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Performative politics, political theater, politics as performance art — the language we use to describe politics today is often drawn from the performing arts and performance theory. In this course, through readings in drama and performance theory, and through performance-minded attention to political events, we will study what theater scholar Janelle Reinelt and politics scholar Shirin Rai have called the shared “grammar of politics and performance.” Case studies will center on US politics since World War II, but students are invited and welcome to bring their knowledge of other periods and cultures to the conversation. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students.