| Detailed Course Description: So what is theatre in modern America, anyway? Just what have playwrights in the 20th- and 21st-century United States 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 of the past century in this country. We will discuss questions such as how social issues and historical developments influenced their works, how transformations in theatre affected the plays of the period, and how plays as a whole act as agents in constructing culture as well as reflections of the culture they inhabit. |
| Course Requirements: One in-class oral presentation, one formal response to a classmate’s presentation, weekly short response papers relating to a given week’s materials, and a research paper will be required assignments for the course. Class attendance and active participation are mandatory and expected. |
