ENLT 565: Ibsen, Strindberg and Shaw

Munch, Dance of Life
Edvard Munch, The Dance of Life (1899-1900), oil on canvas, National Gallery, Oslo

Spring 2012: Tuesdays 5:30-8 in UN 3052
http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/565s12.html
<http://english.montclair.edu>

Prof. Wendy Nielsen
Office Hours: drop in Tuesdays 2:30-5:30, & by appt. in Dickson Hall 352.
Email: nielsenw@mail . . . 

Texts available at University Bookstore (please use assigned translations):

Theater Reviews and Secondary/Critical Readings are available via Blackboard and/or the syllabus; the bibliography is located here. Please bring these assigned texts to class please.

Course description: What is the tragedy of the modern family? How are family members expected to perform? And can the theater even begin to portray the comedy and tragedy (or tragicomedy) that is modern life? Late nineteenth-century European theater raised these and other intimate questions to shocked readers and audiences. We will read the three playwrights of this course's title—Henrik Ibsen (Doll House, Hedda Gabler), August Strindberg (Miss Julie, The Father), and George Bernard Shaw (Candida, Mrs. Warren's Profession)—in the context of the social issues raised by the Naturalist movement: the woman question, hysteria, and the New Woman. Students will leave this course with knowledge about these plays' performance histories and with a better appreciation for the ways in which literary movements cross national boundaries (from Germany to Norway, Sweden, England, and Ireland). In addition to the "three great modern playwrights" mentioned in the course catalog description, we will examine two German plays—Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind and one of the few Naturalist plays written by a woman, Twilight, by Holocaust survivor Elsa Bernstein (writing under a male pseudonym, Ernst Rosmer).

Click here to get an explanation of my shorthand on Style issues, and my criteria for grading: http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/correction.html

#1: The Spirit of a Democratic Classroom: Respect, Collegiality, and Integrity

#2: Participation (10%) incl. regular attendance, timely completion of weekly readings, contribution to class discussion, 1 presentation of a Position Paper, and participation in peer review sessions

 #3: Position Paper Portfolio (40%): Please click here for the assignment--http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/565pospaper.html

 #4: Annotated Bibliography (10%): Annotate 3 recent (less than 10 years old) peer-reviewed sources for your Final Essay. Put the full citation of the article, book, or book chapter first, and then answer the following questions, in about 5 to 10 sentences: 1) What is the author’s argument? 2) How does the author support this argument? What kinds of evidence does she use? 3) What does the author hope to accomplish by writing this piece? What kinds of biases might the author have? 4) Who is the author’s audience? To what kind of scholarly debate is she contributing? 5) In what ways is this piece relevant for your own research question? You should carefully distinguish (in each and every sentence) which ideas can be attributed to one of these three authors, and which ideas are the product of your own thinking. You must cite every time you report an author's ideas, not only by citing page numbers, but also by indicating through words and phrasing ("According to Smith's book Literature . . . "; "The author of this article argues . . . ") that you are reporting second-hand information. Failure to do so will result in a point being taken off every sentence that does not properly cite and attribute the source of ideas (a core tenet of academic writing).

 #5: Final Essay, 12-20 pages on 1 or 2 texts (40%): The Final Essay should represent new, innovative, and provocative research, reading, and thinking on at least one text read in this course (or two, or a combination of one text from this course material, and a text we did not read in this course). You could consider comparing one of the dramas we read to one from Modern Drama by Women 1880s-1930 (see Blackboard).

As with any seminar paper, you should begin with a research question that is the product of critical thinking, close reading of the primary text(s), and extensive outside reading of scholarly sources and performance reviews, all of which should be carefully documented in your paper. I will not put a number on the required number of secondary articles, but excellent scholars try to be thorough; in any case, I will examine the quality of your research. Please be sure to distinguish your ideas from those of other scholars and thinkers (as with the Annotated Bibliography, failure to do so will result in a point being taken off every sentence that does not properly cite and attribute the source of ideas). Excellent papers will likely situate their papers within a specific scholarly debate; so critiquing (not merely summarizing) your secondary sources is important.

Perhaps the idea for your Final Essay will emerge because you wish to argue against another author, scholar, or interpretive tradition. It could be that the Final Essay starts with one of your Position Papers, or details the performance history of a drama in a specific time period. Your Final Essay should, in any case, touch on at least one performance of a drama, and the final product may touch on theater history, literary analysis, performance theory, gender studies, and/or a combination of these fields. I encourage you to avail yourself of local resources such as the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts, which offers the opportunity to view taped performances and do archival research of playbills, photographs, and theater history.

