WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2021-2022       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
(Un)Popular Performances/Performances (Im)Populaires
CHUM 363
Spring 2022 not offered
Crosslisting: COL 363, FREN 363, MDST 363, THEA 363

In 1607, a young Scotsman named William Drummond was studying law in Bourges, France, a popular "study abroad destination" for Scottish students as well as an important stopover city on the routes of itinerant professional and amateur actors. While in Bourges, these actors performed a variety of different kinds of plays, including tragedies, comedies, tragicomedies, pastorals, and farces. Although these performances were often met with hostility from the city's religious authorities, Drummond attended several plays during his stay and, lucky for us, took rather detailed notes about them. His observations from the 1607 "season" are preserved in his personal papers in the National Library of Scotland.

This course will use Drummond's notes as a guide to discover and examine other forms of evidence--both traditional and nontraditional--that help us understand what was at stake in theater, performance, and (un)popular culture in late 16th- and early 17th-century France. We will study the ways the past has been organized and cataloged, how traditional sources and research have shaped our view of the past, and how unconventional methodologies can help us locate new sites of knowledge and culture. Written assignments, class discussions, and (most) readings will be in French.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA CHUM
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode:
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Requirement for: (ARHA)(FRST-MN)(FRST)

Last Updated on DEC-11-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459