English 308-Modern Drama
Professor Melissa D. Aaron

Room 24 107 MWF 1-2:05
Office: 24-229
Office hours M 2-4, T 1-4, W 2-3, and by appointment
Phone: 869-3839
Email:maaron@csupomona.edu

• Course Description
• Course Requirements
• Attendance policy
• Plagiarism
• Syllabus

Required texts
Ibsen, Four Major Plays.

Chekhov, The Essential Plays.

Shaw, Pygmalion and Major Barbara.

Brecht, Berthold, The Threepenny Opera.

O'Neill, Eugene. Long Day's Journey Into Night.

Miller, Arthur. All My sons.

Williams, Tennessee. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.

Weiss, Peter. Marat/Sade.

Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

Soyinka, Wole. Death and the King's Horsemen.

Kushner, Tony. Angels in America.

Course description
This course is intended as a survey of drama. What makes it different from other forms of literature? Obviously, that it is intended to be performed; but on second glance that is not as obvious as it seems. Indeed, some 20th century drama theorists emphasized that drama is not the dialogue at all. When we read a dramatic text, we are only getting a part-and perhaps not even the most important part-of the whole. This course will look as drama holistically.

That said, this is not a performance class and I do not claim to be qualified to teach acting. What you will be learning is theater history; how to fill in the gaps in reading a dramatic text, how to examine a performance critically, and how to reflect on the dramatic traditions that still influence us today.

We will be reading almost a play a week. There will therefore be a lot of reading, but this should not necessarily be onerous, and it will give you a much better idea of the development of modern drama; I have already had to leave much wonderful material out.

Course requirements

Participation--25%
2 3-4 page papers, 25% each--50%
One collaborative final project--performance and short paper-25%

All work handed in to me must be typed and double-spaced, with inch-wide margins, in ten or twelve point font; Times New Roman, which I'm writing in here, is nice and easy to read. Please type your name, the class and section number, my name and the date in the upper-right hand corner, and the title centered at the top of the first page. Do not have a title page, and please, please staple your papers together.

The short, ungraded assignments will be done electronically on a threaded discussion board. They are discussion-related and will count towards your participation. Since they are time-sensitive, they cannot be made up.

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New Assignment Policy
Unfortunately, because of problems in the past, it is now necessary for me to institute an assignment policy I am calling At Your Own Risk. Most of you will find that it is not much different from what you have already been doing.

• It is your responsibility to read the assignment and follow the instructions. If it asks for a first person process narrative, turn in a first person process narrative. If it asks you to attend a performance or watch a film of a play on the syllabus, you may not turn in a paper on a play not on the syllabus.
• It is your responsibility to turn in your papers on time, in the correct place, in the correct format and in the correct manner. I will not accept papers shoved under my door. I will not accept papers that are emailed to me as attachments. If you are asked to submit a paper online, submit it online. If you are asked to submit it in person, submit it in person.
• Any exceptions—an extension, submission by alternative method—must be cleared with me in advance and must be for a good reason, such as illness, family emergency. Those of your who know me may be reassured that I have not changed in essential character; those of you who do not know me yet may be assured that I will listen patiently.
• Papers that do not meet these guidelines are turned in At Your Own Risk. Emailed attachments may be deleted; papers shoved under the door may be recycled; late papers may not be accepted; any and all of the above may simply not be graded and the paper writer may receive no credit.

I regret having to institute such a policy and I equally regret the circumstances that have required me to institute it.

Attendance policy
You can't participate if you're not here, obviously. Here are some reasons you don't want to be absent:
More than three absences and your grade will be lowered. Six or more and you will fail the course. Extreme tardiness (more than ten minutes late) counts as an absence.

I don't distinguish between excused and unexcused absences, and here's why. If you miss class, you'll miss discussion, my commentary on the texts, homework assignments, etc. In a remarkably short period of time, you'll find yourself terribly behind, and it will be next to impossible for you to catch up. The attendance policy is to help you succeed, not to punish you. If you are faced with illness or emergency please let me know right away, and the same applies if you want questions answered or additional help. I check my email very regularly and you can also always come to my office hours.

Oh, and please turn off all cell phones, beepers, etc., before you come to class.

Plagiarism
Did you know that "plagiarism" comes from the Latin word for "kidnapper?" That's because it's theft, and the University and I will treat it that way. I don't want to go into all the dire consequences that will ensue; so don't do it. Enough said. You might want to check my plagiarism statement on my courses page.

If you use someone else's ideas or words, you have to credit them. Here are two rules to help you with this: are you giving credit where credit is due? If someone wanted to find out more about the information you cited, or look up the quote, do they have enough information to do it? I would like you to use MLA documentation. On my Resources page, in addition to resources on drama, you will find writing resources. These include links to sites where you will find handouts on MLA documentation.

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Course syllabus

Week 1: March 27th
M Introduction to the course, and intro to modern drama. A few words on the well-made play, Scribe, Sardou, et. al.
W Hedda Gabler.

F Campus closed--class does not meet.

Week 2: April 3rd
M Hedda Gabler.
W The Cherry Orchard.

F The Cherry Orchard.

Week 3: April 10th
M The Cherry Orchard.
W & F Class does not meet. Instructor at the Shakespeare Association of America.

Week 4 April 17th
M. Major Barbara.
W Major Barbara.

F Major Barbara. Paper due.

Week 5: April 24th
M The Threepenny Opera.
W The Threepenny Opera.

F The Threepenny Opera.

Week 6: May 1st
M Long Day's Journey Into Night.
W Long Day's Journey Into Night.

F Long Day's Journey Into Night.

Week 7: May 8th
M Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
W Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

F All My Sons.

Week 8: May 15th

M Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
W Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

F Marat/Sade.

Week 9: May 22nd
M Death and the King’s Horsemen.
W Death and the King’s Horsemen.

F Death and the King’s Horsemen. Paper due.

Week 10: May 29th
M Campus is closed for Memorial Day.
W Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches.
F Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches.

Exam on Monday, June 5th, at 11:30-1:30 pm. Final performance projects and collaborative papers due.

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Dr. Aaron's Course Page.

Dr. Aaron's Home Page.