Jane E. Goodman has long been fascinated by cultural forms of expression. She began researching Algerian theater in 2008, when she spent a year in Algeria working with five theater troupes in the cities of Oran and Mostaganem. When one of the troupes, Istijmam Culturelle, was selected by the Center Stage program of the U.S. State Department to tour the United States in 2016, she knew she wanted to write about the experience. The tour is the focus of her new book Staging Cultural Encounters: Algerian Actors
Goodman is on the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University, where she teaches courses on performance, intertextuality, power and violence, and identity and difference, with particular focus on North Africa and the Middle East.
Research Websites Staging Cultural Encounters: Algerian Actors Tour the United States This site chronicles the US tour of the Algerian troupe Istijmam Culturelle in 2016. It includes links to videos featured in the book as well as tour galleries, rehearsal footage, videos of the play Apples , actor profiles, and more.