Fall 2008

WGS 393 • READING CANON: PLAY ANLY PRAC

Course Description

"Reading the Canon: Play Analysis Practice" is a graduate level course in playscript analysis and dramaturgy. Our canon will begin with Realism and Modernism(s) in the late-nineteenth century, move through the twentieth century and Postmodernism, and end with contemporary plays. Topics of discussion for each play might include: the play as dramatic literature (structure and form, action, characters, language, themes, genre, etc.); the playwright's biography and influences; socio-historical, cultural, and theatrical context and reception; theatrical and artistic legacy; and contemporary challenges for production. Also, while the purpose of the course is not explicitly to focus on questions of cultural value and canonization, no doubt such issues will productively haunt our discussions.

Texts

The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama, 5th edition, ed. W.B. Worthen [ISBN: 1-4130-2877-2] [all assigned plays are in the textbook]

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