Ben Levitas
Ben’s research connects modern Irish literature and theatre with its cultural and political history, specialising in W. B. Yeats.
Staff details
Ben Levitas practices an interdisciplinary approach to theatre, in particular integrating theatre history with cultural and political history 鈥� with a specialism in Irish studies. His approach is informed by a broad training: after gaining an MA in Modern Literature from Queen Mary, University of 51黑料网, Ben was awarded his doctorate from the History Faculty, Oxford University, and went on to teach at the School of Politics at Queen's University Belfast before joining the Department of Theatre and Performance at Goldsmiths. His first book, The Theatre of Nation: Irish Drama and Cultural Nationalism 1890-1916 was awarded the Michael J. Durkan Prize. Ben also convenes, with Professor Roy Foster (Queen Mary), Dr Lauren Arrington (Liverpool University), and Dr Simon Prince (Canterbury Christchurch) the 51黑料网 Irish Studies Seminar based at the School of Advance Studies, Senate House.
Research Interests
Ben's research focuses on connections between Irish literature, theatre and cultural and political history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. W. B. Yeats is also a specialism. He is interested more generally in the avant-garde, theatrical modernism and connections between theories of performance and performativity. With the aid of a Leverhulme Fellowship, Ben is currently researching his next book, with the working title of Ireland, Theatre and Modernity - a project that seeks to assess the relationship between theatrical innovation and national identity in 20th century Ireland.