Course Number:
ENG 105
Transcript Title:
Introduction to Literature- Drama
Created:
Aug 10, 2022
Updated:
Jul 11, 2023
Total Credits:
4
Lecture Hours:
40
Lecture / Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0
Satisfies Cultural Literacy requirement:
No
Satisfies General Education requirement:
Yes
Grading Options
A-F, P/NP, Audit
Default Grading Options
A-F
Repeats available for credit:
0
Prerequisites

WR 121 or WR 121Z

Course Description

Enhances enjoyment of plays as literature, including tragedies and comedies; increases understanding of the conventions of drama and the theater; and encourages exploration of the diversity of human experience. Prerequisite/concurrent: WR 121 or WR 121Z. Audit available.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Engage, through the text, unfamiliar and diverse cultures, experiences and points of view.
  2. Articulate ways in which the text contributes to self-understanding.
  3. Recognize the text as a product of a particular culture and historical moment and its relationship to different art forms.
  4. Recognize the role of form and how it influences meaning by identifying the variety of stylistic choices that authors make within given forms.
  5. Evaluate various interpretations of a play and their validity through reading, writing and speaking, and through individual and group responses and analyze the support/evidence for a particular interpretation.
  6. Conduct research to find materials appropriate to use for literary analysis, using MLA conventions to document primary and secondary sources in written response to a literary text.

Alignment with Institutional Learning Outcomes

Major
1. Communicate effectively using appropriate reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. (Communication)
Major
2. Creatively solve problems by using relevant methods of research, personal reflection, reasoning, and evaluation of information. (Critical thinking and Problem-Solving)
Not Addressed
3. Extract, interpret, evaluate, communicate, and apply quantitative information and methods to solve problems, evaluate claims, and support decisions in their academic, professional and private lives. (Quantitative Literacy)
Minor
4. Use an understanding of cultural differences to constructively address issues that arise in the workplace and community. (Cultural Awareness)
Minor
5. Recognize the consequences of human activity upon our social and natural world. (Community and Environmental Responsibility)

To establish an intentional learning environment, Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) require a clear definition of instructional strategies, evidence of recurrent instruction, and employment of several assessment modes.

Major Designation

  1. The outcome is addressed recurrently in the curriculum, regularly enough to establish a thorough understanding.
  2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a thorough understanding of the outcome.
    • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Minor Designation

  1. The outcome is addressed adequately in the curriculum, establishing fundamental understanding.
  2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a fundamental understanding of the outcome.
    • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Suggested Outcome Assessment Strategies

Acknowledge the possibility of multiple interpretations of a text; articulate various possible interpretations of a text; recognize that not all interpretations of a text are equally valid. Assessment tools may include responses to study questions; evaluation of small and full-group discussion; in-class and out-of-class writing exams and essays; and reviews of plays. Performance of scenes from plays may also be included as an assessment task.

Course Activities and Design

The determination of teaching strategies used in the delivery of outcomes is generally left to the discretion of the instructor. Here are some strategies that you might consider when designing your course: lecture, small group/forum discussion, flipped classroom, dyads, oral presentation, role play, simulation scenarios, group projects, service learning projects, hands-on lab, peer review/workshops, cooperative learning (jigsaw, fishbowl), inquiry based instruction, differentiated instruction (learning centers), graphic organizers, etc.

Course Content

Themes, Concepts, and Issues

  • Tragedy
  • Comedy
  • Romance
  • Satire
  • Allegory
  • Morality play
  • Revenge tragedy
  • Tragic comedy
  • Comedy of manners
  • Commedia dell'arte
  • Myth
  • Aristotle's definition of tragedy
  • Tragic Hero
  • Classical Drama
  • Elizabethan/Renaissance Drama
  • Restoration Drama
  • Realism
  • Modernism
  • Theater of the Absurd
  • Postmodernism
  • Monologue
  • Dialogue
  • Soliloquy
  • Staging
  • Stage directions
  • Setting
  • Scenes
  • Acts
  • Plot
  • Climax
  • Characters
  • Protagonist
  • Antagonist
  • Antihero
  • Theme
  • Chorus
  • Odes
  • Prologue
  • Epilogue
  • Strophe/antistrophe
  • Choragos
  • Blank verse
  • Free verse
  • Iambic pentameter
  • Couplet
  • Prose verse
  • Irony
  • Symbolism
  • Images
  • Conceits
  • Diction
  • Tone
  • Intertexuality
  • Structuralism/post-structuralism
  • Feminist criticism
  • Marxist criticism
  • New criticism/formalism
  • Psychoanalytic theory and criticism

Competencies and Skills

  • Analysis
  • Writing about drama.
  • Understanding drama through various contexts, such as social, historical, artistic convention, intertextual, playwright's vision.
  • Critical interpretation of dramatic performance on video or live theater.
  • Critical reading of reviews.
  • Speaking and listening reflectively.
  • Small-group collaboration.

Suggested Texts and Materials

At least 60% of all course texts and materials in the WFLL should be written by a combination of women and other marginalized communities (people of color, LGBTQ, disabled authors, etc.

Seagull Anthology of Plays is an affordable anthology that could be supplemented by more diverse, contemporary drama such as: 

  • Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive
  • Tony Kushner’s Angels in America
  • Lin Manual Miranda’s Hamilton
  • Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Department Notes