Jordanian Futurities between Ancient Antiquities and Performances of Urban Life

Present-day Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is the site of remarkable civilizations of Antiquity. In Jordan, the Eastern civilizations of Ammon, Moab, Canaan, Assyria, and Babylon thrived as did the Romans and the Persians. Today, the most visible of Jordan's ancient world are the Roman, Nabatean, and Islamic civilizations. The proposed course takes cultural artifacts as the foundational blocks of the Levant, asking a fundamental question about how a contemporary state exists on top and beside the ancient past, by exploring three cities: Petra, Jerash, and Amman. All three cities have large Amphitheatres that suggest a particular pattern of growth over time, and play a major role in how these cities function today as tourist attractions and geography for performances of everyday life. In these three case studies, students will investigate how theatre and performance, along with culture in its broadest definition, have shaped the destiny of the Levant historically and the present-day Hashemite Kingdom. We will ask: How did three major metropolitan cities that stretch back to antiquity develop into very different urban living spaces today? Why do all of them have a massive theatrical space in their midst? What conclusions can be drawn from the stunted development of Petra, the semi-developed city of Jerash, and the highly developed capital city, Amman, based on the position and the level of activity in their theatrical spaces over time?