| 課程簡述 |
"Introduction to Drama (II)" is a one-semester course, open to second-year (and above) undergraduates who are interested in both the historical and literary development of Western drama, theatre, and play in the twentieth century. The course focuses on a wide selection of dramatic works written in English and draws on fundamental knowledge of genres, theories, and social issues to guide students in approaching the assigned plays—whether tragedies, comedies, or works in between—both as readers and as audience members. In addition to Harold Pinter, one of the most influential contemporary British dramatists who engaged with the European trend of “the theatre of the absurd,” which was prominent in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, “Introduction to Drama (II)” primarily focuses on modern American playwrights from World War I through the final two decades of the twentieth century, including women and Black writers. Contemporary issues such as warfare, economic depression, domestic conflict, personal and social disillusionment, racial discrimination, gender issues, and the loss of social status and cultural identity pervaded the theatrical world of this period. Susan Glaspell, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, David Rabe, Marsha Norman, and August Wilson, working in relation to realism, naturalism, expressionism, impressionism, and absurdism, all contributed significantly to the development of modern American drama and theatre. |