Expand+ENG20250 Twentieth-Century Drama: From Naturalism to Postmodernism

Academic Year 2021/2022

This course will examine some of the most important plays of the twentieth century from Europe and the United States. The module interrogates, through th...

Hide-ENG20250 Twentieth-Century Drama: From Naturalism to Postmodernism

Academic Year 2021/2022

This course will examine some of the most important plays of the twentieth century from Europe and the United States. The module interrogates, through the lens of these ground-breaking dramas, the radical shifts in socio-political and class structures and hitherto unprecedented progress in human rights which shaped the twentieth century as it became the most progressive and yet war-torn era in human history. Through close readings of the texts coupled with discussions of the socio-political environments that inspired these plays - such as the civil rights movement, the fall of Imperialism, contemporary feminism, workers rights, the LGBTQ movement, the rise of fascism, genocide and war crimes, the AIDS epidemic, and new understandings of gender and sexuality - students will discover the history of a century of massive human progress that was yet also a century of perpetual, genocidal wars. Plays will be studied for their individual literary and dramatic qualities, and in particular, attention will be paid to the material, historical and dramaturgic aspects of their staging, and to relevant social, political and theoretical contexts. Issues of power and gender will be a recurring concern; many of the plays focus on female characters, though it is only later in the century that women come to the foreground as playwrights Each week we will read and discuss one individual play and the social, political, and cultural movements that inspired it.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this module the students will:

- Have a detailed knowledge of eleven landmark plays

- Understand how and why these plays reflect the history of the twentieth century

- Be able to critically elaborate the social movements and concerns that these plays both came from and spoke to

- Critically understand the evolution of theatrical genre, structure, and form over the course of the twentieth century

- Have critical understandings of key genres of drama, for example: tragedy; epic theatre; post-modern, new brutalism

- Have participated in workshop discussion and presentations

- Be able to think critically about and theoretically analyze drama and theatre

- Have developed critical and analytical writing skills specific to drama, theatre, and performance

Indicative Module Content:
11 landmark plays from the 1890s to the 1990s.
Critical readings and discussions about these plays and their playwrights as well as discussions and readings about:
Theatrical form, structure, and genre.
Modern and contemporary theatre history.
Theatre as a force for social, political, and cultural change.
Theatrical representation of the twentieth century as an century of progress
Theatrical representation of the twentieth century as an century of war
Key social movements and concernts-- civil rights, anti-imperialism, feminism, LGBTQ rights, HIV/AIDS, war and genocide - that inspired these plays