THTR 329 Tragedy and Religion
This course will examine textual and cultural intersections of tragedy and religion in theatrical performance and dramatic literature. Students will explore in discussion and written form the interplay and tensions between tragedy as a dramatic form and religious texts, traditions, and practices. They will read and analyze plays in light of theories of tragedy as well as religious texts and practices from both Western and non-Western religious traditions. The course will consider how concepts of tragedy have responded to different social, historic, and religious contexts and modes of performance. Students will discuss how one might read tragedy today against recent scientific and technological advances and theorize the “post-human” future of the tragic form.