Book contents
- Staging Haiti in Nineteenth-Century America
- Cambridge Studies in Modern Theatre
- Staging Haiti in Nineteenth-Century America
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Rebels and Refugees
- 2 The Lessons of Haiti
- 3 Virtuosity, Illegitimacy, and Haitian Royalty
- 4 Travesty and Transformation
- 5 Abolitionist Acts
- 6 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - The Lessons of Haiti
Performance, Pedagogy, and the Politics of Haitian Independence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 November 2022
Book contents
- Staging Haiti in Nineteenth-Century America
- Cambridge Studies in Modern Theatre
- Staging Haiti in Nineteenth-Century America
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Rebels and Refugees
- 2 The Lessons of Haiti
- 3 Virtuosity, Illegitimacy, and Haitian Royalty
- 4 Travesty and Transformation
- 5 Abolitionist Acts
- 6 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter examines two commencement ceremony performances that explored the political implications of Haitian independence, one by two white Dartmouth students in 1804, and the other two decades later by Bowdoin College’s first black graduate. In these acts, Americans dramatized Haiti’s founding fathers and its emerging democracy while incorporating Haiti into performances of pedagogy and credentialing central to the American national imaginary.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Staging Haiti in Nineteenth-Century AmericaRevolution, Race and Popular Performance, pp. 61 - 90Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022