ENG 304 Twentieth Century American Drama Boles

Meeting Times and Place: 12:00-12:50 MWF; Orlando 205 Office Hours: 9-10 MWF; 11:00-12:00 MWF Office: 106 Carnegie Office Phone #: 2216 E-mail: [email protected]

What’s at stake in this course:

The United States of America. The great melting pot (at least that is what we were told in third grade). In this course we’ll take a look at this image of the U.S. by studying plays of the 20th century in hopes that they will provide a document of just how well we have melted and merged together. In the process we will try and answer some of these questions: Just what is the face of 20th Century America? Who are we as a country? What do we stand for? Do we have similar pursuits? Are we truly melted or are we all pursuing different agendas? What role does race, religion and gender play in dramatic literature? What is the view of theatre about the state of America? And finally, is the American theatre an accurate reflection of the United States?

Required Texts:

Bash Neil LaBute, $11.25 American Buffalo David Mamet, $9.75 Speed-the-Plow David Mamet, $7.50 Oleanna David Mamet M. Butterfly David Henry Hwang, $7.50 Seven Plays Sam Shepard, $12.00 Trifles Susan Glaspell (.pdf file) The Verge Susan Glaspell (.pdf file) Machinal Sophie Treadwell, $18.95 The Little Foxes Lillian Hellman, $7.50 Mulatto Langston Hughes (.pdf file) Fences August Wilson (.pdf file) Homebody/Kabul Tony Kushner, $13.95 The Mercy Seat Neil LaBute, $9.75 Where Do We Live Christopher Shinn, $17.95

Tentative Schedule

Jan. 10 Introduction

The United States: Views from the White Patriarchal Position (with one exception)

1/12-1/14 American Buffalo

1/19-1/21 Speed-the-Plow 1/24-1/28 Oleanna

1/31-2/4 M. Butterfly David Henry Hwang will be at Rollins this week

2/7-2/11 The Tooth of Crime

2/14-2/18 Curse of the Starving Class

2/21-2/25 Buried Child

2/28-3/4 Bash and other LaBute pieces

Spring Break

“Other” America: Views from the Minority Position

3/14 Trifles

3/16-3/18 The Verge

3/21-3/25 Machinal

3/28-3/30 The Little Foxes

4/1-4/4 Mulatto

4/6-4/8 Fences

9/11 Drama

4/11-4/15 Homebody/Kabul Tony Kushner will be at Rollins this week

4/18-4/20 The Mercy Seat

4/22-25 Where Do We Live

4/28 8-10 AM FINAL EXAM

It is possible that we may find ourselves extending beyond the allotted times. If so, I will update you on the change in the schedule in class. You are responsible for finding out this information, if you are not present. Any drastic changes in the syllabus and I will provide you with an updated syllabus.

Requirements:

1. There will be a comprehensive final exam.

2. Class Participation is an essential and required component of this professor's classroom dynamic. This requirement does not just entail the ability of the student to open his mouth and let any random musing clatter onto the tabletop. Students will be evaluated based on the quality, insightfulness and perceptiveness of their comments.

Exemplary attendance and no participation will equal a C. Exemplary attendance and occasional thought provoking remarks or well-framed questions will constitute a B. Exemplary attendance and excellent observations, analysis and comments will receive an A.

The teacher reserves the right to also bestow variations upon a grade, for instance A-, C+, etc.

Also counting toward class participation: Each student will participate in leading a 50 minute class discussion of one of the required plays. If the class is too large for such a designation, then students can be paired for a group presentation. Your presentation must include a dramatic reading (performed by students in the class) of what you consider to the most important/significant/problematic (you choose) scene in the play. Why did you choose this scene? How does it relate to the greater play as a whole? What is the playwright trying to tell us?

Some other suggestions: Think about what the main points of the play are. How does the play fit within the larger context of the plays being read? Is it theatrically innovative? Does the play have a political purpose? How does it compare with other plays written around the same time period?

Oleanna

M. Butterfly

The Tooth of Crime

Curse of the Starving Class

Buried Child

Machinal

The Little Foxes

Mulatto

Fences

Homebody/Kabul

Mercy Seat

Where Do We Live

3. There is no attendance policy, but recognize that excessive absences (translation: Over 3) impact your participation grade.

