TDPS 332 - Theater in History

Credit Hours: 4
Frequency of Offering: Offered in alternate years, usually in the fall semester

This course is designed to provide methods and materials for the study of theater history and historiography. Students will undertake a historical exploration of the cultural, theoretical, literary, and practical components of performance practices in a range of periods and cultures. Using selected works of dramatic literature and theatrical performance as a basis for study, the course will introduce concepts in three areas of historical performance: text, performance conventions, and audience. Students will examine major periods of theatrical activity as specific cultural constructions and will learn how the elements of theater are historically determined and how they combine to make meanings on the stage. Sample topics of study will include Asian, Indonesian, African, Western classical, Iberian, European, and American performance traditions from their origins through the mid-19th century.

Course Satisfies: Core Curriculum requirement in Humanities.