Iğdır University Lifelong Learning Programme

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code	Course Unit Title	Type of Course Unit	Year of Study	Semester	Number of ECTS Credits
190301506110	AMERICAN THEATRE	Elective	3	6	5

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle

Objectives of the Course

Course aims to let students understand, learn, recognize and appreciate particularly the value of 20th century American Drama.

Name of Lecturer(s)

Dr. Öğretim Üyesi Zafer ŞAFAK

Learning Outcomes

1	Knowing the historical development of American Drama and its historical sources.
2	Comprehending Realism, Expressionism, Dadaism and Surrealism in relation to the development of American Literature.
3	Being able to make qualified research on the prominant theatre groups in American drama.
4	To be able to make evaluations on the cultural, social and economic variables in American Drama in the pre and post World War Periods.
5	To be able to make inter-cultural inferences in centering American Drama.

Mode of Delivery

Daytime Class

Prerequisites and co-requisities

Introduction to American Literature

Recommended Optional Programme Components

In the first place, the participants are expected to have obtained, Modern American Drama (Chelsea House Publishers, 2005, edit. by Harold Bloom) and read attentively the following sections to be able to recognize and appreciate the value of 20th century American Drama: Introduction 1-13 (by Harold Bloom), Eugene O’Neill 13-21 (by Lionel Trilling), Edward Albee: Don’t Make Waves 21-45 (by Gerald Weales), Minting Their Separate Wills: Tennessee Williams and Hart Crane 73-97 (by Gilbert Debusscher), Arthur Miller: Public Issues, Private Tensions 115-125 (by Robert A. Martin).

Course Contents

The course covers the roots of American Drama, the stages of its development and the literary dramatic movements emerged and developed in the U.S from the early 20th century up to the present. The course pays specific attention to the outstanding plays and the playwrights observed in the mainstream dramatic movements in question. Students are expected to acquire the knowledge of distinct periods of American Drama and of its plays and playwrights while being able to make comparison and contrast among the periodical dominant themes backed up social and cultural realities.

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week	Theoretical	Practice	Laboratory
1	Introduction Patriotism in American Drama (18th Century) Civil War to Modernism (19th Century) Modernism (20th Century) Modernist Movements (Realism, Naturalism, Expressionism, Dadaism, Surrealism)	-	-
2	The New Theatre Movement and Eugene O’Neill The Amateur Theatre Groups in Greenwich Village (1915-1929) American Drama in the 1920s Eugene O’Neill (1888-1955)	-	-
3	The Hairy Ape by Eugene O’Neill	-	-
4	The Drama of Attack American Drama and the Great Depression (The 1930s) Clifford Odets (1906-1963) Lillian Hellinan (1905-1984)	-	-
5	Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets	-	-
6	Post-War American Drama Broadway Theatre and the Real Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) Arthur Miller (1915-2005)	-	-
7	Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller (Drama for Students Vol. 1/ 61-79)	-	-
8	Mid-Term Exam	-	-
9	A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams	-	-
10	Beyond Broadway The Theatre of the Absurd Edward Albee (1928-2016) Arthur Kopit (1937-2021)	-	-
11	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? by Edward Albee (Drama for Students Vol. 3/ 361-385)	-	-
12	The Creative 1960s Civil Right Movements and Vietnam Conflict The New Venue (Cafe Theatres) The New American Theatre Groups and Major Performance Groups	-	-
13	Off-Broadway Theatre Sam Shepard (1943-2017) African American Dramatic Literature August Wilson (1945-2005)	-	-
14	Art, Theatre and Performance Women Playwrights: Feminist Drama:Maria Irene Fornes, Ntozake Shange Chicano Theater: Luis Valdez Performance Art/Solo Performances	-	-

Recommended or Required Reading

Drama for Students Vol. 1-28, David Calens, Lynn Spampinato, Editors, Detroi t& London, 1998-2011. A Critical Introduction to Twentieth Century American Drama, Bigsby, C.W.E./ Cambridge University Press, 1984. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, Bordman Gerald/ Oxford University Press, 2004. Modern American Drama, Harold Bloom, Editor, Chelsea House Publishers, 2005. Introduction to American Dramatic Literature, Ahmet Beşe, Fenomen, 2009.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Assessment Methods and Criteria

Term (or Year) Learning Activities	Quantity	Weight
Midterm Examination	1	100
SUM		100
End Of Term (or Year) Learning Activities	Quantity	Weight
Final Examination	1	100
SUM		100
Term (or Year) Learning Activities		40
End Of Term (or Year) Learning Activities		60
SUM		100

Language of Instruction

English

Work Placement(s)

Workload Calculation

Activities	Number	Time (hours)	Total Work Load (hours)
Midterm Examination	1	20	20
Final Examination	1	20	20
Attending Lectures	14	3	42
Discussion	1	20	20
Criticising Paper	1	50	50
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)			152

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

	PO 1	PO 2	PO 3	PO 4	PO 5	PO 6	PO 7	PO 8	PO 9	PO 10	PO 11	PO 12	PO 13	PO 14	PO 15	PO 16
LO1	4	5	3	4	4	4	5	5	4	4	4	4	5	4	4	5
LO2	4	4	5	2	4	5	4	4	5	4	5	3	4	5	4	5
LO3	4	4	5	5	5	4	4	4	5	4	4	4	5	5	5	4
LO4	4	4	5	4	5	4	5	5	5	4	4	4	5	4	5	4
LO5	3	5	4	2	5	4	4	3	4	2	4	3	2	4	4	5

* Contribution Level : 1 Very low 2 Low 3 Medium 4 High 5 Very High