Theatre and Globalization (Coursera)

Syllabus

Week 1

Definitions, Methods, and Resources for Writing Global Theatre Histories

Introductions with definitions of "theatre" and "globalization"; conceptualizing 'global theatre histories'; overview of online resources for researching the history of theatre during the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Week 2

Theatre on the move: Migration, Mobility and Modernization

How we can relate migration and mobility to the dissemination of theatre.

Week 3

Global Players: Actors, Managers and Agents

Actors, Managers, and Theatrical Agents; with a focus on the people who organized the global migration of theatre.

Week 4

Global Hubs and Local Theatres

Theatre Buildings as 'Cultural Hubs' and 'Contact Zones'; methodologies and concepts for approaching theatres as places where different people, languages, and cultures met and interacted.

Week 5

East versus West: Cold War Rivaleries

Theatre and the Cold War; theatre as a site of the rivalry between East and West.

Week 6

Festivalization, Megamusical and Theatrical Global Media

Festivals, Megamusicals, and Livestreaming; how contemporary types of theatre reflect globalization and new technologies.