for understanding Shakespeare's investment in staging the senses.

Multisensory Shakespeare and Specialized Communities

Multisensory Shakespeare and Specialized Communities PDF Author: Sheila T. Cavanagh
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350296430
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
How can theatre and Shakespearean performance be used with different communities to assist personal growth and development, while advancing social justice goals? Employing an integrative approach that draws from science, actor training, therapeutical practices and current research on the senses, this study reveals the work being done by drama practitioners with a range of specialized populations, such as incarcerated people, neurodiverse individuals, those with physical or emotional disabilities, veterans, people experiencing homelessness and many others. With insights drawn from visits to numerous international programs, it argues that these endeavors succeed when they engage multiple human senses and incorporate kinesthetic learning, thereby tapping into the diverse benefits associated with artistic, movement and mindfulness practices. Neither theatre nor Shakespeare is universally beneficial, but the syncretic practices described in this book offer tools for physical, emotional and collaborative undertakings that assist personal growth and development, while advancing social justice goals. Among the practitioners and companies whose work is examined here are programs from the Shakespeare in Prison Network, the International Opera Theater, Blue Apple Theatre, Flute Theatre, DeCruit and Feast of Crispian programs for veterans, Extant Theatre and prison programs in Kolkata and Mysore, India.

Shakespeare's Lost Playhouse

Shakespeare's Lost Playhouse PDF Author: Laurie Johnson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351578820
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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Book Description
The playhouse at Newington Butts has long remained on the fringes of histories of Shakespeare’s career and of the golden age of the theatre with which his name is associated. A mile outside London, and relatively disused by the time Shakespeare began his career in the theatre, this playhouse has been easy to forget. Yet for eleven days in June, 1594, it was home to the two companies that would come to dominate the London theatres. Thanks to the ledgers of theatre entrepreneur, Philip Henslowe, we have a record of this short venture. Shakespeare's Lost Playhouse is an exploration of a brief moment in time when the focus of the theatrical world in England was on this small playhouse. To write this history, Laurie Johnson draws on archival studies, archaeology, environmental studies, geography, social, political, and cultural studies as well as methods developed within literary and theatre history to expand the scope of our understanding of the theatres, the rise of the playing business, and the formations of the playing companies.

Shakespeare and Consciousness

Shakespeare and Consciousness PDF Author: Paul Budra
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137595418
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
This book examines how early modern and recently emerging theories of consciousness and cognitive science help us to re-imagine our engagements with Shakespeare in text and performance. Papers investigate the connections between states of mind, emotion, and sensation that constitute consciousness and the conditions of reception in our past and present encounters with Shakespeare’s works. Acknowledging previous work on inwardness, self, self-consciousness, embodied self, emotions, character, and the mind-body problem, contributors consider consciousness from multiple new perspectives—as a phenomenological process, a materially determined product, a neurologically mediated reaction, or an internally synthesized identity—approaching Shakespeare’s plays and associated cultural practices in surprising and innovative ways.

Teaching and Learning Shakespeare through Theatre-based Practice

Teaching and Learning Shakespeare through Theatre-based Practice PDF Author: Tracy Irish
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350292079
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
How can the study of Shakespeare contribute to equipping young people for the challenges of an uncertain future? This book argues for the necessity of a Shakespeare education that: finds meaning in the texts through inviting in the prior knowledge, experiences and ideas of students; combines intellectual, social and emotional learning; and develops a critical perspective on what a cultural inheritance is all about. It offers a comprehensive exploration of the educational principles underpinning theatre-based practice and explains how and why this practice can open up the possibilities of Shakespeare study in the classroom. It empowers Shakespeare educators working with young people aged 5-18 to interact critically, creatively and collaboratively with Shakespeare as a living artist. Drawing on the authors' research and experience with organizations including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe, the Folger and Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, Part One consolidates recent developments in the field and engages in lively dialogue with core questions of Shakespeare's place in the classroom. Part Two curates a series of interviews with leaders and practitioners from the above and other Shakespeare institutions, exploring their core principles and practices. Part Three presents chapters from and about classroom teachers, who share their experiences of successfully embedding theatre-based approaches to Shakespeare in their own diverse contexts.

Women's Somatic Training in Early Modern Spanish Theater

Women's Somatic Training in Early Modern Spanish Theater PDF Author: Elizabeth Marie Cruz Petersen
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1134780737
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
Drawing from early modern plays and treatises on the precepts and practices of the acting process, this study shows how the early modern Spanish actress subscribed to various somatic practices in an effort to prepare for a role. It provides today's reader not only another perspective to the performance aspect of early modern plays, but also a better understanding of how the woman of the theater succeeded in a highly scrutinized profession. Elizabeth Marie Cruz Petersen examines examples of comedias from playwrights such as Lope de Vega, Luis Vélez de Guevara, Tirso de Molina, and Ana Caro, historical documents, and treatises to demonstrate that the women of the stage transformed their bodies and their social and cultural environment in order to succeed in early modern Spanish theater. Women's Somatic Training in Early Modern Spanish Theater is the first full-length, in-depth study of women actors in seventeenth-century Spain. Unique in the field of comedia studies, it approaches the topic from a performance perspective, using somaesthetics as a tool to explain how an artist's lived experiences and emotions unite in the interpretation of art, reconfiguring her "self" via the transformation of habit.