MUS 305 - History of the Musical

Credits: 4

A historical survey of the American musical on stage and screen emphasizing major historical developments, common structural features, production histories, significant performers and creators, and the muiscal’s social, political, and economic contexts. As both the history and the historiography of the musical is inextricably bound to conversations about race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, class, and national identity in the United States, this class will also address the factors that have shaped such identity categories and how musical theater negotiates, reflects, and shapes the complex networks of power structures and systems of social power in the US. Prerequisites - MUS 215 or THEA 207 and THEA 208. Offered in Spring.