Power Plays: Politics on Stage

What makes art political? How do human bodies onstage convey meaning within a given political context? What can theatre teach us about power and conflict? Can art be a catalyst for social change? In this course we will explore these and other questions by reading a wide range of plays about power and war. Students will also engage in theoretical and historical readings and reflect on a variety of political issues with an emphasis on politics, borders, class, and the human body. Playwrights will include Euripides, Anna Deveare Smith, Lynn Nottage, Shakespeare, Martyna Majok, Charles Fuller, Caryl Churchill, Quiara Alegria Hudes and Sarah Kane.