AJ16068 British Drama and Theatre Since Modernism

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Tomáš Kačer, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 12:00–13:40 T218, except Tue 17. 12. ; and Tue 17. 12. 12:00–13:40 G32
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ01002 Practical English II
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course will present a survey of the history of British drama from 1890 to the present. Students will understand transformations of the genre, its influences and developments. It will enhance students' ability to work critically with dramatic texts and critical literature. It will deepen their understanding of work with multimedia sources (such as performance archival materials), performance analysis and cultural studies. Students will learn to discuss drama and theatre in their social, artistic, aesthetic and historical contexts.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, a student will be able to:
- identify and summarize important features of the British drama in the 20th century, its main representatives and transformations;
- critically examine modern play texts;
- identify crucial elements with influence on theatre attendance and its demographics in Great Britain;
- explain major trends in the British drama and theatre as art and/or business;>
- write a critical essay on and perform a scholarly reading of a modern piece of drama.
Syllabus
  • Week 1, September 17: No class (orientation week)
    Week 2, September 24: Introduction
    Week 3, October 1: G. B. Shaw: Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1893)
    Week 4, October 8: G. B. Shaw: Androcles and the Lion (1912)
    Week 5, October 15: Noël Coward: Hay Fever (1925)
    Week 6, October 22: T. S. Eliot: Murder in the Cathedral (1935)
    Week 7, October 29: No class (reading week): Terrence Rattigan: The Winslow Boy (1946)
    Week 8, November 5: John Osborne: Look Back in Anger (1956)
    Week 9, November 12: No class: Tom Stoppard: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966)
    Week 10, November 19: Tom Stoppard: Travesties (1974)
    Week 11, November 26: Caryl Churchill: Top Girls (1982)
    Week 12, December 3: Sarah Kane: Blasted (1995)
    Week 13, December 10: Patrick Marber: Closer (1997)
    Week 14, December 17: T.B.A.
Literature
    required literature
  • COCHRANE, Claire. Twentieth-century british theatre : industry, art and Empire. First paperback edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014, x, 353. ISBN 9780521464888. info
  • SHEPHERD, Simon. The Cambridge introduction to modern British theatre. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009, xvi, 250. ISBN 9780521869867. info
  • INNES, Christopher. Modern British drama : the tweentieth century. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, xxvii, 572. ISBN 9780521016759. info
    recommended literature
  • SIERZ, Aleks. Rewriting the Nation: British Theatre Today (Plays and Playwrights). London: Methuen Drama, 2011, 278 pp. ISBN 978-1-4081-1238-0. info
  • ASTON, Elaine. Feminist views on the English stage : women playwrights, 1990-2000. First paperback printing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, x, 238. ISBN 9780521800037. info
  • BILLINGTON, Michael. State of the nation : British theatre since 1945. Paperback edition first publ. London: Faber and Faber, 2009, ix, 435. ISBN 9780571210497. info
  • The Cambridge companion to Victorian and Edwardian theatre. Edited by Kerry Powell. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, xv, 288. ISBN 052179157X. info
  • SMART, John. Twentieth century British drama. 1st publ. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, 128 s. ISBN 052179563X. info
  • British theatre between the wars 1918-1939. Edited by Clive Barker - Maggie B. Gale. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, ix, 260. ISBN 9780521624077. info
  • SHELLARD, Dominic. British theatre since the war. First published in paperback. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000, viii, 259. ISBN 0300087373. info
  • EYRE, Richard and Nicholas WRIGHT. Changing stages : a view of British theatre in the twentieth century. First published. London: Bloomsbury, 2000, 400 stran. ISBN 0747547890. info
  • DAVIS, Tracy C. The economics of the British stage : 1800-1914. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, xviii, 506. ISBN 9780521571159. info
Teaching methods
Introductory lectures; class discussion; groupwork (discussion); A/V materials (analysis); final research paper
Assessment methods
Final research paper (5-7 pages, MLA) - 60; In-class participation - 20%; Reading journal (4 total; submission on the day before the class) - 20%.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2016.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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