Tennessee Wesleyan University

Course Syllabus Spring 2018

TH: 301 Dramatic Literature

Location: Townsend Auditorium

Course: Dramatic Literature (TH301A)

Time: 1:00-2:15 Tue-Thur

Instructor: John Forrest Ferguson

Office hours: By Appointment

Email: jfferguson@tnwesleyan.edu

Required Text: Gainor, Garner, and Puchner. (2014). The Norton Anthology of Drama. Vols I, II. 2nd ed.
New York, W.W. Norton and Company.

University Mission Statement: In keeping with the spirit of liberal arts, Tennessee Wesleyan University
seeks within the framework of the Judeo-Christian tradition to provide for students the highest quality
educational experience, to promote personal responsibility, integrity, and purpose, and to prepare
students for a life of leadership and service in an ever changing global community.

Course Description: This class prepares students for the analytical and critical study of dramatic
literature, with attention paid to genre, literary movements, historical context , as well as performance
demands and practice. In this course students will be guided through a series of play scripts (14) and
encouraged to approach each as a finished product-while performance contexts will (of course) be
discussed, the emphasis of this course will be to understand the dramatists art and dramatic literature
as part of a broader context, in the same way that other literary types (the novel, the short story,
poetry, etc.) can be understood. Extensive reading of primary works with mini essays on each play as
well as frequent quizzes will be required.

Course Goals and Objectives: This course is designed to:

 To introduce students to the study of dramatic literature, where text is examined for literary as
well as dramatic effect
 To provide students with methods that enable them to explore a play from thew perspective of
the literary analysist and critic
  To encourage students to begin to mke strong analytical choices, through discussion and
written assignments

Course Schedule:

Class Date Historical Period play/playwright

Week 1- Jan 9-11 Greek Media, Euripides

Week 2-Jan 16-18 Roman Pseudolus, Plautus

Week 3-Jan 23-25 Classical Japan Atsumori, Motokiyo

Week 4-Jan30-Feb1 Medieval Theatre Everyman, Anonymous

Week 5- Feb-5-8 Early Modern Europe The Tragical History of Dr.

Faustus, Christopher Marlowe

Week 6-Feb13-15 English Theatre 1576-1642 Volpone, Ben Johnson

Week 7-Feb20-22 Spanish Theatre 1580-1700 Fuenteovejuna, Lope de

Vega Carpio

Week 8- Feb27-Mar1 French Theatre 1660-1700 Tartuffe, Moliere

SPRING BREAK Mar6-9

Week 9-Mar13-15 English Theatre 1660-1700 The Country Wife, William

Wycherley

Week 10-Mar20-22 Eighteenth-Century Theatre School For Scandal,

Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Week 11-Mar27-29 Romanticism and Melodrama Dolls House, Ibsen
(modern theatre)

Week 12-Apr 3-5 Modern Theatre The House of Bernada Alba,

Federico Garcia Lorca

Week 13- Apr10-12 Postwar Theatre A streetcar named Desire,

Tennessee Williams

Week 14-Apr17-19 Contemporary Theatre TBA

Last Day of Class- Apr24 Final Projects

Course Requirements/Evaluation

1. Read selected plays. One each week. (14 plays.) Write a mini essay for each play. (25% of final
grade.
2. Quizzes (20% of final grade) Each week (play) will have a quiz covering basic material and
concepts covered in each play, information about the playwrights, as well as historical material
from student presentations. Quizzes will usually be on the first day of the chapter coverage.
3. Individual presentations on historical periods ( 15% of final grade) Sometimes these will be as
individuals sometimes when more information is needed this may be done as partners.
4. Final Project (25% of final grade) More on this later, but each student will participate in a final
group project or a final paper.
5. Attendance/participation (15% of final grade) It is expected that students will attend classes.
More than two unexcused absences will lower your final grade 5 points. This includes showing
up on time. And engage in the class….not on your phones.

Standard grading scale will be used.

Academic Integrity: Violating the University Honor Code will result in an immediate “F” for this course
and result in a report to the academic dean’s office who will determine what other penalties to access.
Each student should avoid the use of recycled material or copying other students work. Academic
misconduct is not tolerated and is severely penalized according to the steps outlined in the student
honor code.

Disability Statement: Any student who feels that she/he may need an accommodation based on the
impact of a documented disability should contact the Academic Success Center to discuss specific needs.
Please contact Dr. Patsy Ging, Director of Learning Support Service for Students with Disabilities at
X5237 or via email at: pging@tnwesleyan.edu. It is the student’s responsibility to make initial contact
with one of the coordinators in the Academic Success Center. (Dr. Patsy Ging, Mr. John Gaston).