Film Media Theater 230FH - Intermediate Courses in History and Theory: 'From Civil War to Factory Floor: 200 Years of History Plays'

The word theatre, derived from the Greek word theatron, means "seeing place". How do plays reflect vital aspects of time, place, and people? In this class, we'll use dramatic texts as lenses through which to better understand key historical periods and movements of the last 200 years. What new perspective can we gain from Suzan-Lori Parks' dramatization of the American Civil War in Father Comes Home From the Wars? How does Brecht's Mother Courage reflect the rise of fascism in the late 1930s? What does Tony Kushner's Angels in America tell us about the impacts of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s? And how does Lynn Nottage's 2015 play Sweat invite us to grapple with the complexities of polarized politics in 21st Century America? Students will endeavor to engage critically with these questions, and more. This course will have a moderate to heavy reading-load and will culminate in a significant research paper.

Prereq: 4 credits in Film Media Theater.