THET 216 Contemporary Drama: Topics in Diversity

Contemporary Drama studies works written for European and American theater from 1950 until current practice. Students discuss and appraise plays; identify basic elements which distinguish contemporary drama from earlier periods; evaluate performances of contemporary plays; and study what playwrights have said about the nature of drama. Students are introduced to the formalist conventions and characteristics, terms and concepts, and critical theory of drama in order to master skills in interpretation, analysis, and critical evaluation. Students also discuss the impact of gender, race, culture, and sexual orientation studies on dramatic material. This course is writing intensive.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

ENGL 121

Hours Weekly

3 hours weekly

Course Objectives

1. 1. Identify and apply critical theories and concepts related to enduring and contemporary issues
   of aesthetics and creativity by using basic literary and theatrical concepts, elements, and
   stylistic characters.
2. 2. Articulate and evaluate the dramatic script and its structure, form, and style as it relates to
   issues of aesthetics, humanism, and meaning.
3. 3. Incorporate innovation, risk-taking, and creativity into analysis and problem-solving methods
   during this era, particularly the avant-garde, but also global trends including diversity issues,
   post-modernism, and performance studies.
4. 4. Develop techniques to pose and address questions for analyzing and evaluating scripts from
   diverse, social, intellectual, and historical contexts in which contemporary theatre developed.
5. 5. Develop an appreciation for theatre as a collaborative and global art tradition and evaluate it
   effectively, analyzing its role in illuminating the human condition and the search for meaning.
6. 6. Identify and analyze issues of cultural identity related to class, gender, sexuality, and race as
   they are represented in contemporary theatre.
7. 7. Perform basic research and use MLA-style documentation demonstrating the standard
   conventions for writing about theatre.

Course Objectives

1. 1. Identify and apply critical theories and concepts related to enduring and contemporary issues
   of aesthetics and creativity by using basic literary and theatrical concepts, elements, and
   stylistic characters.
2. 2. Articulate and evaluate the dramatic script and its structure, form, and style as it relates to
   issues of aesthetics, humanism, and meaning.
3. 3. Incorporate innovation, risk-taking, and creativity into analysis and problem-solving methods
   during this era, particularly the avant-garde, but also global trends including diversity issues,
   post-modernism, and performance studies.
4. 4. Develop techniques to pose and address questions for analyzing and evaluating scripts from
   diverse, social, intellectual, and historical contexts in which contemporary theatre developed.
5. 5. Develop an appreciation for theatre as a collaborative and global art tradition and evaluate it
   effectively, analyzing its role in illuminating the human condition and the search for meaning.
6. 6. Identify and analyze issues of cultural identity related to class, gender, sexuality, and race as
   they are represented in contemporary theatre.
7. 7. Perform basic research and use MLA-style documentation demonstrating the standard
   conventions for writing about theatre.