COMP 226 Comparative Drama: The Anti-Realist Impulse (Same as English 206 and Theatre 226) (Not offered 2008-2009; to be offered 2009-2010)

THEA 226 Comparative Drama: The Anti-Realist Impulse (Same as Comparative Literature 226 and English 206) (Not offered 2008-2009; to be offered 2009-2010)
We will investigate non- and anti-realist Continental and English-language dramatic literature from the second half of the twentieth century. Centering on the tradition that has been (dubiously) labeled the "theatre of the absurd," the course will focus on ground-breaking dramatists such as Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Eugene Ionesco, Heiner Muller, Peter Handke, Tom Stoppard, Sam Shepard, Caryl Churchill, Maria Irene Fornes, and Marguerite Duras. We will question how these playwrights create artistic worlds that mirror yet distance themselves from accepted notions of "reality," and will examine the dramaturgical and theatrical ramifications of such creation.
Format: seminar. Evaluation will be based on project work wherein students will choose between primarily artistic or scholarly responses to the literature in question.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 10). Preference to first-years and sophomores who are considering a major in Theatre.
BAKER-WHITE