SEMINAR IN DRAMATIC LITERATURE THEATRE 8820/ENGLISH 8110 ALBEE & COMPANY PAGE 1 Instructor: David Crespy Meeting Time: TBD Cell Phone: (573) 999-5695 Meeting Place: Ellis 3D61 Office hrs: T: 1:30-3:30 & By Appt. Email: [email protected] Goals: • To explore the major plays of Edward Albee, as well as plays and playwrights who influenced him and those whom he influenced. • To develop a critical voice in dramatic literature through deep reading and exploration of Albee’s plays as well as critical essays about Albee’s work. In particular, we’ll be considering phenomenology as a critical lens with which to explore dramatic literature. • To share your exploration of a specific play or group of plays in a classroom, including discussion of that play’s production history, the reviews and scholarly criticism that play has received, and any biographical information regarding the playwright and her/his creation of the play. • To develop comprehensive exam-taking skills in an area of dramatic literature, writing essay answers from a field of questions exploring the plays and career of a major American playwright, as well as building a reading list in American Drama post-1960. • To propose a research question, organize and complete research, and craft a publishable paper using a specific methodological approach to Edward Albee’s plays and the plays of his contemporaries Course Requirements: • ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION (20%) –Class Attendance (5%) –Class Participation/Discussion (5%) –Presentation of Play/Playwright (10%) • WRITING ASSIGNMENTS (80%) – Reflective Journal/Blog (10%) Includes play & text responses, paper drafts, outlines, etc. – Midterm Exam (20%) – Phenomenological Concordance (2.5%) – Research Proposal (2.5%) – Annotated Bibliography (2.5%) – Paper Outline (2.5%) – 1st Draft Paper (20%) – 2nd Draft Paper (20%) Required Texts: Albee, Edward, The Collected Plays of Edward Albee: 1958-1965, Overlook, 2007, 1585678848 Albee, Edward, The Collected Plays of Edward Albee: 1966 - 1977, Overlook, 2008, 1590200535 Albee, Edward, Collected Plays of Edward Albee: 1978- 2003, Overlook, 2008, 1590201140 Bottoms, Stephen, The Cambridge Companion to Edward Albee, Cambridge University Press, 2005, 0521542332 Gussow, Mel, Edward Albee: A Singular Journey. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2000, 1557834474 Solomon, Rakesh , Albee in Performance, Indiana University Press , 2010, 0253222052 SEMINAR IN DRAMATIC LITERATURE THEATRE 8820/ENGLISH 8110 ALBEE & COMPANY PAGE 2 COURSE WEBSITE: HTTP://COURSES.MISSOURI.EDU Course ID: Theatre 4820/7820: Studies in Dramatic Literature - FS2012 (Crespy) BLACKBOARD is your primary source for upcoming events, assignments, online quizzes, and supplementary materials. It is important to check BLACKBOARD on a daily basis. Under course login, select BLACKBOARD and enter your PAW Print. If you have difficulty logging in to the course, or if you do not see the course listed, please contact the IAT Services Help Desk at 882-5000. NOTE: You will have all quizzes via WebCT and there are no make-ups or late submissions. Please schedule your time accordingly. YOU MUST DROP ALL ASSIGNMENTS INTO THE BLACKBOARD WEBSITE AND YOU WILL RECEIVE ALL FEEDBACK ON YOUR ASSIGNMENTS ON THE BLACKBOARD WEBSITE. Please note: Computer and electronic malfunctions never qualify as an excuse for missing a deadline. Any questions about a grade should be submitted IN WRITING within 2 class periods following the posting of the grade. No adjustments will be made after the deadline has expired. It is your responsibility to understand the requirements of the assignment. GRADING SCALE FOR COURSE 97-100 A+ 77-80 C 95-97 A 65-77 C- 93-95 A- 63-65 D+ 90-93 B+ 60-63 D 87-90 B 57-60 D- 83-87 B- Below 57 F 80-83 C+ ATTENDANCE POLICY There are no unexcused absences for this course; please do not miss class without contact the instructor. If you are absent without contacting the instructor in advance or directly after, it will affect your grade adversely. You have up to two excused absences for this course, after which your grade drops by one half grade. If you are more than five minutes late to class, you will be considered tardy. Two tardies equal one absence. If you are more than twenty minutes late for class, you are considered absent. More than 4 absences will result in failure, and any unexcused absences affect your grade adversely. Your instructor will determine whether you will be permitted to make up work missed as a result of absence(s). It is your responsibility to notify the instructor of anticipated absences from class at your earliest opportunity. You are responsible for all material covered during your absence from class SEMINAR IN DRAMATIC LITERATURE THEATRE 8820/ENGLISH 8110 ALBEE & COMPANY PAGE 3 CLASS STRUCTURE READINGS: We will read at least one to two plays per class, as well as handouts and essays, some will be available online—others will be included in your textbooks. You’ll be asked to write about these readings in your journal blog in class. I recommend that you read William Worthen’s The Rhetoric