Designed to introduce the student to the medium of theatrical performance, its role in contemporary society, and an investigation of the components of production from conception through performance to ensuing criticism. Students are required to attend theatrical performances onand off-campus and submit a written report on each. First semester covers the development of Western drama and theater from its beginnings through Shakespeare.
Second semester brings the study up to the present day.
Readings in dramatic literature and the history of the theater are considered in their social context. Introductory seminar in areas of special interest in the field. This foundational interdisciplinary course traces four themes from classic theater through the television, plays and movies we are currently creating in the United States. We will develop interpretive perspectives from a range of disciplines and relate the works of art to current events, ideologies, and worldviews. We will develop a glossary of core concepts such as rhetoric, poetry, history, philosophy, signifying structure, politics, and social thought.