4. Eight musings are due over the course of the semester.

What’s a musing? (A guy slipping on a banana peel? A flower that squirts water?)

A musing is at least two pages of jottings, questions, concerns, and observations. (But please not your notes on the readings. A musing is beyond note taking, it is the early phase of your intellectual engagement with the assigned readings.)

In essence, it is an informal opportunity for you to respond to whatever intrigues you in the readings without having to worry about the formal expectations that accompany the majorly over assigned response paper, meaning that your musing can be filled with fragments, flow charts, drawings, etc.

Musings serve as a wonderful opportunity for potential paper topics to develop.

A musing can only be submitted on the first day (at the start of class) that we discuss a work.

5. By the end of the term you will have submitted papers that, when combined, equal 16-20 pages of graded work. You can approach this requirement in a variety of ways. Nine 2-page papers. Four 4-5-page papers. Two 8-10-page papers. An 8-page paper, a 6- page paper, and two 2-page papers. Use the various sections as a guide to possible paper topics, since they are grouped thematically. Please note: when we finish a play, you have one week to turn in your paper. So, if you wanted to write about Curse of the Starving Class, you have until February 25th to turn in the paper. However, you always have the possibility of returning to a section/play if you see a connection between a later play and an earlier one.

The final due date for papers will be April 15th.

EXPECTATIONS

Paper expectations (these are general guidelines with some latitude at work when grading takes place):

An “A” paper will be one that is grammatically clean, engagingly written, intently focused on the topic at hand (thesis oriented), insightful in analyzing the work(s) being considered (no regurgitation of class discussion, no plot summary), and in possession of a well thought out opening paragraph.

A “B” paper will be one that is grammatically acceptable (but still have a few flaws); at times engagingly written but still have some moments of problematic style and tone; focused, for the most part, on the topic at hand; insightful, for the most part, in analyzing the work(s) being considered; and clear in its opening paragraph. In other words, a B paper has some of the components that are found in the A paper, but still have a few missteps that impede the stylistic flow or analytical argument of the paper as a whole.

A “C” paper will be one that has grammatical problems (and usually a few proofreading errors); a writing style and tone that is more problematic than the B paper; a thesis that is not explored as deeply as the two papers above; the occasional reliance on plot summary and regurgitation of classroom comments; and a simple opening paragraph. In other words, a C paper could have some of the components found in the B paper, but have enough missteps to impede the stylistic flow or analytical argument of the paper as a whole.

A “D” paper will be one that has serious grammatical errors, which indicate the paper is not proofread; a lack of cohesiveness to the direction of the paper’s argument; a seriously flawed thesis; and a number of paragraphs that exist by themselves rather than being linked to the overall direction of the paper as a whole. In other words, a D paper might possess a few of the components found in a C paper, but have enough missteps to impede the argument and directional flow of the paper as a whole.

An “F” paper is entirely unacceptable collegiate work. It features all the characteristics of a “D” paper but to an extreme degree.

All papers will use MLA style.

A late paper will be deducted for every day it is late.

Grade Breakdown:

Papers 50% Musing 15% Final 15% Class Participation 20%

Academic Honor Code

Membership in the student body of Rollins College carries with it an obligation, and requires a commitment, to act with honor in all things. Because academic integrity is fundamental to the pursuit of knowledge and truth and is the heart of the academic life of Rollins College, it is the responsibility of all members of the College community to practice it and to report apparent violations.

The following pledge is a binding commitment by the students of Rollins College:

The development of the virtues of Honor and Integrity are integral to a Rollins College education and to membership in the Rollins College community. Therefore, I, a student of Rollins College, pledge to show my commitment to these virtues by abstaining from any lying, cheating, or plagiarism in my academic endeavors and by behaving responsibly, respectfully and honorably in my social life and in my relationships with others.

This pledge is reinforced every time a student submits work for academic credit as his/her own. Students shall add to all papers, quizzes, tests, lab reports, etc., the following handwritten abbreviated pledge followed by their signature:

“On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work.”

Material submitted electronically should contain the pledge; submission implies signing the pledge.