Two Nordic playwrights, Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, are widely considered pioneers of modern drama, and filmmakers Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann have also been celebrated for their work in theater. This course examines the global legacy of these pioneers and the Nordic region's subsequent innovations in theater and drama. Topics: national romanticism, realism, naturalism, symbolism, expressionism, surrealism, and feminist and diasporic theater. We will study each play as performance as well as text. Note: This course will be linked to a special Strindberg Symposium at Harvard, as well as local performances of Strindberg's plays, in honor of the centennial of the playwright's death.