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 D (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:
Activity
Weight
Scene Analysis
10%
Critical Review
20%
Essay Proposal
5%
Essay
25%
Examination
40%
Total
100%
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.
Materials
The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama 6th ed. Ed. W. B. Worthen. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2011. (Print)
Studying Plays, 3rd ed. Mick Wallis and Simon Shepherd. London: Arnold, 2010. (Print)
Other Materials
All other course materials are online.
Special Course Features
Several of the plays in ENGL 304 are available for streaming viewing via the AU Landing, or via the Athabasca University Library's Theatre in Video database.
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.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the ENGL 304 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least (D 50 percent) on the examination, and a grade of at least D (50 percent) overall.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 4, March 9, 2016
Updated July 28, 2021, by Student & Academic Services