21L.486 20th Century Drama, Fall 2001
Name
21L-486Fall-2001/OcwWeb/Literature/21L-48620th-Century-DramaFall2001/CourseHome/index.htm
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Author(s)
Henderson, Diana E.
Alternative Title
20th Century Drama
Date Issued
December 2001
Abstract
In this course we will sample the range of mainstream and experimental drama that has been composed during the past century. Half of these plays are now acknowledged to be influential "classics" of modern drama; the other half are prize-winning contemporary plays that have broken new ground. We will study them both as distinguished writing and as scripts for performance. Moreover, all of these plays are historical: some draw their subject matter from past centuries, while others convey a sense of how contemporary events are informed by and located within a larger historical frame. During the first century of film, television, and computers, it seems that writers for the theater have been especially attuned to the relationships between past and present, in their art and in society. Within this multimedia context, we will consider what drama in particular has to offer now and in the future. This is also a HASS Communication-Intensive Course, in which we will work on improving your skills, awareness, and confidence as a writer and speaker; a variety of writing opportunities (including revision of at least one essay), class reports, and group performance work will aid us in realizing these goals.
Subjects
modern plays
Shaw
O'Neill
Beckett
Brecht
Williams
Soyinka
Churchill
Wilson
Friel
Stoppard
Deveare Smith
Kushner
performance
sociopolitical
aesthetic contexts
theater
multimedia
Drama -- 20th century
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Literature Section
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