• This is a 12-week, in-person course that meets on campus every Monday and Wednesday 9/11/23- 12/13/23. Final exams are Wednesday Dec 13, 2023.
• The required textbook is A Primer in Theatre History: from the Greeks to the Spanish Golden Age by William Grange. It is available online and through our Blackboard site (no need to purchase texts).
• Official Check In & CUNY Policy. In order to stay enrolled in the class, you must either physically attend a class or turn in a homework assignment before Sept 26th. If not, you will be unenrolled for the rest of the semester.
• UNIQUE CLASS STRUCTURETheatre history is alive in the current theatre of today! Each week, you will get an opportunity to embody the storytelling techniques of a specifically time period and culture… that means, you will be learning through your body and in collaboration with groups.
• The class is organized into one week modules that begin every Monday. You will be studying the following units: origins of theatre, ancient Greeks, Romans, Sanskrit drama, Medieval theatre, classical Chinese, classical Japanese, Italian Renaissance (Commedia dell’Arte), English Renaissance & Shakespeare, and the Spanish Golden Age.
• Each module contains a lecture / PowerPoint, a study guide for you to take notes during class, a journal assignment online, a discussion post online, and active theatre-making group activities.
• Remember to ask for help or guidance whenever you need it!
• IMPORTANT NOTE: My teaching is collaborative and student-centered, which means YOU will get to shape the syllabus! This means that this syllabus is subject to change. In Week 1, you and your classmates will be negotiating and vote upon:
  • (1) a contract/constitution for how class time will be spent
• (2) a fair and just attendance policy
• (3) multiple forms of participation that give everyone room to participate
• (4) how you will be given feedback and grades
• (5) Replacing up to two time units on a time period / culture of your choice (pre-Shakespeare)

I believe everyone is capable of learning and the differences each person brings into a course enrich the learning of the group. Each person learns at a unique rhythm, which is precisely why I love online classes! Unlike a live classroom, asynchronous online environments, like ours, provide you with added time to think and reflect before you engage. They create a seat at the table for everyone. They also encourage us to use the world as our classroom. I design my courses to showcase and celebrate the diversity of the members of our learning community and to encourage each student to connect our course content to their own life.

History is not objective! Who witnessed it, how it was told and who is telling it now comes from those privileged enough to record and publish it. I acknowledge that much of historical research and publications have been the work of white men. With that in mind, I have tried to select topics and activities that broaden the voice of theatre history as well as consider and respect difference. However, although I have tried to address some inequities, there may be both overt and covert biases in the materials you read during the course. I hope we can point these out and address them together instead of assuming these biases as truth. If you have any suggestions to improve the quality of the course materials, please contact me. One of my teaching goals is to create a learning environment that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives, and experiences, and honors your identities (including race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, ability, etc.).