Course Description: World Theatre I
This course examines the origins of theater practices around the world and the development of performance until the mid-Seventeenth Century. It covers oral, ritual, and shamanic performance in the ancient world; dramatic festivals in ancient Greece and Rome; religious and civic festivals in medieval Europe; theatrical traditions in Egypt and Japan; pre-Columbian performance in Latin America; Sanskrit drama in India; English, and Spanish drama during the Renaissance. It aims to decentralize the Western canon and provide a wider and more nuanced understanding of theater and performance practices around the world.