New Article Out: Co-authored with C. Balme on “The Rockefeller Connection”

“The Rockefeller Connection: Visualizing theatrical networks in the Cultural Cold War“, in Comparatio,Vol. 12, 2, 2020, 127-144.

In this co-authored article, Christopher Balme and I (both ERC project Developing Theatreat LMU Munich) examine how the Rockefeller Foundation funded theatrical initiatives in developing countries: the Philippines and Nigeria. Using visualization software, in this case the open source application Gephi, we seek to demonstrate how personal and institutional networks underpinned the cultural, specifically, theatrical development strategy of the foundation. In our paper we discuss the principles underpinning historical network analysis and analyze two case studies, Severino Montano’s Arena Theatre in Manila, and the establishment of a School of Drama at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

• This article has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 694559 – DevelopingTheatre) and is available as open access.