Theatre Histories: An Introduction

General Introduction.  Part I: Performance in Oral and Manuscript Cultures.  Introduction: Speech, Writing, and Performance  1. From Oral to Literate Performance  2. Pleasure, Power, and Aesthetics: Theatre in Early Literate Societies, 500 BCE–1450 CE  3. Commemorative Drama and Carnival.  Part II: Theatre and Performance in Early Print Cultures.  Introduction: Performance, Printing, and Political Centralization  4. Secular and Early Professional Theatre, 1250–1650  5. Theatre and the Print Revolution, 1550–1650  6. Theatres of Absolutism, 1600–1770.  Part III: Theatre and Performance in Periodical Print Cultures.  Introduction: Theatre for Bourgeois Civil Society  7. Theatre and Sentiment: Newspapers, Private Lives, and the Bourgeois Public Sphere, 1700–1785  8. Nationalism in the Theatre, 1760–1880  9. Performing "Progress": From Imperial Display to the Triumph of Realism and Naturalism, 1790–1914  10. New Media Divide the Theatres of Print Culture, 1870–1930.  Part IV: Theatre and Performance in Electric and Electronic Communication Culture.  Introduction: Theatre and the Unceasing Communications Revolutions  11. New Theatres for Revolutionary Times, 1910–1950  12. The Aftermath of World War II: Realism and its Discontents in an Increasingly Shrinking World, 1940–1970  13. Art, Politics or Business?: Theatre in Search of Identity, 1968–2000  14. Theatres of Local Roots and Global Reach (1970–Present)  15. Theatre in Networked Culture, 1990–Present.  Glossary

"When the first edition of Theatre Histories appeared in 2006 it set a new standard in the field for breadth of geographical coverage, for exploring the inter-relation of theatre with social and cultural history, and for its in-depth presentation of historical methodology. The new third edition further excels in all of these areas as well as being tied to an excellent online supplement."
- Marvin Carlson, Distinguished Professor, The City University of New York
"The third edition is a bold reworking of an already revolutionary text. The major restructuring of the chapters, case studies, and theoretical frames give the text laser clarity and make it easier to integrate into the curriculum. The diverse range of case studies makes this text deeply engaging. The authors of this volume present us yet again with a brilliant and provocative examination of the study of theatre history with its ambitious range and innovative critique of the historical narrative. Through Theatre Histories, the third edition, McConachie, Nellhaus, Sorgenfrei, and Underiner strike that rare balance, simultaneously teaching the historical meta-narrative while interrogating and subverting the concept of metanarratives. The book provides a dynamic platform for students and instructors alike to engage thoughtfully with the history of the theatre."
- E.J. Westlake, Associate Professor of Theatre and English, University of Michigan