Monday, March 25, 2024

Susanna Weygandt receives Kennan Institute Scholar Grant

Susanna Weygandt received the Kennan Institute Scholar 6-month grant at the Woodrow Wilson for International Scholarship in Washington D.C. to develop a digital platform of transnational theatre for social change in Central and Eastern Europe and in Russia that exhibits some of her scholarship and some visuals of performances. The platform will build upon the research in her soon-to-be-published book, From Metaphor to Direct Speech: Performance Theory and Drama in Contemporary Russia (University of Wisconsin Press, 2025), but will also branch into theatre for social change particularly in Belarus and Ukraine. Translations of several documentary dramas and manifestos from the region will be published on the site. Writers working in the unique genre of documentary drama often meet at workshops and festivals. Through drama for social change writers in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus are in dialogue with one another in a productive way. Her platform exemplifies the four most critical components of proper digital humanities projects: housing a special collection, exhibition of material from that collection, the means for international collaboration, and the use of a search engine.