The Public Intellectual And Myth Of Heroic Resistance: A Critique Of Brecht's Post-Atomic Bomb Version Of Galileo

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Kelly Suzanne Parker (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Basak Candar

Abstract: This thesis focuses on German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s second version of his play Galileo, which he worked on in collaboration with actor Charles Laughton during the fallout of the United States’ atomic bombings. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the playwright’s notion of the public intellectual in the play as an individual who should sacrifice everything to thwart injustices and acts of violence within society. This thesis argues that, while individuals comprise systems and institutions, those structural forms of state power also create and enforce limitations upon the personal agency of people who challenge their authority. By addressing these limits and the violence of repressive institutions or systems, this thesis criticizes the expectation of “heroic” resistance as a form of romanticized overdetermination of a scholar’s agency.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Parker, S. (2017). The Public Intellectual And Myth Of Heroic Resistance: A Critique Of Brecht's Post-Atomic Bomb Version Of Galileo. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Appalachian State University. Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2017
Keywords
Galileo, Public Intellectual, Bertolt Brecht, Marxism, Epic Theatre

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