Academic Register 2014-2015 
    
    Mar 19, 2024  
Academic Register 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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ATH 104 - Introduction to Study of Literature: Drama

Course Units: 1
(same as EGL 102  ) (Winter, Spring; Wareh) Confusion about identity is a theme that we encounter time and again in the history of drama. Not only do plays acted on the stage abound in examples of characters who switch places or are mistaken for each other, they also provide a forum for individual characters to question their relationship with the people and culture that surround them. Even as plays stage the most private of feelings in a public setting, they also suggest that human interactions frequently involve playing a role.  In this course, we will ask how different representations of disguise help to articulate the themes with which drama is so concerned. Throughout our examination of mix ups, imposters, and identity crises in plays that range from ancient times to the present day, we will pay attention to both the conventions of drama and the changing social place of the theater. While the theatrical devices we will study might seem like simple formulas, what is fascinating about drama is the way in which the conventional building blocks of plays can be combined, innovated, and reworked in endless permutations of comedy and tragedy. The syllabus will include a wide variety of works by authors such as Euripides, William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, Eugène Ionesco, Lorraine Hansberry, Arthur Miller, August Wilson, and Yasmina Reza.  One of the most important aspects of the course will be the development of your ability to express your insights about the plays we read in your own written work. There will be frequent informal written assignments designed to help you build up to the longer papers. CC: HUM



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