Japan’s rich theater traditions will be explored by examining early Japanese religious rituals and festivals and their evolution into traditional theater forms. The course will focus principally on traditional theater still performed regularly today: noh, kyôgen, bunraku, and kabuki. Instructional methods will include lectures, discussion, readings, slide presentations, and screenings. Several class meetings will also be devoted to learning basic physical movements of performance styles to gain a physical understanding of traditional performance forms. This course may be used to satisfy an elective requirement for the English major. Satisfies a requirement for a minor in Asian studies and this course satisfies the Core Exploration Cultural Literacy requirement