English, Department of
Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
First Advisor
Stephen Buhler
Second Advisor
Timothy Schaffert
Committee Members
Laura White, Kwame Dawes
Date of this Version
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
Major: English
Under the supervision of Professors Stephen Buhler and Timothy Schaffert
Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2025
Abstract
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
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Playwriting Commons, Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Slavic Languages and Societies Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Comments
Copyright 2025, Vida Davidović (= Вида Давидовић). Used by permission