About
Aycan received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, Comparative Literature Program. Her doctoral work explores the role of theater critics in shaping a theater production and reimagines their position as integral to understanding a performance as an event. Taking as its case study Turkey-affiliated Arcola Theater in London and its productions dealing with Turkey’s political history, the project ruptures the idea of a Euro-centric canon and exposes the role of reviews in representation and meaning-making. Education
Ph.D., Comparative Literature Program, The University of Texas at Austin, 2023
Dissertation: Reconceptualizing Theater Criticism: A Case Study on Arcola Theatre (Nominated for Middle Eastern Studies Association Malcolm H. Kerr Dissertation Award)
M.A., Program in British Cultural Studies (İngiliz Kültür Araştırmaları), Hacettepe University, 2010
Thesis: Women’s Status in Three Decades: Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey, Ann Jellicoe’s The Knack, and Pam Gems’ Dusa, Fish, Stas, and Vi
B.A., Dept. of English Language and Literature (İngiliz Dili ve Edebiyatı), Hacettepe University, 2007 Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
“A Theater of Networks: Reconceptualizing Theater Criticism and Theater as an Event,” The Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Fall 2023. (forthcoming)
“Problematization of the Savior Metaphor in Gillian Plowman’s Yours Abundantly, From Zimbabwe.” B.A.S. Journal of British and American Studies, Spring/Fall 23, 2017, pp. 27-37.
“The Burst of the Real and the Law in Philip Ridley’s Mercury Fur.” Interactions Ege Journal of British and American Studies, Spring/Fall vol. 26.1-2, 2017, pp. 1-13.
Book Chapter
“Constructing Political Narratives: Stage Adaptation of #WeAreArrested and its Critical Reception.” Theatres of Resilience: Navigating Censorship, Gender, Intersectionality in Turkey (forthcoming)
Under Review
Akçamete, Aycan, translator. Postdramatik Tiyatro [Postdramatisches Theater], by Hans-Thies Lehmann, İmge Yayınevi Projects
Reconceptualizing Theater Criticism and Theater as an Event: The Reception of Arcola Theatre Productions (a monograph based on my dissertation project) Memberships
American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA)
American Society for Theater Research (ASTR)
Association for Theater in Higher Education (ATHE)
Modern Language Association (MLA)
The Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA)
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA)