INTRODUCTION:

This course will examine two plays by two of the most renowned American playwrights of the twentieth century (Arthur Miller and Eugene O’Neill) through text analysis and performance activities. A brief history of American Theatre in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries will also be studied. At the end of the course students will be expected to carry out independent research on topics related to 20th Century American drama theory and practice.

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To understand American theater history as a significant part of modern American cultural history.

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To explore the ways in which theater and performance have contributed to the construction and deconstruction of an American identity.

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To examine the broad social, political, religious, and cultural contexts in which American theater and performance takes place.

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To develop a vocabulary of key terms for viewing, reading, and reviewing performances.

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To identify and analyze theatrical and literary devices employed in plays and productions.