We will read and discuss some canonized and uncanonized American plays written between the 1910s and the 1980s. Playwrights will include Susan Glaspell, Neith Boyce, Eugene O'Neill, Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Amiri Baraka, Arthur Kopit, Ntozake Shange, and David Mamet. The course will consider how modern American drama serves as a resource for formulating cultural critique and cultural theory. In this respect, the seminar serves also as an introduction to American studies critical thinking. |