02 January 2011

Introduction to Drama Spring 2011

Introduction to Drama Professor Mead
ENG203 Spring 2011
January
11 T Introduction
13 R Trifles, 1916
18 T Trifles
20 R Rachel, 1920
25 T Rachel
27 R In-Class Essay Exam
February
1 T The Hairy Ape, 1922
3 R The Hairy Ape
8 T Student Presentations
10 R Holiday, 1928
15 T Holiday
17 R Student Presentations
22 T Street Scene, 1928
24 R Street Scene
March
1 T Student Presentations
3 R Waiting for Lefty, 1935
8 T Waiting for Lefty
10 R In-Class Essay Exam
15 T NO CLASS
17 R NO CLASS
22 T Student Presentations
24 R Our Town, 1937
29 T Our Town
31 R You Can’t Take it With You, 1937
April
5 T You Can’t Take it With You
7 R Student Presentations
12 T The Little Foxes, 1939
14 R The Little Foxes
19 T Student Presentations
21 R The Time of Your Life, 1939
26 T The Time of Your Life
28 R Evaluations/Speeches
May
3 T Final Research Paper Due by Noon at my office.
Research Paper: Worth 25% of your final grade. This paper is to be an interpretive and provocative essay, offering the reader a new understanding (one that challenges conventional interpretations) of the artistic meaning in one or more of the plays we have studied this semester. The paper may be connected with your class presentation, but that is not a requirement. This essay must make good use of at least seven scholarly sources (i. e., articles from juried journals or books from university presses). These may in part come from the “student presentation” list of sources. Two thousand words recommended. The final paper must be submitted in a cardboard folder with at least two earlier drafts that illustrate the PROCESS of the paper’s construction. Proper MLA format for citations, notes, and works cited is required. See “Shame the Devil,” “The Writing Process in the College Classroom,” “Provocative and Interpretive Tests,” “The Meaning of Letter Grades,” and “How to Use Quotations in Literary Papers” on my blog for further information and guidance. The checklist may also be helpful.
Student Presentation: Worth 25% of your final grade. This is a major presentation, geared for thirty minutes of class time. You will be judged on depth, preparedness, efforts to foster class participation, speaking skills, appropriate use of technology, appearance, your ability to fill a half hour with meaningful material, the quality of your sources, and presentation. Topics (first come, first serve) include the following:
The Rise of Fascism, Aftermath of World War I, The Roaring Twenties, The Great Depression, Prohibition, The Federal Theater Project, The American Communist Party, Broadway in the 20s and 30s, Hollywood in the 20s and 30s, the Harlem Renaissance, The Dust Bowl, The New Deal, The Jazz Age., Women’s Rights, Expressionism, Modernism.

The idea here is to give your fellow students an historical context with which to study the dramas in the class; do not merely report facts. Please include a handout with your presentation that lists your sources.
In-Class Essays: Worth 25% of your final grade. You will be given a question to respond to in a blue book. Assessment will depend on demonstrated familiarity with the dramatic texts, evidence of having thought about ideas and issues outside of class, and originality with detail.
Participation: Worth—guess what?—25% of your final grade. Please see my blog post “Participation, Attendance and All That,” “Course Participation Self-evaluation,” and “Goofus and Gallant in College Writing Class” for details.
Speeches: Student who recite 20+ lines from one of the plays studied in class with fewer than five errors will have their FINAL grade elevated one increment (i.e., B to B+).
Please visit my blog http://stephenxmead.blogspot.com for relevant handouts, links, syllabi, and texts.
Office hours: MWF 10-11, TR 8:30-9:30, 11-1 and by appointment.
tel. 438-4336; smead@stmartin.edu

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