THTR 371:

THEATRE HISTORY I: ESTABLISHING TRADITIONS OF WORLD THEATRE AND DRAMA

CSUB, Fall Quarter 2007/8

Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-5:45

Instructor: Professor Maria-Tania Becerra

E-mail:

Office: Faculty Towers302E

Office Telephone: 661-654-2524

Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 5:45-6:15

Monday /Wednesday/Friday by appointment.

Course Description:

This course will cover the fundamentals of the history of world theatre and drama by examining performance traditions and theatre practices from their earliest ritual beginnings to the Renaissance. The student will read major dramatic texts representative of these periods, which are key to the development of world drama. Although there is an emphasis placed on the western canon, significant class time will be devoted to non-western theatre as well. Class activities will include lectures, discussions, audio-visual presentations, reading, and writing assignments.

Goals and Objectives:

This course satisfies your general education requirement for Theme II. The following goals are a necessary part of this course. By the end of the quarter, the student should be able to:

Understand the experiences and ideas of others.

  • Describe the experiences of cultures different from his/her own through the study of plays and performance practices.

Understand the interaction between culture and creative expression.

  • Describe performance practices and theories of various cultures.
  • Explain the connection between theatre and its social, cultural, and political context.
  • Discuss how theatre is a creative expression of the culture from which it emerges.

Understand changes in the human condition over time.

  • Know the major playwrights and identify the most influential theatre artists of the historical periods covered.
  • Describe how the theatre is affected by and a reflection of major historical trends.

Critically analyze texts and works of art from different cultures.

  • Use an analytical framework and critical language for the discussion of drama.
  • Compare and contrast western and non-western theatrical traditions.
  • Write a coherent and well-organized analysis of selected plays.
  • Define concepts and styles of the periods covered.

Have an interest in and understanding of the Performing Arts.

  • Identify and discuss the contributions made by significant theatre artists.
  • Value theatre as a living art and a creative force and resource.

Required Texts:

Aeschylus. The Oresteia. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1984.

Kalidasa. The Recognition of Sakuntala. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001

Hrotswitha, The Conversion of Thais the Whore – ONLY AT BOOKSTORE

Plautus, Menaechmus. Harlan Davidson INC. Illinois, 1958

Aristophanes, Birds

Euripedes, Medea

Seneca, Medea

NOTE: Other texts will be read but most will be provided on WEB CT.

Course Requirements:

  • Attendance is required, and students are expected to actively participate in class. More than three absences will lower your attendance/participation grade.
  • If you are more than 10 minutes late, do not disrupt class and enter. You may wait outside until the class takes a break.
  • Short “pop” quizzes will be given periodically at the beginning of class. Missed quizzes cannot be made up.
  • Three 2-page (typed, double-spaced) papers are assigned. The paper topics will be discussed in class. The due dates are noted below, and papers are due at the beginning of class. Late papers will not be accepted. All class work must be submitted in hard-copy form (not e-mailed as an attachment).
  • A midterm exam will be given in class on Tuesday 16 October.
  • A 4-5-page (typed, double-spaced, MLA documentation) research paper will be due in class, or at the latest in my mailbox in the Theatre Office in the Music building by 5pm, Monday November 6. The topic will be developed in consultation with the instructor. Late papers will not be accepted. All papers must be submitted in hard-copy form.

Components of the Final Grade:

Syllabus Quiz 5%

Attendance/participation:10%

Quizzes/in-class assignments:20%

Short Papers:15%

Midterm exam:20%

Research paper:20%

Final exam:10%

______

100%

Extra credit- production review5%

Note – If you have a 90% at the end of class, you do not have to take the final and will receive an “A”.

Academic Honesty:

Students are expected to do their own work. While some classroom activities necessitate group collaboration, the bulk of the work required in this course—including quizzes, exams, and writing assignments—must be completed by each student without assistance. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense and can take many forms: cheating on an exam, helping someone else cheat, committing plagiarism, or submitting the same assignment for two separate courses without prior permission. If a student in found guilty of academic dishonesty, the instructor is required to assign the student a final grade of “F” for the course, and notify both the Dean of Students and the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences. Multiple incidents of academic dishonesty lead to the student’s dismissal from CSUB. For further information about what constitutes academic dishonesty, please consult the CSUB Catalogue or make an appointment to discuss the matter with your instructor.

