English (ENGL) 431

Overview

English 431: Canadian Drama is a senior–level, three–credit course which provides a survey of Canadian plays from the 1960s to the present. English 431 examines a diversity of theatrical styles and themes in works from across the country, and interrogates the nature of Canadian drama.

English 431 focuses primarily on the analysis of individual plays as theatre and as literature. Special attention will be paid to the use of theatrical innovation or derivation, recurrent themes, sociological or psychological orientation, use of language, and stage imagery.

Students will study sixteen plays by English– and French–Canadian playwrights: George Ryga, Michel Tremblay, John Herbert, John Gray, David French, Sharon Pollock, Michel Marc Bouchard, Joan MacLeod, Morris Panych, George Walker, TomsonHighway, Judith Thompson, Robert Lepage, Guillermo Verdecchia, Djanet Sears, and Lyle Victor Albert.

Outline

The plays are grouped in six “Scenes” according to commonalities in the social, political and philosophical issues they address, and not according to chronology, although students are encouraged to consider the historiographic context of each play.

Prologue

• Scene I: Developing an Indigenous Drama
• Scene II: Interrogating Values
• Scene III: Deconstructing Families
• Scene IV: Dramatizing the Absurd
• Scene V: Cultural Collisions
• Scene VI: Acting the Self
• Epilogue: Imaging a Nation

Evaluation

To receive credit for ENGL 431, you must achieve a composite course grade of at least D (50 percent)and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. 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 student manual and a study guide.

Challenge for Credit Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows you to demonstrate that you 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 about Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit for the ENGL 431 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