KANSAS CITY, KANSAS

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS is a thesis that operates in the tradition of expressionist dramaturgy and playwriting, taking up themes of abuse, imperialism, war, trauma, womanhood, Balkan identities, history of the Balkans, as well as the discourses of psychoanalysis and postcolonial theory. The use of different theoretical frameworks related to both international and personal politics, which are shown to be intertwined, suggests a strong relationship between political processes in the Second World Countries that had experienced many occupations throughout their history and the way women in those countries relate to the questions of body, authority, feminity, and interpersonal relationships. The play ultimately aims to establish the deep connection between two entities–personal and political–and to present politics through individual feelings and bodies; it seeks to point out the destitution of identity that follows the destitution of the country and the destitution of the country that follows destitution of national identity under the forces of colonial oppression. Advisors: Stephen Buhler and Timothy Schaffert