Summer 2005

E s376L • Psychological Themes in Modern American Drama

Course Description

This course showcases the cream of American dramatists: Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Edward Albee. We will read two or three of the best plays by each, seeking to learn, among other things, what these plays can teach us about ourselves. An ancillary text will be Neurosis and Human Growth by Karen Horney, a leading theorist in modern ego psychology.

Plan on keeping a reading journal, handwritten or typed, roughly 2 pages per play. From time to time I will invite you to read aloud excerpts from it on that day's assignment.

Grading Policy

2 short papers (3 pp. each) 50%
Journal portfolio 50%

Texts

Edward Albee, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Delicate Balance
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, Night of the Iguana
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, Incident at Vichy, The Price, After the Fall
Eugene O'Neill, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Iceman Cometh
Karen Horney, Neurosis and Human Growth
John Trimble, Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing, 2nd Edition

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