Boles ENG 319 20th Century British Drama

Meeting Time and Place: 6:45-9:15 M Office Hours: 1-3 MF; 1-2:30 W; 5:30-6:30 M and by appt. TR Office: 106 Carnegie Office Phone: 646-2216 E-mail: [email protected]

In this class we will study the major figures of Contemporary British theatre and in the process become acquainted with the dramatic changes the theatre experienced during the last 60 years, including (but not limited to) how the current historical events of England impacted the theatre; how the disappearance of censorship affected the direction and attitude of the theatre; how gender roles for the characters and the playwrights have evolved; and how playwrights have continually challenged the conventions and expectations of the theatre through their choice of staging, characterizations, language, violence and sexuality.

The Texts:

Arthur Wing Pinero, The Second Mrs. Tanqueray (available online) Samuel Beckett, Samuel Beckett, Play, Not I, Rockaby (to be distributed via .pdf) Edward Bond, Saved Shelagh Delaney, , The Homecoming; The Birthday Party , Look Back in Anger Caryl Churchill, Cloud Nine Roy Williams, Fallout (.pdf) Kwame Kwei-Armah, Elmina’s Kitchen Jez Butterworth, Jerusalem Sarah Kane, 4.48 Psychosis (.pdf file) Modern Drama: Plays of the '80s and '90s,which includes: Caryl Churchill, Top Girls Sarah Kane, Blasted Mark Ravenhill, Shopping and Fucking Martin McDonagh, The Beauty Queen of Leenane

The L GER:

This course fulfills the L requirement. As stated in the college catalogue: Part of the reality and evolution of a mature culture resides in that culture’s literary tradition, and the knowledgeable citizen will have read widely and understood that material. These courses expose the student to compelling contemporary writing as well as literary works that, by tradition and broad cultural consensus, have been deemed excellent in form or expression and of lasting, or even permanent, value and universal interest.

THE TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

1/23 Introduction; A little smackerel

A Prequel: The Woman Question and the Well-Made Play

1/30 The Second Mrs. Tanqueray (online)

Young Angry Writers: They were young, they were angry, they were writers.

2/6 Look Back in Anger; A Taste of Honey

2/13 Saved

Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter: Two of the most important and influential playwrights of the 20th century

2/20 Waiting for Godot

2/27 The Birthday Party

3/5 Spring Break

3/12 The Homecoming

3/19 Play; Not I; Rockaby

Caryl Churchill: The Rise of Feminist Drama and Anti-Thatcherism

3/26 Cloud Nine

4/2 Top Girls

In-Yer-Face and Beyond: Sexuality, Violence, Race and Country

4/9 Blasted, 4.48 Psychosis

4/16 Shopping and Fucking, The Beauty Queen of Leenane

4/23 Fallout, Elmina’s Kitchen

4/30 Jerusalem

5/7 Final Exam

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?

Plays: Presenter(s):

Saved

Waiting for Godot

The Birthday Party

The Homecoming

Cloud Nine

Top Girls

Blasted, 4.48 Psychosis

Shopping and Fucking, Beauty Queen

Fallout, Elmina’s Kitchen

Jerusalem

3. There is no attendance policy, but recognize that excessive absences impact your participation grade. Equally, musings are not accepted from those students who are not in class.

4. Seven 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 that we discuss a work.

You are allowed one free late musing (but it can only be turned in a week late).

5. The readings for the semester are broken into multiple sections. 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 section, you have one week to turn in your paper on that section and the play(s) therein, if you are writing a paper 4 pages long or less. If you are writing a longer paper, then you can have more time which can be negotiated. So, if you wanted to write about Samuel Beckett, you have until March 26th 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. So, if you want to write about Caryl Churchill and Samuel Beckett, then you have until April 9th to turn in that paper.

The final due date for papers will be April 30th. If someone wants to write about Jerusalem, then a due date for that paper can be negotiated.

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.

Department Policy: English courses commencing after 4:00 p.m. follow Hamilton Holt School policies. To meet the number of contact hours required for Holt courses, evening classes offered once a week meet fifteen times during the term. While Arts and Sciences classes cancel meetings for scheduled breaks (i.e. Fall Break), unscheduled breaks (i.e. Fox Day), and reading days, students enrolled in evening courses are required to meet during those times. In evening courses, final examinations will be administered during the fifteenth meeting of the semester. In day courses, final examinations will be administered as designated by the Arts and Sciences final examination schedule.

So in the situation of Fox Day being on a Monday, we will still have class. A&S students be forewarned.

THE 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.”

Or, if they prefer, “AHC” or “Academic Honor Code,” which will mean the same thing as the statement above, followed by the student’s signature.

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

Rollins College is committed to equal access and does not discriminate unlawfully against persons with disabilities in its policies, procedures, programs or employment processes. The College recognizes its obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to provide an environment that does not discriminate against persons with disabilities.

If you are a person with a disability on this campus and anticipate needing any type of academic accommodations in order to participate in your classes, please make timely arrangements by disclosing this disability in writing to the Disability Services Office at (box 2613) - Thomas P. Johnson Student Resource Center, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park, FL, 37289.Appointments can be scheduled by calling 407-646-2354 or email: [email protected].

THE GRADE PERCENTAGES

Paper(s) 50% Musings 15 % Final 15% Class Participation 20%