English (ENGL) 304

Overview

English 304: A History of Drama Part II: Modernist Theatre is a senior-level university course which examines the beginnings of Western modernism in plays of the nineteenth and twentieth century from Europe, Britain, the United States, and Canada. It considers the “realistic” interrogation of social dynamics in the plays of Henrik Ibsen, Bernard Shaw, and Anton Chekhov; the satirical dimensions of epic theatre in a play by Bertolt Brecht; the expressionistic style of Eugene O’Neill; and the metatheatre of Luigi Pirandello. It examines the characteristics of the “Theatre of the Absurd” in plays by Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter; and of postcolonial theatre in plays by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Brian Friel, Jack Davis, Tomson Highway and Athol Fugard. It concludes with a consideration of the postmodern stylistic and thematic aspects of M. Butterfly by David Henry Wang. English 304 provides an analysis of individual plays as theatre and as text, and includes brief background notes on the authors and on the significance of the plays in the context of Western theatre.

Outline

Act I—Social Realism: Dialogic and Dialectic

Act II—Expressionist, Epic, and Absurdist Theatre: Personal and Public Voice

Act III—Postcolonialism and Postmodernism: Reconfiguring the Stage

Evaluation

To receive credit for ENGL 304, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. A supplemental examination is available. All assignments are required in order to pass the course. The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:

The final examination for this course must be taken online with an AU-approved exam invigilator at an approved invigilation centre. It is your responsibility to ensure your chosen invigilation centre can accommodate online exams. For a list of invigilators who can accommodate online exams, visit the Exam Invigilation Network.

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Other Materials

The course materials also include a study guide and student manual.

Special Course Features

Many of the plays in ENGL 304 are available on audiotape and videotape from the Athabasca University Library.

Challenge for Credit Course Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.

Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit for the Engl 304 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least 50 per cent on the examination, and a grade of at least “D” (50 percent) overall.

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

• Challenge for Credit Form