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Without leaving campus, faculty and students from California State University, Los Angeles; California State University, East Bay; Royal Holloway, University of London and The American University of Afghanistan met in real time to discuss The Great Game: Afghanistan in November 2010. This academic gathering was held through the medium of video conference and explored the social and political history of Afghanistan, gender relations and national identity, using The Great Game as a central text.
The Tricycle Theatre’s The Great Game: Afghanistan is an epic cycle of contemporary plays which illuminate the complex culture of Afghanistan and the results of British, American and Russian encounters with local Afghans and each other over 150 years of recent history.
During the video conference, students and faculty in each of the three locations debated central events in Afghan history portrayed in The Great Game and the role contemporary drama plays in depicting national culture and identity. In an open exchange of ideas, participants explored how the complexities of the current war contrast with previous conflicts, how the lives and depictions of women in Afghanistan today compare to recent history and national divergences of interpretation through recorded culture and history.
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