Adeyemi, Sola and Olasope, Olakunbi (2012) Fracturing the insularity of the global state: war and conflict in Moira Buffini’s Welcome to Thebes. In: 2012 Classical Association Conference, 11-14 April 2012, University of Exeter, UK. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Conflicts have always played a role in human society, but the recent global and local economic conditions have led to an increase in their intensity, and complexity. States are under siege from marauding powers whose intention is to impose their political will for economic benefit. These invading powers sometimes metamorphose as mercurial peacekeepers, impatient to humanise their plunder and present a passionate view of justice, even as they supplant the legitimate authority of the ‘colonised’ state.

Moira Buffini’s Welcome to Thebes is a contemporary re-presentation of Thebes as an African country emerging from a ruinous internal conflict into a chaotic and disordered peace. Weaving the classical Greek past with recent modern African historical perspectives, Buffini explores the dislocation of power and the disjunction between reconciliation and revenge.

In this paper, I investigate how war and conflict resolution contribute to demythologising the authority of the global state, in the way they infiltrate the complacency of the ruling powers, and expose their insularity.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Additional Information:	Presented under Session 2: Classics and Colonialism strand
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Greek drama, mythology, history, African theatre, national theatre, politics, conflict
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
Pre-2014 Departments:	School of Humanities & Social Sciences > Creative Writing, Poetry and Performing Arts Research Group School of Humanities & Social Sciences > Creative, Critical & Communication Studies School of Humanities & Social Sciences > Department of Communications & Creative Arts
Related URLs:	Organisation
Last Modified:	14 Oct 2016 09:25
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/10264

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