ENGL4233: Modern and Contemporary Drama

Why did the polite Danish homes of 1879 bar discussions of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House? How did Oscar Wilde surreptitiously signal his sexuality through a satire of Victorian seriousness in The Importance of Being Earnest? How do contemporary playwrights such as August Wilson or Lynn Nottage bring forgotten moments of African American history to light? This course shows how modern and contemporary theater presents original perspectives on human identities and relationships as well as encourages audiences to see the world in new ways. This course focuses on the close analysis and interpretation of plays written by dramatists from around the world from the late-nineteenth to the twenty-first century. The plays we will study are set in Europe, Great Britain, North America, Africa, and Asia, and we will examine each carefully in light of the unique historical and social contexts in which they were produced, their creation and uses of aesthetic form, and their impact on individuals and communities.Through the course, you will become familiar with such dramatic forms as the well-made play, modern satire, realism, expressionism, symbolism, epic theater, and absurdism. Each of these is interesting not only as a distinctive mode of artistic presentation, but also as it offers different perspectives on historical moments and present-day concerns about people and their communities. Theatrical works illustrate how the meanings ascribed to physical bodies are at the heart of social differences such as gender, sexuality, class, race, disability, and national identity. We will look at each play in its original cultural context as well as through the creative lens of more recent productions and assess how both historical and more recent reimagining changes the meaning of the work. We will also make use of the rich theatrical resources and cultural organizations available in communities such as the Twin Cities.

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