Performing/Transforming

Facing the proliferation of hybrid cultural forms that are undermining hierarchies of cultures, knowledge, and disciplinary boundaries, the performative turn of the humanities offers a variety of analytical tools that are increasingly trans-, inter- and multimedial - in other words, perfor­mative. Extending from theater and the performing arts to the literary and social domains, from literal to metaphorical use, the related notions of performance, performative, and performativity cover a great variety of activities that share conditions of liminality, process and change - or, for their complexity, require a multi-perspective approach.
With contributions ranging from the domains of Literary, Cultural, Gender, Music and Performance Studies, Performing/Transforming offers an interdisciplinary investigation of the theories and practices of perfor­mance that unleash a radical potential for action and interaction. From the theatrically orchestrated forms of non-artistic everyday performance to the visual and aural executions of the literary text on and off the page; from opera and song lyric to experimental theater and music theater, the present series of essays addresses a wide spectrum of performing behaviors with a keen eye on how intermedial relationships and technologies of re-production have been transforming modes, codes, and genres of cultu­ral and artistic re-presentation.