of Modern Drama as a preparation for some of our discussions of Mr. Albee’s plays. It is available as an electronic text online through Merlin (via the University of Missouri Libraries website). JOURNALING: We’ll be writing about Albee’s plays (and the plays of his contemporaries) during class time-so bring your laptop to class. You are expected to type classroom work and upload it to your journal, which also includes your research proposal, annotated bibliography, concordance, outline, and paper drafts, etc. You are expected to write 2-5 pages per week in your journal blog. You will turn in the journal at the midterm and at the end of the class. See the Journal Assignment Sheet for more info. The first grade you receive on your journal is based upon the quality and quantity of work you upload to your blog, the second grade you receive is based upon your response to other students’ work as well as your own continued uploads. ASSIGNMENTS: This is a paper-less course. All assignments are due on the date specified on the syllabus, by class time the following day, electronically dropped into the assignment drop-box on the Blackboard Website, unless the instructor adjusts the schedule for the entire class. All written assignments must be typed, dated, paginated (page numbers in the upper right corner) and with the name of the writer; handwritten work will be returned - ungraded. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Academic integrity is fundamental to the activities and principles of a university. All members of the academic community must be confident that each person's work has been responsibly and honorably acquired, developed, and presented. Any effort to gain an advantage not given to all students is dishonest whether or not the effort is successful. The academic community regards breaches of the academic integrity rules as extremely serious matters. Sanctions for such a breach may include academic sanctions from the instructor, including failing the course for any violation, to disciplinary sanctions ranging from probation to expulsion. When in doubt about plagiarism, paraphrasing, quoting, collaboration, or any other form of cheating, consult the course instructor. ADA STATEMENT: If you anticipate barriers related to the format or requirements of this course, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need to make arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please let me know as soon as possible. If disability related accommodations are necessary (for example, a note taker, extended time on exams, captioning), please register with the Office of Disability Services (http://disabilityservices.missouri.edu), S5 Memorial Union, 882-4696, and then notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. For other MU resources for students with disabilities, click on "Disability Resources" on the MU homepage. Intellectual Pluralism The University community welcomes intellectual diversity and respects student rights. Students who have questions or concerns regarding the atmosphere in this class (including respect for diverse opinions) may contact the Departmental Chair or Divisional Director; the Director of the Office of Students Rights and Responsibilities (http://osrr.missouri.edu/); or the MU Equity Office (http://equity.missouri.edu/), or by email at [email protected]. All students will have the opportunity to submit an anonymous evaluation of the instructor(s) at the end of the course. Academic Inquiry, Course Discussion and Privacy University of Missouri System Executive Order No. 38 lays out principles regarding the sanctity of classroom discussions at the university. The policy is described fully in Section 200.015 of the Collected Rules and Regulations. In this class, students may not make audio or video recordings of course activity, except students permitted to record as an accommodation under Section 240.040 of the Collected Rules. All other students who record and/or distribute audio or video recordings of class activity are subject to discipline in accordance with provisions of Section 200.020 of the Collected Rules and Regulations of the University of Missouri pertaining to student conduct matters. Those students who are permitted to record are not permitted to redistribute audio or video recordings of statements or comments from the course to individuals who are not students in the course without the express permission of the faculty member and of any students who are recorded. Students found to have violated this policy are subject to discipline in accordance with provisions of Section 200.020 of the Collected Rules and Regulations of the University of Missouri pertaining to student conduct matters. SEMINAR IN DRAMATIC LITERATURE THEATRE 8820/ENGLISH 8110 ALBEE & COMPANY PAGE 4 1 Tuesday, Aug. 21 Discussion: Introduction to Course, Albee’s Early Years & Influences, Phenomenology & Dramatic Criticism Required Albee Plays: At Home at the Zoo (2009), The Death Readings: of Bessie Smith (1959) Cambridge: Stephen Bottoms, “Introduction: The man who had three lives” Biography: Prologue to Chap.