Syllabus

ENGLISH 104 INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA DR. MCINERNEY
SYLLABUS
GOALS
This course aims to help students: A. read drama, from short plays to longer works, with discernment; B. analyze the elements and strategies of drama; and C. respond articulately to dramatic works, both orally and in writing.
All students will:
A. Read carefully a substantial number of dramatic texts, including comedies, tragedies, and specimens of other types;
B. Analyze dramatic texts through close reading, so that they can identify aspects, such as characterization, plot structure, and symbolism, which interact to produce the artistic effect and meaning of the work;
C. Reason inductively about drama; for example, by examining specific instances in the play being analyzed, students will practice recognizing meaningful patterns in language and incident and identifying themes;
D. Comprehend and use such elementary critical terms as exposition, rising action, climax, denouement, etc.;
E. Relate individual plays to the conventions of genre and, to a lesser degree, to other contexts, such as the literature of a nation, movement or period, and the other works of a particular author or group of authors;
F. Engage in focused discussion of drama;
G. Write detailed and informed analyses of dramatic works that demonstrate increasing mastery of the above objectives.
TEXT
THE BEDFORD INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA. Edited by Lee Jacobus. New York, St. Martin's Press, 1989.
METHODS
Readings (of plays in the text), lectures, discussions, films, dramatic readings, writing assignments and tests.
ASSIGNMENTS
Two short papers, each 5-7 pages long, typed, double-space. If secondary or critical sources are used in the preparation of these papers (and such use is encouraged), those sources must be acknowledged properly in textual notes and bibliographical references, according to the new MLA format. FAILURE TO DOCUMENT BORROWINGS PROPERLY CONSTITUTES PLAGIARISM, AND IS GROUNDS FOR ASSIGNING A FAILING GRADE FOR THE PAPER AND, PERHAPS, FOR THE COURSE.
First Paper: an analysis, developed according to the method we will learn in class, of two major characters encountered in a play or film you have seen on your own; it should include a discussion of the character's personality and the strategies which reveal that personality. DUE: SEPT. 28RD.
Second Paper: an analysis of the way in which a play we will NOT cover in class utilizes and varies the conventions of a particular dramatic type or genre. The paper should also compare the play chosen to a play we will read together, and which employs the same conventions. (You will be given special written instructions on how to complete this assignment.) DUE: NOV. 18TH
REACTION PARAGRAPHS/QUIZZES: at some point in the coverage of most plays we study together, I will ask you to write a paragraph or two stating your own personal ideas or reactions to questions I will derive from particular scenes, themes, plot developments, dramatic devices, or characters. These "reactions" should be typed and handed in at the start of the next class. Each reaction will be graded and returned as soon as possible. At the end of the semester, the marks earned on these brief assignments will be averaged, and that average will be used as a grade equal to the grades earned on the two major papers. ALTERNATIVELY, I will sometimes divide the class into discussion groups, and ask each group to produce an answer to a question. The "group reactions" will be graded, and each member of the group will receive that grade for the response. Group reaction grades will then be averaged in with the other reaction paper grades.
SPECIAL NOTE: You are encouraged to use word processors to type your work, but please try to use a printer which has a decent ribbon. The same plea applies to conventional typewriters too.
WORD OF WARNING: Papers will be evaluated by considering the cogency and persuasiveness of the analysis, and the clarity and correctness of the writing.
LATE ASSIGNMENTS: assignments must be turned in when they are due, unless you and I have agreed IN ADVANCE that circumstances will not permit you to meet a particular deadline, and fixed a new due date. Failure to observe this rule will result in lowered grades for the late assignments.
EXAMS
There will be two exams (a mid-term and a final), and they will both employ a fill-in-the blank format. Sometimes the blanks will require a word or a phrase, sometimes a sentence or two. Material for the exams will be drawn from the assigned plays and essays, and from class lectures and discussions. The fill-ins on the final exam will be supplemented by essay questions requiring an analysis of a short play students have not seen before. Tentatively, the MID-TERM EXAM IS SCHEDULED FOR OCT. 9TH. The final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar sometime between Dec. 12th and Dec. 17th.
GRADES
Your final grade will be determined by averaging the grades you earned on the assignments and exams. In doubtful cases, such factors as the trend of your marks and the quality of your class participation will be used to "tip the balance."
ATTENDANCE
You will be allowed 4 cuts. Additional unexplained, unexcused cuts may result in some reduction of the final grade.
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE
Here are some "dos" and "don'ts" I would ask you to keep in mind: I hope we'll all get to class on time for the most part, but if now and again you are two or three minutes late, don't worry; just come in and take your seat as usual. If you are five-to-ten minutes late, try to enter as unobtrusively as you can, and sit in the first empty seat you can find. If you are more than ten minutes late, enter the same way, but see me after class to explain, and face the possibility that you may still be penalized with a cut. Once class has begun, you should not get up and leave, either for a few minutes or for the rest of the period, unless you believe that an abrupt exit is absolutely necessary. During class sessions, an occasional, discreet, low-voiced question or comment to your neighbor (except during a test or quiz) is okay; animated conversations are not acceptable. Finally, please do not anticipate the end of a class session by closing books, rattling papers, or scraping chairs backward; wait until I dismiss the class. In short, having good classroom manners simply means taking care not to distract your classmates and the instructor.
CONFERENCES
My office is in CLP203 and I encourage you to visit me there during posted office hours, or by appointment. We can discuss your progress in the course, grades you've been earning, your reactions to and thoughts about drama, or any other topic about which you are concerned. My telephone extension number is #7659. My e-mail address is MCINERNEYJ1@UOFS.EDU. NOTE: later in the semester I hope to establish a web site for this course and use it as another means of communication with you.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF PLAYS TO BE COVERED
OEDIPUS REX (Aug. 31 – Sept. 9)
LYSISTRATA (Sept. 14 - 16)
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (Sept. 21 - 23)
HAMLET (Sept. 30 - Oct. 7)
A DOLL HOUSE (Oct. 12 - 21)
THE CHERRY ORCHARD (Oct. 26)
PYGMALION (Oct. 28 – Nov. 2)
MOTHER COURAGE (Nov. 4 - 9)
THE GLASS MENAGERIE (Nov. 11 - 16)
DEATH OF A SALESMAN (Nov. 16 - 18)
ENDGAME (Nov. 23)
BURIED CHILD (Nov. 30 – Dec.2)
THE CONDUCT OF LIFE (Dec. 7 - 9)
FENCES (Week of Dec. 8 - 12)
* ALL OF THESE PLAYS CAN BE FOUND IN YOUR TEXTBOOK