Dangerous Acts: Theater, Transgression, and Social Justice, Ancient and Modern
CLST 327
Fall 2021 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
THEA 327 |
The first plays in the history of theater feature transgressive acts: murder, illicit sex, violence, and torture. Action-packed, gory, and heart-wrenching, these spectacles of mass entertainment were also staged specifically to "train" citizens to be thoughtful legislators, jurists, and policy makers. They were deliberately crafted to make audiences grapple with demanding questions--legal, ethical, and moral: the "laws" of war; discrimination (based on gender, class, ethnic background); privacy and political participation; confession, guilt, and punishment; anger and sympathy in decision-making, and much more.
In this course, we will read a selection of Greek plays, ancient and modern critical works, and modern adaptations to consider the role of theater in politics, aesthetics, and social and emotional engineering.
Readings from antiquity will include plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes and readings from Plato and Aristotle. Modern works will include plays and writings by Jean-Paul Sartre, Bertolt Brecht, Sarah Kane, Yael Farber, and movie adaptations.
This course will fall under the Poetry & Performance and History/Social Justice tracks. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA CLAS |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CLST-History, P)(CLST-Literature)(THEA) |
Major Readings:
Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes.
Selections from: Plato's Republic and Laws, Aristotle' Poetics
Plays by J-P. Sartre, B. Brecht, Y. Farber, Sarah Kane
Selections from Brecht's Short Organum for the Theater and Sartre's writings on existentialism and the emotions.
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Examinations and Assignments:
3 papers, short responses, in-class presentation, creative project |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Some background in classical literature and/or history preferred.
Synchronous attendance required.
The three-hour meeting will most likely be broken down into two meetings: a two-hour meeting during our regularly scheduled time (with a break); and an additional one-hour meeting and/or activity connected to the seminar, at a time that works for the group. At the moment, all meetings are planned to take place on-line. If conditions and space allow, some of the one-hour meetings may take place in-person.
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