his course examines theatre and performance in the context of the broader urban, artistic and political cultures housing them from the Renaissance to the mid-19th century. Encompassing multiple cultures and traditions, it will draw on a variety of readings and viewings designed to locate the play, playwright, trend or concept under discussion within a specific socio-historical context. The evolution of written and performed drama, theatre architecture, and scenography will be examined in tandem with the evolution of various nationalisms, population shifts, and other commercial and material forces on theatrical entertainments. Readings consequently will be drawn not only from plays and other contemporary documents, but also from selected works on the history, theory, design, technology, art, politics or society of the period under discussion.