12:20p-1:10p MWF (30) 3 cr.
Theater in England and in the countries of the former British Empire
has had a social
purpose in the modern era. Especially since World War II, playwrights
have used a variety
of styles— realism, absurdism, and the techniques of political art—to
question the
established order and often to agitate for political change. In this
course we will examine
English society and some of its post-colonial regions through modern
and recent drama.
(American drama is not included in this L366 course.) Some of the
plays deal with specific
political issues and social problems, like the decline of the British
Empire, or racial
injustice in England as the country became a multicultural society in
the post-imperial age.
Some playwrights take a longer view in their art and survey the souls
of modern men and
women instead of specifying their political identity, or at least this
has been said of
absurdist dramatists like Beckett and Pinter. In this course, we will
consider how various
philosophical concerns and theatrical styles shape the dramatist’s
art.
Classes will be conducted as a combination of short lectures,
discussions, and dramatic
projects, such as reading scenes from plays aloud and giving analytic
commentary. Students
will write two essays, two exams, and a short journal of your
play-going experiences—for
example, Brian Friel’s Translations will be performed at the IU
Theater in Spring
Semester. Playwrights will include John Osborne, David Hare, Caryl
Churchill, Samuel
Beckett, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Brian Friel, and some African
writers.