Modern European Drama: Ibsen to O’Neill
The Tragicomedy of Family and Revolution



 ENLT 375 (13790): Modern European Drama
TR, 10:00 AM-11:15 AM
DI-179--(Please note: No food or drink allowed in room)
<http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/eurod.html>
<http://english.montclair.edu/>

Prof. Wendy Nielsen
Office: Dickson Hall 324; Mailbox: Dickson Hall 439
nielsenw@mail.montclair.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays/Thursdays 11:15-12:45 and by appt.

Texts available at University Bookstore:

Course description: This course begins with a selective survey of Naturalist dramas, touches on revolutionary theater of the interwar period, and concludes with plays performed after 1945. After analyzing dramas from Norway, Germany, Britain, Ireland, Italy, and France, students will leave this course with a profound appreciation for the interconnected evolution of modern European drama. Selected authors may include Henrik Ibsen, Oscar Wilde, August Strindberg, Sean O’Casey, Luigi Pirandello, Jean Genet, Samuel Beckett, and Caryl Churchill. We will explore the changing conventions of “anti-Aristotelian” theater and focus on the ways in which these authors revolutionize gender identity and politics onstage. Finally, class participants will test the following hypothesis in their readings, discussions, and papers: While the revolutionary dramatists of the late nineteenth century staged the modern family as a tragedy, twentieth-century playwrights transformed family and revolution into a tragicomic farce.

Satisfies: GE Elective; English: Lit. Pre-1900, Genre Studies, Multinational, Gender Studies

Requirements:
Grading Rubric: 98-100  A+; 93-97 A; 90-92 A-; 87-89 B+; 83-86 B; 80-82 B-; 77-79 C+; 73-76 C; 70-72 C-; 67-69 D+; 63-66 D; 60-62 D-; 0-59 F

Please observe the following:

  • Your classmates and your instructor depend on your presence in class and your full participation. Participation therefore counts for a substantial part of your grade.  Please be in class at the start of the hour with work completed. 3 absences are automatically excused, but failure to attend class beyond that number will affect your final grade. 
  •   Papers should be no longer or shorter than the length assigned and submitted on time. Use twelve-point type, in Times New Roman or CG Times (or 10 pt. in Veranda, etc.). Late papers will result in grade reductions. Never submit a paper without proofreading it carefully.
  • To teach students to avoid plagiarism, lectures will also include instruction in MLA documentation of all work.
  • Accommodations are always arranged for students with disabilities. Please call, email, or see the instructor personally.   

    • Tentative Class schedule--Please check website <http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/eurod.html> for updates
    Date
    		 Class Topics
    		 Homework Due
    1. T 1/20
    		 Course + Student Introduction; Elements of Drama; Introduction to the 19th Century Playhouse: Anti-Aristotelian Theater
    		 See cell below for Thursday's reading
    Unit I
    		 19th-century Drama: Ibsen, Strindberg, and Wilde

    2. R 1/22
    		 Review of L. 1; Henrik Ibsen; A Doll's House
    		 Ibsen, 1-28; Bring 3 discussion questions to class (to be collected!)
    3. T 1/27
    		 Review of L. 2; A Doll's House; Understanding the Stage; Citing Drama
    		 Ibsen, 29-72
    4. R 1/29
    		 Review of L. 3; August Strindberg; The Father
    		 Strindberg, 1-41; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
    5. T 2/3
    		 Review of L. 4; Strindberg; Oscar Wilde; The Importance of Being Earnest; Unit I Essay Topics; Films?
    		 Wilde, vii-20; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
    6. R 2/5
    		 Review of L. 5; Unit I Essay Expectations; Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest; Tragicomedy?
    		 Wilde, 21-54; Submit prospectus for Unit I Essay via email or hard copy by Tuesday 2/10 at 10 a.m.
    7. T 2/10
    		 From Playhouse to Film
    		 Work on draft of essay
    Unit II
    		 Early 20th-century Theater: Pirandello and O'Casey
    8. R 2/12 Expressionist Theater: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Unit I Essay due
    9. T 2/17
    		 Discussion of Caligari; Luigi Pirandello; Brechtian techniques Pirandello, vii-20; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
    10. R 2/19
    		 Review of L. 9; Six Characters in Search of an Author Pirandello, 21-52
    11. T 2/24
    		 Review of L. 10; Sean O'Casey; Irish History and Theater; Unit II Essay Topics O'Casey, 63-97; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
    12. R 2/26
    		 Review of L. 11; Juno and the Paycock: Acts II and III and Interpretive Questions
    		 O'Casey, 98-148; Submit prospectus for Unit II
    Essay via email (by Fri. 2/27) or hard copy (in class or office hours--11:15-12:45 pm in 324 Dickson)
    13. T 3/2
    		 Review of L. 12; Study Questions and Thesis Preparation
    		 Work on draft of essay; bring Pirandello and O'Casey to class
    14. R 3/4
    		 Surrealist techniques and the Avant Garde: Dali and Beckman
    		 Unit II Essay due
    Unit III
    		 Post-1945 Theater: Beckett, Genet, and Churchill
    		 Preliminary Schedule
    15. T 3/9
    		 Review of Unit II; Samuel Beckett and Post-1945 Theater
    		 Beckett 1-59
    16. R 3/11
    		 Review of L. 15; Waiting for Godot Beckett 62-109; Bring 3 discussion questions to class; Have a nice Spring Break!
    17. T 3/23
    		 Review of L. 16; Syllabus Choices; Jean Genet: The Maids Genet, 33-70
    18. R 3/25
    		 Review of L. 17; The Maids Genet, 71-100; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
    19. T 3/30
    		 Review of L. 18; The Maids again and Existentialism Sartre in Genet, 7-31
    20. R 4/1
    		 Review of L. 19; Caryl Churchill; Unit III Essay Topics Churchill, 1-28
    21. T 4/6
    		 Review of L. 20; Postcolonialism on the Postmodern Stage; Theater research
    		 Churchill, 29-72; Select your favorite scene and/or monologue from the plays we have read and write a paragraph about how it might be staged
    22. R 4/8
    		 Theater research I: meet in Sprague Library Room 110
    		 Write a prospectus for Unit III Essay
    23. T 4/13
    		 Review of L. 21-2; Workshop Theater Churchill 72-87; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
    24. R 4/15
    		 Review of L. 23; Theater Research II: Brecht and Artraud
    		 Read Brecht and Artaud (texts to be provided via Blackboard); Bring draft in progress to class; Bring appropriate texts to class
    25. T 4/20
    		 Review of L. 24; Peer Review and Discussion
    		 Bring draft in progress to class; Bring appropriate texts to class
    26. R 4/22
    		 Results of tally; Preparation for presentations
    		 Unit III Essay due; Performance Assignment
    27. T 4/27
    		 Play acting / representation preparation
    		  Meet with group to prepare presentation
    28. R 4/29
    		 Course Summation;  Play Acting / Representation Final
    		 Meet with group to prepare presentation
    No class on T 5/4 Papers can be collected R 5/6 11:30-1 in 324 Dickson or requested in Fall 04 office hours; final papers will no longer be available after 10/31/04. Have a great summer!