Cover -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Credits -- Acknowledgments -- 1 The Performing Subject: Identity and Representation in the Modern and the Postmodern Eras -- 2 Dancing with the Sun King: The Performance of Privilege in the Reign of Louis XIV -- 3 "Snip Snip Here, Snip Snip There, and a Couple of Tra-La-La's": The Rise and Fall of the Castrato Singer -- 4 Liberty, Equality, Festivity: Citizen Action and the Libratory Legacy of the French Revolution -- 5 Smoke and Mirrors: The Hysterical Woman from Zola to Freud -- 6 Communism: Coming to a Screen Near You! Benjamin, Adorno, and the Politics of Mediatization -- Conclusion: Queer Horizons-Postmodern Performativity and Political Action -- Notes -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.