Office Hours: Performance and Play With Professor Christopher Grobe

When Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, the scenes were bizarre, contradictory, and seemingly incomprehensible. There were horrible acts of violence and terrible, premeditated crimes on the one side, but at the same time and in the same building, there were also people in silly costumes live streaming, posting memes, and taking selfies with the police. In his forthcoming article, Associate Professor and Chair of English Christopher Grobe calls what happened at these riots a “weird coexistence of violence and play.” How is it possible that violence and play can coexist? And, what, exactly, does “play” mean, in this context?

Episode notes and further reading.