The Skull and the Mirror: Theatre, Philosophy, Language

This course explores how theatre translates philosophical questions and predicaments into the language of the stage. Rather than tracing a chronological history, we will look at several key intersections drawn mainly from Shakespeare and modern/contemporary theatre. Our pairings (or triads) may include Plato-as-philosopher and Plato-as-dramatist; Nietzsche and Ibsen; Shakespeare and Ordinary Language Philosophy; Edward Albee and Speech-Act Theory; Beckett, Adorno, and Rancire; Neil LaBute and aesthetic theory; Tom Stoppard and epistemology; Michael Frayn and quantum uncertainty; Caryl Churchill and ethics. This class does not presume any previous background in either western philosophy or drama. All are welcome.