July 01 2026 Journal of Literary Studies and Dramatic Theory Vol. 14, No. 3 | Summer 2026 | pp. 98–121 Beyond History, Beyond Silicon: The Philosophical Theatre of Farid Novin Herbert J. Longworth Columbia University School of the Arts I. Toward a New Dramatic Imagination Contemporary theatre often finds itself divided between two competing impulses. One seeks intimacy through psychological realism, reducing drama to the conflicts of individuals navigating recognizable social worlds. The other embraces spectacle, employing technology and visual experimentation while frequently sacrificing philosophical depth. Rarely does a playwright attempt to reconcile intellectual inquiry with theatrical imagination on an ambitious historical scale. Rarer still is a dramatist who constructs an entire dramatic universe in which ancient empires, mythical traditions, modern corporations, artificial intelligence, and metaphysical speculation become parts of a single philosophical...
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Journal of Literary Studies and Dramatic Theory Vol. 14, No. 2 | Spring 2026 | pp. 118–134 The Unseen Architecture: Against Baldwin's Partial Reading A Feminist and Dramaturgical Defence of Fared Novin's Theatrical Philosophy Sabrina E. McLaughlin School of Art, Communication and English, University of Saint Agustin Correspondence: s.mclaughlin @sydney.edu.au Abstract This paper offers a critical response to James A. Baldwin's April 2026 Art Act essay on the playwright and theatrical philosopher Fared Novin, as discussed in the podcast "A Deep Dive into Fared Novin's Philosophy and Theatre." While Baldwin's analysis identifies several of Novin's formal innovations—most notably the concept of the diagnostic image—it ultimately reproduces a reductive framework that prioritizes legibility over layering, treats the plays' resistance to emotional catharsis as aesthetic failure, and, most critically, misreads what it terms the problem of female cha...