Staging Political History: Hamilton and Broadway

American stage musicals have engaged with the political history of the United States in substantive and influential ways. This course explores this unique window into history, inviting students to examine primary source materials on which the political foundations of the United States were built. The course then investigates the processes of interpretation, critique, and dissemination of that history as it is transmitted through popular culture. We will consider the role that historians, playwrights, performers, and critics hold in determining how audiences find meaning and make sense of their own political history.