Protest Enacted: Activist Performance in the Contemporary United States

Combining approaches from the fields of performance studies, critical race theory, and transnational American studies, 'Protest EnACTed' argues for the relevance of performance in contemporary US America. Performance, this study suggests, can function as a libratory, affective, and critical practice which citizens employ to publicly express their discontent with corporate America. With the case studies on three activist collectives - 'The Church of Life After Shopping', 'The Billionaires for Bush', and 'The Yes Men' - the author discusses the aesthetic and political work of activist performance. As acts of protest, these performances are critical interventions into the cultural fabric of the United States, and a means for citizens to actively participate in political discourses. 'Protest EnACTed' thus highlights the significance of performance - as both cultural practice and theoretical concept - for the American studies project of cultural critique.