Durán, Books of Gods and Rites Bradley Smith, Mexico: A History in Art NYU/ PUCP/ UNIRIO Syllabus          Synopsis Units          Introduction          Spectacle in its pre-Columbian contexts          Unit 1          Pre-conquest performance          Unit 2          The politics and poetics of encounter          Unit 3          Theatre of Conquest and Evangelization          Unit 4          Theatricality and colonial authority Materials          Index / Search          Readings          Images          Video          Bibliographies          Online Research Interaction          Discussion Forum          WebBoard          IRC Chat          Virtual Office Hours Students          Teams          Projects          Who's Who Taught by Diana Taylor Assisted by Julie Anne Taylor Teaching Assitant: Shanna Lorenz Department of Performance Studies Tisch School of the Arts New York University 721 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, NY 10003 Tel:1.212.998.1620 Fax: 1.212.995.4571 Contact Us

The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics Annual Course The Conquest/Mexico Fall 1999 Department of Performance Studies New York University Taught by Diana Taylor assisted by Julie Anne Taylor Teaching assistant: Shanna Lorenz Office hours Meeting time: Thursdays, 1-4pm Tuesdays, 6-8 as needed Location: 721 Broadway, Room 636 Course Description This course analyzes the politics of performance in the conquest of the Americas, focusing on Mexico. From pre-Columbian times through the establishment of Spanish colonial authority, we witness a radical change in hegemonic order in which one imperial or der comes to partially eclipse another. Performance was fundamental to both indigenous and European colonial epistemology, and was a primary means through which both cultures maintained or contested social authority. We analyze the profound changes wrought on these performance cultures in their encounter with the other, and examine how performance was strategically altered and used by various social groups in order to achieve their ends. Through a careful review of primary readings and critical texts, we will try to gain an appreciation of the complex function of performance in the political drama of new world conquest and colonization. Throughout, we remain attentive to the fact that the meanings of new world performance are relative and contextual, derived from the different cultural, social, and ideological frames of reference which are brought to bear on the material. This is the first course to be taught under the auspices of the new Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. As such, the course is being taught simultaneously at NYU, at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UNI-RIO), and at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru (PUCP) in Lima. Each course follows a similarly structured syllabus, and shares an essential reading list. However, each will have a different emphasis: NYU's will focus on Mexico, UNI-RIO on Brazil, and the PUCP on Peru. The three co urses will be coordinated through this shared website, which houses course readings, translation software, and other material related to the course. In addition, students from all three countries are expected to participate in an ongoing discussion list, collaborations with students from the other institutions, and weekly live-chat sessions with instructors and students. For each unit of the course, we have organized one interactive web-based event. This course is made possible in part through the generous support of the King Juan Carlos of Spain Center at New York University.