About ENGL 1150 A
Study of the play as a work of literature and as a dramatic experience. Continental, British, and American drama from all ages.
Notes
Open to Degree and PACE students System waitlisting enabled for this section
Section Description
In this class we survey dramatic literature across a range of time periods, theatrical movements, and geographic locations. With a keen ear to the call and response between historical and modern plays, we explore issues of theatre history, dramatic form, genre, and language. As we investigate the function of world building in the theatre, we notice how drama operates as a blueprint – always attempting to map out what it means to be human across time and space. In our reading, conversations between playwrights are gleaned across centuries indicating the ways that the best writers are always prolific readers. A sample of plays we will explore include Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex (429 BCE) alongside Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (1955); the medieval morality play Everyman (ca. 1510) and Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’ Everybody (2017); Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1604-5), and James Ijames’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fat Ham (2022); Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (1879) and Bess Wohl’s Pulitzer-Prize winning play, Liberation (2025); and Brian Friel’s Translations (1980) and Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, English (2021).
Evaluation
*Class Participation — 10%
Active attendance and engagement are essential. This includes coming to class prepared by completing all assigned readings, participating thoughtfully in class discussions, and contributing to small group activities.
*Quizzes — 30% (10 quizzes, 3% each)
Quizzes will be administered online and assess your comprehension of the primary plays.
*Small Group Class Presentation — 10%
Groups of 3-4 students will lead the class discussion on the week’s play and an associated critical essay.
*Response Papers — 20% (2 papers, 10% each)
Two short, approximately 500-word papers critically engaging with course readings or topics.
Midterm Exam — 10%
*An in-class exam covering material from the first half of the course.
*Live Performance Analysis — 10%
*Comparative Dramaturgy Group Presentations — 10%
Group presentations demonstrating your development and application of dramaturgical skills.
Important Dates
Note: These dates may change before registration begins.
Courses may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Show your interest by enrolling.
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Resources
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