Title: 20TH CENTURY BRITISH DRAMA

PRQ:

 Honors  The very title of this course is surprisingly complex: just what does it mean to be “British”? What purposes does “drama” serve? And how might either of these issues have changed over the recent tumultuous history of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? What have playwrights in this island nation (that both is, and is not, part of a much larger continent) found to write about, and what influence does the genre of drama itself have upon their treatment of their works? In this course, we will be engaged in an intensive exploration of plays by some of the most important (if also unusual) playwrights and theatre practitioners of the past century in Britain. We will consider questions such as how social issues and historical developments influenced their works, how transformations in theatre affected their plays, and how plays as a whole act as agents in constructing culture as well as reflections of the culture they inhabit.

Two shorter essays, one group project, one oral performance, a final exam, and class participation will be evaluated in this course. Attendance in class is both expected and mandatory.

TBA