Biography
I am a member of the Performance Research Group at King’s and a member of the board of Performance Studies international (PSi), for which I am co-chair of the Emerging Scholars Committee.
Research Interests and PhD Supervision
My research is interdisciplinary both in its objects and methods of study. Focusing primarily on the period of the late 1950s to the present, I write about a range of art forms, including theatre, performance art, live art, film, photography, and conceptual art. I am interested in the relationships between these forms as well as in the languages we use to describe them, and much of my work is concerned with investigating how the discourses coming out of theatre, performance studies, art history, and related disciplines differently frame and understand these art practices.
In addition, I am interested in how theories of performance can help us to understand the social world—from the performativity of everyday life to the staging of particular events including political protest actions. One thing that unites my research is a concern with the politics and ethics of the relations produced by works in particular contexts—whether the relations between audience and performer, viewer and artwork, or object and surrounding environment. This extends to an interest in the ethics of the critical relationship itself—a concern that I have pursued in different ways in articles on the status of judgment in Jacques Derrida’s “Force of Law” essay, and on the relationship between critics and artists in the Women’s One World Festivals of the early 1980s. I work on and with a range of theoretical discourses including performance theory, feminist theory, queer theory, psychoanalysis, and phenomenology.
I welcome inquiries from prospective PhD students interested in working on topics in theatre and performance studies and/or gender and sexuality studies. In particular, I welcome applications from students interested in:
- performance art and live art
- feminist and queer theory and performance
- inter-media practices and inquiry
- performance in the social world, including theories of performativity
- the ethics and/or politics of theatre and performance practices
For more details, please see my full research profile.Selected Publications
Teaching
I teach/have taught the following modules at King’s:
Undergraduate:
- Introducing Literary Theories
- Gender and Performance
- Art and Language
- Modern Theatre
Postgraduate:
- Imprints of Performance
- Performance Research Methods
- Theatre and Performance Theory (beginning 2011-2012)
- Theatre and Performance Research Methods (beginning 2011-2012)
Expertise and Public Engagement
Distinctions:
- The Chancellor’s Dissertation Year Fellowship, UC Berkeley (2007 - 2008)
- The Berkeley Fellowship (2002 - 2007)
Grants:
- Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Research Grant, UC Berkeley (2005)
- Consortium for the Arts Curriculum Development Award, UC Berkeley (2005)
- International Center for Advanced Theater Studies Full Scholarship (2005)
- University Fellowship, Graduate Center, City University of New York (1999 - 2001)
-
Shalson, L., 27 Jul 2017, Palgrave Macmillan. (Theatre &) Research output: Book/Report - Book
-
Shalson, L., Aug 2013, In : Contemporary Theatre Review. 23, 3, p. 432-441 10 p., N/A. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1080/10486801.2013.810148
-
Shalson, L., 2013, Critical Live Art: Contemporary Histories of Performance in the UK. Johnson, D. (ed.). Routledge Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding - Chapter
-
Shalson, L., 2013, In : Contemporary Theatre Review. 23, 1, p. 80-82 3 p. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1080/10486801.2013.765128
-
Shalson, L., Oct 2012, In : Performance Research Journal. 17, 5, p. 98-106 9 p., N/A. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2012.728448
-
Shalson, L., Mar 2012, In : Contemporary Theatre Review. 22, 1, p. 106-119 14 p., N/A. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1080/10486801.2011.645282
-
Shalson, L., 2010, In : Tdr-The Drama Review-A Journal Of Performance Studies. 54, 3, p. 174 - 176 3 p. Research output: Contribution to journal - Book/Film/Article review
-
Shalson, L., 2010, In : Contemporary Theatre Review. 20, 2, p. 235 - 237 3 p. Research output: Contribution to journal - Book/Film/Article review
-
Shalson, L., Dec 2008, In : Colloquy: Text Theory Critique. 2008, 16, p. 131 - 145 15 p. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article
-
Shalson, L., 2005, In : Theatre Topics. 15, 2, p. 221 - 239 19 p. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article