Dissertation Defense Schedule
Academic Excellence
Sharing original dissertation research is a principle to which the University of Delaware is deeply committed. It is the single most important assignment our graduate students undertake and upon completion is met with great pride.
We invite you to celebrate this milestone by attending their dissertation defense. Please review the upcoming dissertation defense schedule below and join us!
PROGRAM | English
Performing (With) Care: Theatre for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence
By: Lee Conderacci Chair: Emily Davis
ABSTRACT
Performing (With) Care: Theatre for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence introduces the concept of “survivor-centered theatre,” which disrupts the myth of the ideal white male spectator to imagine theatre productions about and specifically for survivors of gender-based violence. This dissertation asserts that trauma-informed, care-oriented theatrical experiences can offer emotional, psychological, and social support to survivors through carefully-wrought performances, as well as through care work behind the scenes and beyond the final curtain. The project offers practical guidelines for producing survivor-centered theatre that are grounded in intersectional feminism, prioritize the lived experience of artists and audiences, and maintain a dedicated ethic of care. Survivor-centered theatre positions the theatre as a site of reciprocity—wherein audiences believe and affirm the truth of survivors’ narratives—and works towards repairing the damage of epistemic violence that survivors face in many social and institutional spaces.
Analyzing dramatic texts and performances from the author’s multiple perspectives as a critical scholar, a feminist spectator, and a theatre practitioner, each chapter in Performing (With) Care shows how sharing and witnessing testimonials through embodied performance and spectatorship can cultivate solidarity among survivors of gender-based violence and work towards epistemic justice by elevating survivors’ narratives. The guiding principles introduced in this dissertation inform various aspects of theatre artistry, from playwriting to intimacy choreography to audience engagement; these applications are demonstrated through close readings of play texts and performances, as well as by documenting and reflecting on the author’s own creative practices as a director.
The Process
Step-by-Step
Visit our “Step-by-Step Graduation Guide” to take you through the graduation process.From formatting your Dissertation to Doctoral Hooding procedures.
Dissertation Manual
Wondering how to set up the format for your paper. Refer to the “UD Thesis/Dissertation Manual” for formatting requirements and more.
Defense Submission Form
This form must be completed two weeks in advance of a dissertation defense to meet the University of Delaware Graduate and Professional Education’s requirements.