Course Schedule

Week One

Tue 9/11:Course Introduction; Go over syllabus. Discuss Egyptian Theatre and

Define Theatre.

Thu 9/13:Syllabus quiz! Introduction to classical Athens and the development of Greek Theatre. View Oedipus

Reading assignment: The poetics on Web CT

Week Two

Tue 9/18:Aristotle

Reading assignment: Aeschylus, Agamemnon

Thu 9/20:Aeschylus continued (Distinguished guest, Matthew Woodman, “How do I write these papers?”) Math

Reading assignment: Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers

Week Three

Tue 9/25:Aeschylus continued (Start thinking about topics)

Reading assignment: The Eumenides

Thu 9/27:Aeschylus continued

Reading assignment: Euripides, Medea

Assignment due: Paper #1 (group 1)

Week Four

Tue 10/2:Euripides/Special Effects

Reading: Aristophanes, Birds

Assignment due: Paper # 1 (group 2)

Thu 10/4:Aristophanes/Old Comedy

Reading assignment: Plautus, The Twin Brothers/”Menaechmus”

Week Five

Tue 10/9:Menander, New Comedy, (The Grouch) and Roman comedy

Reading assignment: Seneca, Medea

Thu 10/11:TOPICS DUE TODAY!!! Roman tragedy, Seneca, and other forms of performance in ancient Rome/Roman architecture

In class- Matthew Woodman- “Writing a research paper”

Assignment due: Paper #2 (group 1)

Week Six

Tue 10/16:MIDTERM

Thu 10/18:Critical methods: Theatre Research (Library Lab room 202 Second Floor-with Christy Gavin) THIS IS MANDATORY!!

Assignment due: Paper # 2 (group 2)

Week Seven

Tue 10/23:Chinese theatre/ video

Reading assignment: Kalidasa. The Recognition of Sakuntala / parts of Natyasastra (On web CT)

Thu 10/25:Sanskrit Drama

Reading assignment: Introductory material on The Noh Theatre

Week Eight

Tue 10/30:Japanese theatre lecture/video

Assignment due: Paper #3 (group 1)

Reading assignment: Kan’ami Kiyotsugu, Matsukaze (on web CT)

Thu 11/1:Discuss Kan’ami Kiyotsugu, Matsukaze / Time to discuss research papers

Assignment due: paper # 3 (group 2)

Reading assignment: Hrotswitha, The Conversion of Thais the Whore

LEND ME A TENOR OPENS!

Week Nine

Tue 11/6:Medieval Europe: Hrotswitha, the first female playwright

Reading assignment: The Second Shepard’s Play (web CT)

Assignment due: Research paper

Thu 11/8:Lend me a tenor extra credit due. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED!! The English passion play

Reading assignment: Everyman (web CT)

Week Ten

Tue 11/13:The Morality Play

Thu 11/15:The Emergence of the Renaissance; review

Final examination

SUPPLEMENTARY READING LIST

General Theatre History

Brockett, Oscar. History of the Theatre (2 hour closed reserve)

Nicoll, Allardyce. World Drama

Balinese Theatre

Brandon, James. Theatre in Southeast Asia

Greek Theatre

Bieber, Margarete. History of the Greek and Roman Theatre

Dover, K.J. Aristophanic Comedy.

Kitto, H.D.F. Greek Tragedy

Pickard-Cambridge. The Dramatic Festivals of Athens.

Wiles, David. Greek Theatre Performance.

Roman Theatre

Beare, W. The Roman Stage

Segal, Erich. Roman Laughter

Japanese Theatre

Kunio, Komparu. The Noh Theatre

Indian Theatre

Keith, A.B. The Sanskrit Drama

Medieval European Theatre

Harris, John Wesley. Medieval Theatre in Context

Nelson, Alan. The Medieval English Stage

Potter, Robert. The English Morality Play