Jill Susan Dolan (May 30, 1957) is an American educator, author, blogger and feminist. She writes on
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
,
sexuality studies
Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...
, and
feminist theory
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and femi ...
. Since July 2015, Dolan has been the Dean of the College at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
, where she is also the Annan Professor in English and a professor of theatre studies in the Lewis Center for the Arts. Prior to Princeton, Dolan served as the Department Head of Theater and Dance at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, and as Professor at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
. Dolan's notable works include her blog ''The Feminist Spectator'', for which she received the 2011 George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism, and ''Theater and Sexuality''. Dolan also edited Menopausal Gentlemen: Plays and Performances of
Peggy Shaw
Peggy Shaw (born July 27, 1944) is an actor, writer, and producer living in New York City. She is a founding member of the Split Britches and WOW Cafe Theatre, and is a recipient of several Obie Awards, including two for Best Actress for he ...
which won the
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted ...
for Best LGBT Drama.
Dolan has received numerous accolades and achievements throughout her career as an educator. She received the William Kiekhofer Award for Excellence in Teaching from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
, where she held a faculty position from 1988 to 1994. In 2006, Dolan was inducted into the University of Texas at Austin's Academy of Distinguished Teachers. In 2011, Dolan was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award from the Association for Theater in Higher Education as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women and Theater Program.
Jill Dolan received her PhD in performance studies from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
.
Dolan was elected as a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...
in 2016.
Notable work
Jill Dolan's blog, ''The Feminist Spectator'' (which launched in 2005) received the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism in 2012. Dolan was "only the seventh woman out of 56 winner's in the prize's history" (Fricker).
While much of her blog consists of theatrical criticism, Dolan also regularly provides commentary on film and television. Dolan's blog frequently incorporates "issues of gender and sexuality (and difference, more broadly)" (Fricker).
Jill Dolan's ''Theater & Sexuality'' is part of Palgrave and Macmillan's Theater& series, a compilation of titles by various experts in the Theatrical discipline that seeks to analyze intersectional themes in theater for a wider audience. While Dolan receives criticism for limiting her explorations to an explicitly Western canon of theatrical literature (Sloan 323),
she is praised for her ability to take the complexity of sexuality, identity, and LGBTQ subjects and facilitate them toward a broad audience without losing the nuances of each subject. Dolan formats her book with an introduction by
Tim Miller, a historical overview of sexuality within the theory and practice of theater, the social constructionist frame of thought as defined by
Michel Foucault
Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and ho ...
and
Judith Butler
Judith Pamela Butler (born February 24, 1956) is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory. In 1993, Butle ...
and finishes her work with a textual analysis of ''Belle Reprieve''. Throughout, the book Dolan guides a general audience through the history of LGBTQ rights, performances, and practice through the theatrical medium.
Other works include: ''Wendy Wassertein'' (University of Michigan Press, 2017), ''Utopia in Performance: Finding Hope at the Theater'' (Michigan, 2005), and ''Presence and Desire: Essays on Gender, Sexuality, Performance'' (Michigan, 1994).
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Jill
Princeton University faculty
University of Texas at Austin faculty
University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
New York University alumni
1957 births
Living people