The Absurdity of Modernity: The Meaning of Life on the Modern Stage
FIST 228
Spring 2016
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
THEA 228 |
The indescribable horror of two bloody world wars in the twentieth century gave rise to numerous artistic movements that questioned the validity of science and the discourse of reason and logic to help human beings to make sense of our world. Among these were dadaism, surrealism, and the Theater of the Absurd. Confronted with the perceived failure of the promise of science, theater practitioners took to staging life unfettered by logic, reason, order, or meaning. How do we act if we think that life has no meaning? Without the scientific method to guide us, what happens to our understanding of how the world around us works and where we fit in? Where do hopelessness and despair lead us as a species? Can we somehow find meaning in an apparently meaningless existence? In this course, we will examine how dramatists in Europe and Latin America have staged these existential conundrums that threaten to undermine centuries of social and scientific "progress." All class work is in English. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (FRST-MN)(THEA) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Arthur Adamov, PROFESSOR TARANNE
Fernando Arrabal, THE TRICYCLE
Albert Camus, THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS
Samuel Beckett, KRAPP'S LAST TAPE
Oswald de Andrade, THE CANDLE KING
Osvaldo Dragún, STORIES YET TO BE TOLD
Eugène Ionesco, THE BALD SOPRANO
Miguel Mihura, THREE TOP HATS
Virgilio Piñera, ELECTRA GARRIGO
Luigi Pirandello, SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR
Ramón del Valle Inclán, LIGHTS OF BOHEMIA
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Examinations and Assignments:
Class Participation (30%), Weekly Reading Notes (10%), Oral Presentation (10%), Midterm (4-5 pages) (20%) and Final (8-10 pages) Paper (30%) |
| Instructor(s): Treme,Matthew James Times: .M.W... 07:00PM-08:20PM; Location: FISK413; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 18 | | SR major: 1 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 1 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 1 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 3 | FR: 9 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 2 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 1 |
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