Module: Modern Drama

Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title	Modern Drama
Module Code	EL110 (ITS) / LIT1070 (Banner)
Faculty	Humanities & Social Sciences	School	English
Module Co-ordinator	Gearoid O'Flaherty
Module Teachers	Ellen Howley, Eugene McNulty
NFQ level	6	Credit Rating	5
Pre-requisite	Not Available
Co-requisite	Not Available
Compatibles	Not Available
Incompatibles	Not Available

Coursework Only
The repeat Autumn Assignment will duplicate the format of the paper from the Second Semester Assignment.

Description

The purpose of this module is to examine the development of new forms of theatrical representation through a focus on the evolution of modern European, American and Caribbean drama from the late nineteenth century to the present. Significant developments in the theory and practice of dramatic performance will be identified. The module will provide the opportunity to explore how the dramatic forms pioneered in Europe were adopted and adapted by leading American and Caribbean dramatists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Focusing on seminal dramatic texts from diverse locations and backgrounds, students will gain an understanding of how the theatre is shaped by the world around it. Perspectives on gender, power, memory, myth, and identity will be interrogated within their relevant social, cultural, and political contexts.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the major developments in theatrical practice from the late nineteenth century to the present.
2. Make links between experimental theatre and wider social and philosophical issues, such as socialism and existentialism.
3. Illustrate an understanding of the relationship between new realist/experimental theatre and the preceding history of dramaturgy.
4. Deploy key critical vocabulary, such as Metatheatre, Absurdism, and Expressionism.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of performative praxis.
6. Appreciate the diversity of theatrical traditions in aptly problematic terms.
7. Identify connections between the theatre of Europe, America and the Caribbean. Explore the adaptation, evolution/revolution of European theatrical innovations by American and Caribbean dramatists.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Lecture	24	Covering a range of texts (plays & critical works), contexts and concepts associated with Modern Drama.
Tutorial	3	Guided class discussion in smaller groups.
Independent Study	98	Reading a selection of plays and works of criticism; viewing and reviewing a selection of stage productions related to the module; analysis and revision.
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House/Hedda Gabler

Anton Chekhov, The Seagull

August Strindberg, Miss Julie

Oscar Wilde, Salomé

George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara

Una Marson, London Calling

Bertolt Brecht, Mother Courage

Eugene O’Neill, Long Day’s Journey into Night

Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire

Arthur Miller, All My Sons

Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

Samuel Beckett, Happy Days/Endgame

August Wilson, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Winsome Pinnock, Rockets and Blue Lights

Sarah Kane, Blasted/4.48 Psychosis

Marina Carr, Portia Coughlan

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	100%	Examination Weight	0%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown
Essay	Mid-Semester Assignment	30%	Week 8
Assignment	End of Semester 'Final Assignment'	70%	Sem 2 End

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories: Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module. Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module. Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Brecht, Bertolt: 2014, On Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic, Methuen, London,
Carlson, Marvin: 1993, Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey, Cornell University Press, New York,
Esslin, Martin: 2014, The Theatre of the Absurd, Bloomsbury, London,
Fortier, Mark: 2002, Theory/Theatre: An Introduction, Routhledge, London,
Grene, Nicholas: 2014, Home on the Stage: Domestic Spaces in Modern Drama, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
Harris Smith, Susan: 2006, American Drama: The Bastard Art, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
Kiberd, Declan: 1995, Inventing Ireland, Vintage,
Krasner, David: 2011, A History of Modern Drama, Wiley, Hoboken,
Marker, Frederick J. and Innes, Christopher: 1998, Modernism in European Drama : Ibsen, Strindberg, Pirandello, Beckett : Essays From Modern Drama, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario,
Pickering, Kenneth: 1988, How to Study Modern Drama, Macmillan, Basingstoke,
Stylan, J.L.: 1983, Modern Drama in Theory and Practice: Volumes 1-3, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
Willet, Ralph: 0, Brecht on Theatre, Methuen,
2007: The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, Columbia University Press,

Other Resources

None