Performance and Performativity

In the following, I am concerned, on the one hand, with reconstructing the ‘rhizomatic’ ramifications of the theoretical field of performance/performativity and, on the other hand, with isolating two prototypes of the performative that partially overlap. Against the backdrop of these prototypes, I will discuss how the various approaches extrapolate, combine, and postulate specific characteristics in order to explain why they not only diverge, but sometimes completely contradict each other. Finally, I will suggest how a more limited conception of the performative reconnected with its original theoretical horizon can be made useful for literary studies even though the underlying theories must be reformulated in a specifically text-oriented way.