Course Syllabus
Course: THEA 2032
Division: Fine Arts, Comm, and New Media
Department: Theater Arts
Title: Theatre History and Literature: Modern
Semester Approved: Spring 2022
Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2026
End Semester: Fall 2027
Catalog Description: This course is an exploration of the principal literary periods and styles of drama from the nineteenth century through the theatre of today. Students will examine the rise of realism, modernity and postmodernity in theatre through the critical lenses of structuralism, semiotics, and identity. The course will investigate changes in written form as well as the role these works played in society, the physical spaces in which they were performed, the manner in which they were acted, and cultural attitudes toward the art form itself. Course may be taken out of sequence.
Semesters Offered: Spring
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 3; Lecture: 3; Lab: 3
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Justification: This course is offered by most theatre departments throughout the state and has been articulated for transfer to most USHE schools as part of a theatre major's track, if not for general education credit.Theatre is the art and craft of play production. It includes the study of dramatic literature and theory, theatre history, acting, set design, lighting design, costume design and film. In addition to the scholarly exploration of these subjects, the theatre program emphasizes the practical application of knowledge gained and skills learned through annual performances before live audiences. Theatre also explores the historical, cultural and social milieu that produced significant works of dramatic literature.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to articulate the dynamics of the creative process including the development of a lifetime sensibility as it applies to the disciplines of dance, music, theater, or visual arts Theatre History: Modern, as well as its companion course Theatre History: Classical, will serve two primary purposes for students. First, students will be introduced to the larger scope of theatre from a historical perspective, and thereby come to understand the intertwining chronicle of society and art. Students will read selected plays representative of each dramatic period and movement covered in class, academic articles exploring the plays’ historical/cultural aspects rather than literary content (e.g., theatre technology, acting methods, the role of the audience). They will demonstrate their understanding through corresponding quizzes, two exams, two research assignments, presentations and class discussions. Second, the course will guide students in the skill of script analysis. Students will demonstrate their ability to analyze a play and break down its components viewing them from the perspective of audience, actor, and designer through class discussions, short essays, exams, and a six-week Author research project essay (a deep dive into a contemporary playwright not covered in the main content of the class). Additionally, each student will attend two Snow College Theatre Productions and write a formal response essay detailing the notable historical elements and their relevance to the production.
Students will be able to provide an informed synopsis of the performing and/or visual arts in the context of culture and history through reading and interpreting pertinent information using a variety of traditional and electronic media. Throughout the course, students will find answers to questions such as what theatre is and how it can best serve its purpose (whatever that might be). Students will understand the cultural and historical development of the Western theatre from the Restoration to modern day through the perspective of representative plays and academic discussion of contemporaneous attitudes and theories toward theatre. Through the study of period-specific texts, supplemental academic articles, and discussion of significant parallel events and movements ranging from the artistic to the scientific, the political to the philosophic, students will explore the relationship of history and theatre. They will demonstrate understanding of theatre’s impact to the dynamics of western history and relevance to contemporary culture through Socratic class discussions, a scaffolded author research project, quizzes, written assignments, and exams.
Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the conceptual and elemental principles fundamental to the creation of various forms of artistic expression. Students will read from the selected text (and possible additionally academic articles) before reading and discussing each play, which is selected as an exemplar of the era, style, or movement (Naturalism, Brechtian theatre, Hyperrealism, etc.). Students will demonstrate their understanding through regular quizzes and class discussion debating significant performative elements and their uses, technological and architectural features, and the changing written structures of plays. This process will allow students to demonstrate that they understand, can articulate, and can apply fundamental principles of theatre both for period plays as well as how they relate to our contemporary entertainments. In addition, students will demonstrate their facility with terminology and approach through a fully-cited research paper and presentation on an author not covered in normal class discussion, which will be the culminating project.
Students will be able to exhibit an ability to critically analyze artistic works using appropriate techniques, vocabulary, and methodologies. Through the study of plays, playwrights, actors, and the history and cultures surrounding them from the late nineteenth century to today, students will understand the rise of realism in theatre, its splintering in a post modern world, and the current landscape of the stage. Students will demonstrate their grasp of pertinent vocabulary (historical, architectural, sociological, and technological), major movements and theories that impacted the art form, and key performative elements of the significant eras and styles of theatre through class lectures and discussion, responses to related academic articles, and two exams. Students will read from a representative list of plays of important eras, forms, and authors and demonstrate their ability to critically analyze each play within its individual historical and sociological context and its relationships to similar plays through Socratic discussions and an online quiz. Furthermore, students will synthesize their understanding of how theatre has evolved through discussion, a research paper, and an author project essay.
Content:
Students will explore how the new paradigms of science, democracy, and a larger but fractured global society created ever closer approximations to “real life” on stage, and will consider how those same forces would come to question and reinvent all theatrical conventions previously accepted. This course uses a selection of period- and style-specific plays and related academic articles to examine the ever-changing role of people on stage, both in dramatic form and presentation. Students will demonstrate critical thinking, text analysis, and research of these concepts through quizzes, exams, and two projects throughout the semester.Students will be required to read selected plays representative of each dramatic period covered in class. Such plays could include but not be limited to:· The Beggar’s Opera, by John Gay · Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe · A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen · Miss Julie, by August Strindberg · Cherry Orchard, by Anton Checkov · The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde · Mrs. Warren’s Profession, by George Bernard Shaw · Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht · Endgame, by Samuel Beckett · Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, by Tennessee Williams · Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller · A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry · Buried Child, by Sam Shepard· Angels in America (Millenium Approaches), by Tony Kushner · Fires in the Mirror, by Anna Deavere Smith · Eurydice, by Sarah RuhlPlays will include varied perspectives, with characters and playwrights from diverse backgrounds. Class discussion and exploration will focus on "whose story is told" and 'whose voice is heard." Student research projects in the semester are required to focus on playwrights and works that broaden their understanding of other's viewpoints and the theatrical landscape.
Key Performance Indicators:
Attendance and participation. 15 to 20%
Reading and lecture quizzes. 10 to 25%
Exams 20 to 25%
Group presentation(s). 10 to 15%
Live performance responses. 5 to 10%
Research project(s). 15 to 20%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
The texts will vary according to departmental decisions and instructors' wishes. See the following recommend texts. The instructor may also include representative novel(s) and script(s) as part of the reading curriculum.
The Bedford Introduction to Drama, by Lee A. Jacobus. Latest Edition.
Pedagogy Statement:
Through lecture, Socratic discussions, research projects, quizzes, and examinations, this course covers the rise of realism in theatre from the first modern stages to the productions of today. This class welcomes all students and their perspectives, advocates respect in discussions and debate, and encourages exploration into perspectives other than our own: all cornerstones of what theatre allows for in a free society. All students are welcome and will be respected as the course explores various topics of theatre history.
Instructional Mediums:
Lecture
Maximum Class Size: 30
Optimum Class Size: 20
