Abstract

What is the conflict of democracy? Is it reliable? Is it real? And can we put this conflict on a stage? Democracy is an unending sandbox that is constantly shifting depending on the goal posts set around it, and despite this infinite nature many people want to understand it in a finite context in order to allow it to govern people in a reliable way. In this paper I discuss not only the nature of its unreliability, but do so with a specific comparative analysis between the 2019/2020 election cycles of Bolivia and the United States in order to get a contemporary feeling for what it means when democracy is not as representative and streamlined as we would like, and what that means for our perspectives on it and our world going forward. Furthermore, in this interdisciplinary study I also discuss the process of putting such an interpersonal and political conflict on stage, and how we as humans look at other nations, people, and conflicts that are different from ourselves in evolving ways. Within this study is a play and analysis written and directed by me, involving the ways I went from researching nations and their political conflicts surrounding democracy, to a play about the people within those conflicts and their effects.

Advisor

Noriega, Jimmy

Second Advisor

Leiby, Michele

Department

Political Science; Theatre and Dance

Disciplines

Indigenous Studies | Latin American Languages and Societies | Latina/o Studies | Other Theatre and Performance Studies | Performance Studies | Playwriting | Theatre History

Keywords

Theatre, Theatre and Dance, Directing, Playwriting, Political Science, Democracy, Bolivia, United States, Politics, Conflict, Coup D'Etats, Crisis, Acting

Publication Date

2023

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2023 Victoria I. Silva