LITR264

The course will examine the history of global theater and dramatic literature; selected plays from several different regions of the world will be read in English translation. Taking a global perspective, we will study connections and divergences among many types of drama from around the world: Greek and Roman tragedy, Japan's Noh drama, India's kathakali, Chinese opera, Italy's commedia dell'arte, Spanish Golden Age, Medieval, Renaissance and Modern European drama, the negritude movement, Latin American, and/or North American drama. The course will engage students as critical audience members and will help them develop their critical and analytical skills. While it will be impossible to cover global theater in one semester, readings for the course will cover at least three historical periods and/or aesthetic movements from around the world. The course will also consider theoretical approaches to drama from around the world.