In evaluating your essay, I will award a maximum of 50 points for style (syntax, grammar, punctuation), and up to 50 points for content (creative title, originality, introduction, thesis/argument, paragraphs with main idea, logical structure, supporting evidence that draws on close analysis, sophistication/clarity, attention to performance history/texts, and conclusion). Please insert page numbers, double space, and simply staple or clip with a binder clip (no cover pages or folders, please). You may submit a self-addressed stamped envelope with your final essay if you would like it back before next semester (or pick it up next semester before Halloween).

Some Policies: Tentative schedule subject to change; see http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/565s12.html for updates
Date
 Class Activities Homework Due Supplemental Readings
T 1/17
 Course + student intro.; Elements of Drama; Anti-Aristotelian Drama Next week's reading assignment is in the cell below Innes, "Introduction" to A Sourcebook on Naturalist Theatre (1-42, through the "Chronology")
T 1/24
 A Doll House; PP1 Read Ibsen, A Doll House; theater reviews (incl. alt. ending); Innes on Ibsen (65-96); Templeton, J. "Doll House Backlash"; Position Paper (PP) #1 (Ibsen, Doll House) Moi, "First and Foremost a Human Being"
1/31
 Citation; Hedda Gabler; the New Woman Read Ibsen, Hedda Gabler; theater reviews; Finney, "Maternity and Hysteria;" Innes, Sourcebook 108-22; & at least 1 of the suppl. readings Finney, "Ibsen and Feminism;" Torrey-Barstow, "Hedda is All of Us"
T 2/7 Freud and Breuer on Hysteria; PP2 Read Freud and Breuer 7-20, 25-186; Fluhr; a suppl. article is recommended; and write PP2 (Freud)
 Bogousslavsky et al.;  Freud;" Furst; Hunter; Gray; and Møllerhøj
T 2/14
 Miss Julie; PP3; Strindberg and Helium Read Strindberg, Miss Julie; theater reviews; Templeton, A. "Miss Julie as a 'Naturalistic Tragedy';" Marker and Marker, "Before Inferno"(1-12 in Strindberg and Modernist Theatre); write PP3 (Strindberg) Bloom, Davida. “Moving Beyond Naturalism;" Törnqvist and Jacobs, Strindberg's Miss Julie
T 2/21
 The Father Read Strindberg, The Father; theater reviews; Finney, "The Devil in the House?;" & at least 1 of the supplemental readings Holzapfel, "Strindberg as Vivisector;" Sprinchorn, E. "Strindberg and the Greater Naturalism"
T 2/28
 Twilight PP4 Read Bernstein, Twilight; Kord, "Intro.;" Weigert, "Gender-Art-Science;" Roesch, "Daughter and Sister;" write PP4 (Bernstein) Kord, "The Eternal Feminine and the Eternal Triangle;" Viëtor-Engländer, "Hidden from the World;" Lorenz, "Writing for Survival"
T 3/6
 Spring Awakening; Wedekind, PP5; Performances Read Wedekind, Spring Awakening + intro.; theater reviews; Skrine, "F. Wedekind;" S. Gittleman, Frank Wedekind; write PP5 (Wedekind) Dickinson, "The Men's Christian Morality Movement in Germany;" Franklin, "Wedekind;" Shakelford, "Spring Awakening;" Expressionism; Merriam Webster's Lit. Ency.: Expressionism
Spring Break
T 3/20
    Shaw, Mrs. Warren's  Profession PP6 Read Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Profession; theater reviews; Innes Sourcebook (59-63, 189-232); Li, "Mrs. Warren's Profession in China;" write PP6 (Shaw) sel. chapters from Cambridge Companion to Shaw
T 3/27
 Candida Read Shaw, Candida; theater reviews; Finney, "The New Woman as Madonna" & at least 2 of the supplemental readings Cuomo, "'Saint Joan before the Cannibals:' Shaw and the Third Reich"; Candida; Doan, "'Candida';" Morgan, "The Virgin Mother"
T 4/3 Meet in Sprague 203 for Library Tutorial (5:30-6:45); Brecht/Artaud and Shaw on Ibsen
 Read Brecht/Artaud; post your Paper Topic by the beginning of class (5-25 sent. outlining which texts you will write about, your theme, what ques. you will address, any ques. you have for me) on Bb/Assignments 
T 4/10
 Discussion of Position Papers Position Paper Portfolio due
T 4/17
 Presentation of your sources, discussion of research process Annotated Bibliography due; continue reading, researching, and writing for your Final Essay
T 4/24
 Peer Review of rough drafts; Informal Presentations of Final Essay; Informal Conferences Rough draft of Final Essay due: post to Bb/Disc. Board and bring at least one copy to class; this is the last day to turn in any late material this semester
T 5/8 5:30-7:30
 Instructions TBA
 Final Essay due