Course Description
An examination of the tragic and comic texts and performance contexts of the Greek theater. Special attention is paid to theater design and the festivals that included performance and to the reception of Greek tragedy and comedy and their re-performance, down to the modern period.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
In addition to all undergraduate requirements, graduate students
will write a major research paper and teach a class.
Athena Title
Greek Theater
Prerequisite
CLAS 1000 or CLAS 1000E or CLAS 1000H or CLAS 1010 or CLAS 1010E or CLAS 1010H or CLAS 1020 or CLAS 1020E or CLAS 1020H or CLAS 3000 or CLAS 3010 or CLAS(ANTH) 3015 or CLAS(ANTH) 3015E or CLAS 3030 or CLAS 3040 or CLAS3050 or permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
To trace the development of the texts, spaces, stagecraft, and performance contexts of the Greek theater; the theatricality of public spectacle, politics, myth and religion, poetic competition, and literary allusion; and the reception and re-performance of Greek theater. Students will study tragic and comic plays of the classical period, the architectural space of the theater, the development of stagecraft, the religious context of performance,and the connection between politics and theater, as well as the reception and evolution of Greek theater through the Western tradition.
Topical Outline
Students will begin by studying the general development of tragedy and comedy from choral poetry and religious spectacle. Students then will study the evolution of architectural spaces, stagecraft, and the context of theatrical performances. Next, students will examine various texts of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Menander. Finally, students will focus on and actually stage one play.