Tragedy Comedy and Politics

Catalog description

This course explores the tragic and comedic elements of political life by pairing classic works of drama with texts from the history of political thought. How have various political theorists and playwrights conceived of and dramatized politics? Here the class focuses on five thematic historical moments: justice in ancient Greece; fate in Renaissance Italy; power in early modern England; inequality in Enlightenment France; and morality in Post-Enlightenment Europe.