Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Spring 2015
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Theatre Studies
Committee Chair
Jay Ball
Second Committee Member
Michael Smith
Third Committee Member
Jason Knirck
Abstract
The dynamics of power between the privileged and those who must be subordinate to them was glaringly apparent at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. While natives from many countries were displayed in ethnographic villages, the Irish were represented in the Irish Industrial Exposition concession on the Pike. A group of ninety performers came from Ireland to show their skills this concession; among these were a troupe of actors from Dublin. The Dublin troupe was engaged to perform AE’s Deirdre, but left before they had been at the exposition for a month because they felt that the Irish were not being well represented in the Irish Industrial Exposition. The performances given in this exhibit expounded on a view of the Irish that both challenged and conformed to prominent stereotypes of the time. By employing James C. Scott’s Domination and the Arts of Resistance, I reveal the complex and multifaceted power dynamics involved in the performances at the Irish Industrial Exposition.
Recommended Citation
White, Cassandra L., "Blarney in St. Louie: Performing Irishness at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904" (2015). All Master's Theses. 269.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/269
Language
English
Included in
Anthropology Commons, Celtic Studies Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Theatre History Commons