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Unit 1 · Methods & SourcesWho Gets to Write History?
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Practice · Global

Reconstruction and Re-enactment

Attempts to rebuild historical performances, spaces, or practices from surviving evidence.

Examples include Shakespeare's Globe in London (opened 1997) and 'original practices' productions, as well as reconstructions of lost dances and staging. Reconstruction is a form of research: every choice fills gaps with interpretation.

Critics ask whether reconstructions recover the past or produce a new performance that claims its authority.

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