KUKU

KU ScholarWorks

  • myKU
  • Email
  • Enroll & Pay
  • KU Directory
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   KU ScholarWorks
    • Dissertations and Theses
    • Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   KU ScholarWorks
    • Dissertations and Theses
    • Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Time is of the Essence: The Centrality of Time in Science Plays and the Cultural Implications

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Tiehen_ku_0099D_15154_DATA_1.pdf (3.417Mb)
    Issue Date
    2017-05-31
    Author
    Tiehen, Jeanne Peggy
    Publisher
    University of Kansas
    Format
    320 pages
    Type
    Dissertation
    Degree Level
    Ph.D.
    Discipline
    Theatre
    Rights
    Copyright held by the author.
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Time is of the Essence: The Centrality of Time in Science Plays and the Cultural Implications examines how time operates within the narrative and structure of science plays. Combining analysis of play texts and production critiques with phenomenological theories of time and embodiment, and also exploring related theories about time in physics and philosophy, I extrapolate what science plays may illuminate about our cultural relationship to science because of how we experience time—both in and out of the theatre. In the dissertation I investigate three groups of science plays: 1) contemporary plays that display time in innovative ways, such as Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia (1993), Anna Ziegler’s Photograph 51 (2011), Shelagh Stephenson’s An Experiment with an Air Pump (2000), and Nick Payne’s Constellations (2012); 2) plays about the atomic bomb that presented apprehensions mankind made a scientific device to end time as we knew it, seen in Robert Nichols and Maurice Browne’s Wings Over Europe (1927), Arch Oboler’s Night of the Auk (1956), Lorraine Hansberry’s What Use Are Flowers? (1969), Arthur Kopit’s The End of the World (1984), and Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen (1998); and 3) plays about climate change that demonstrate how mankind may be running out of time to change the course of events, including Moira Buffini, Matt Charman, Penelope Skinner, and Jack Thorne’s Greenland (2011), Mike Bartlett’s Earthquakes in London (2010), and Stephen Emmott’s Ten Billion (2012). I compare these plays to other representations of science in film, museums, and literature, contrasting the phenomenological experiences and positioning theatre as a rare, time-oriented art that can reveal important scientific ideas. By investigating science plays, I argue that theatre, because of its own phenomenological and temporal particularities, enables us to examine how we as a culture view our scientific past, present, and future in ways few other experiences can compare.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/26351
    Collections
    • Theatre Scholarly Works [47]
    • Dissertations [4472]

    Items in KU ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.


    We want to hear from you! Please share your stories about how Open Access to this item benefits YOU.


    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

    Browse

    All of KU ScholarWorksCommunities & CollectionsThis Collection

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

    The University of Kansas
      Contact KU ScholarWorks
    Lawrence, KS | Maps
     
    • Academics
    • Admission
    • Alumni
    • Athletics
    • Campuses
    • Giving
    • Jobs

    The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the University’s programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, IOA@ku.edu, 1246 W. Campus Road, Room 153A, Lawrence, KS, 66045, (785)864-6414, 711 TTY.

     Contact KU
    Lawrence, KS | Maps