Spring 2001	Prof. Deborah Geis (Debby)
English 328 MWF, 1:30-2:20 King 339	Rice 9 (440) 775-8579 Office hours: MWF 12:20-1:20, & by appt
	email address: Deborah.Geis@oberlin.edu

Modern Drama: Brecht to the Present

The goals of this course are for students to gain an understanding of the scope, history, and techniques of works by modern and contemporary British, American, and international playwrights from Brecht to the present, and to express this understanding through written work and course participation.

TEXTS: Please note that the following list is subject to changes.

Parks, Suzan-Lori. Venus. (TCG)

Marber, Patrick. Closer. (Grove)

Artaud, Antonin. Jet of Blood. (handout)

Brecht, Bertolt. Baal and A Man's a Man. (Grove)

Lorca, Federico Garcia. Three Tragedies. (New Directions)

Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. (Signet)

Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. (Grove)

Pinter, Harold. The Birthday Party. (Grove)

Ionesco, Eugene. The Bald Soprano. (Grove)

Handke, Peter. Offending the Audience. (FS & G)

Wilson, August. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. (Plume)

Shepard, Sam. Seven Plays. (Bantam)

Mtwa, Percy, Mbongeni Ngema, and Barney Simon. Woza Albert!

Hwang, David Henry. M Butterfly. (Plume)

Smith, Anna Deavere. Fires in the Mirror. (Anchor/Doubleday)

Churchill, Caryl. Mad Forest.

Kushner, Tony. Angels in America I: Millennium Approaches. (TCG)

McDonagh, Martin. The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Other Plays. (Vintage)

ATTENDANCE: Because our time together is extremely limited and because each class session will cover a great deal of material, it is absolutely essential that you attend class regularly, arrive on time with the required material for each session, and participate in class discussions and activities. A significant percentage of your final grade (see GRADES) will be based on your attendance and participation. If you miss more than three class meetings (not including any class for which you have a documented medical excuse), it will lower your grade. If you know that you have conflicts that will prevent you from attending class regularly and arriving promptly, please do not enroll for this course.

LATE PAPER POLICY: I expect you to hand in all work, prepared according to the format specified for each assignment, on the required due dates. If you have a good reason for submitting an assignment later than the deadline, please notify me in advance so that we can negotiate a new deadline. Any late work will be penalized by one letter grade for each weekday past the due date (e.g., a "B-" paper submitted two weekdays late becomes a "C" and so forth).

CONFERENCES: For help with your work, or if you have questions about anything else, please feel free to meet with me during my office hours. If my office hours don't fit your schedule, you may also make an appointment with me at a different time. You are also welcome to contact me by email at any time. When you make an appointment and are unable to keep it, please notify me in advance.

PLAGIARISM: Students in this course are expected to follow Oberlin's honor code. Plagiarism occurs when you use someone else's words or ideas without acknowledging the person and/or source appropriately. This includes the work of another student as well as any other type of source. For more information on proper acknowledgment of sources and on the definitions of plagiarism, you can consult a recent edition of any college writing handbook. If you have any questions about whether your use of material constitutes plagiarism, please don't hesitate to ask me. If you submit work that appears to be in violation of Oberlin's honor code, it will be submitted to the student honor code committee. Believe me, plagiarism is simply not worth the risk!

GRADES: Note that you must complete all work to pass the course.

Attendance/Participation: 10%

Scene presentations: 10%

Paper #1: 15%

Paper #2: 20%

Paper #3: 25%

Final Exam: 20%

Frankly, I would prefer not to assign you letter grades at all, but I don't have that option. Please keep in mind that a grade is my evaluation of a specific piece of work, not of "you" or of your background. Try not to become so anxious about your grade that you lose track of the more important educational aims of the course.

A FINAL WORD: Contemporary drama often contains explicit or disturbing subject matter. These playwrights may shock, frustrate, anger, or delight you; do not take the course if you prefer to avoid controversial subjects or "strong" lanaguage. Here's to an exciting and productive semester!

Always read ahead on the syllabus and make sure that you bring the relevant text(s) with you to class.

Mon. 2/5 Introduction to the course

Wed. 2/7 Suzan-Lori Parks, Venus

Fri. 2/9 Parks, Venus

 

Mon. 2/12 discussion of performance of Venus; Patrick Marber, Closer

Wed. 2/14 Marber, Closer

Friday 2/16 Marber, Closer

 

Mon. 2/19 discussion of performance of Closer; Antonin Artaud, Jet of Blood (handout)

Wed. 2/21 Brechtian theory; Bertolt Brecht, A Man's a Man

Fri. 2/23 Brecht, A Man's a Man

 

Mon. 2/26 Federico Garcia Lorca, The House of Bernarda Alba

Wed. 2/28 Lorca, The House of Bernarda Alba

Fri. 3/2 Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire; Paper #1 due

 

Mon. 3/5 Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire

Wed. 3/7 Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire

Fri. 3/9 Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

 

Mon. 3/12 Beckett, Waiting for Godot

Wed. 3/14 Beckett, Waiting for Godot

Fri. 3/16 Harold Pinter, The Birthday Party

 

Mon. 3/19 Pinter, The Birthday Party

Wed. 3/21 Eugene Ionesco, The Bald Soprano

Fri. 3/23 Ionesco, The Bald Soprano

(no class Mon. 3/26, Wed. 3/28, Fri. 3/30: spring break)

Mon. 4/2 Peter Handke, Offending the Audience

Wed. 4/4 Handke, Offending the Audience

Fri. 4/6 August Wilson, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom; Paper #2 due

 

Mon. 4/9 Wilson, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Wed. 4/11 Sam Shepard, Buried Child

Fri. 4/13 Shepard, Buried Child

 

Mon. 4/16 Mtwa et al.., Woza Albert!

Wed. 4/18 Mtwa et al.., Woza Albert!

Fri. 4/20 David Henry Hwang, M Butterfly

 

Mon. 4/23 Hwang, M Butterfly

Wed. 4/25 Anna Deavere Smith, Fires in the Mirror

Fri. 4/27 Smith, Fires in the Mirror (video)

 

Mon. 4/30 Caryl Churchill, Mad Forest

Wed. 5/2 Churchill, Mad Forest; Paper #3 due

Fri. 5/4 Tony Kushner, Angels in America I: Millennium Approaches

 

Mon. 5/7 Kushner, Angels in America

Wed. 5/9 Martin McDonagh, The Beauty Queen of Leenane

Fri. 5/11 McDonagh, The Beauty Queen of Leenane