Overview
This course traces the history of Western theatre from its Greek origins to the beginning of the eighteenth century in England and France, with specific references to the plays in a core anthology, The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama.
It provides an analysis of individual plays as theatre and as literature, and includes brief background notes on the authors and on the significance of the plays in the context of Western theatre. It traces the common elements of drama from ritualistic and ceremonial dance and song, through the liturgical drama of the Middle Ages, English Renaissance tragedy and tragi-comedy, French neo-classical comedy and tragedy, and the social comedy of the Restoration. It also shows the development of the theatre as a physical structure, from the early Greek open air amphitheatres to the modified tennis courts in London, investigating the relationship of the physical theatre and the structure and style of the drama.
Evaluation
To receive credit for this course, you must achieve achieve a minimum grade of D (50 percent) on all of the below assignments and final exam and an overall grade of D (50 percent) for the entire course. All assignments and final examination must be submitted or completed by the end of your course contract date.
| Activity | Weight |
| Scene Analysis | 10% |
| Critical Review | 20% |
| Essay Proposal | 5% |
| Essay | 25% |
| Final Exam | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Worthen, W. B., ed. The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama. 6th ed. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2010.
Wallis, Mick and Simon Shepherd. Studying Plays. 4th ed. New York: Bloomsbury, 2018.
Other Materials
All other course materials are online.
Special Course Features
Many of the plays in ENGL 303 are available online via the Athabasca Landing and the Athabasca University Library’s Theatre in Video database.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the ENGL 303 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the examination, and a grade of at least D (50 percent) overall.
| Activity | Weight |
| Critical Essay | 50% |
| Exam | 50% |
| Total | 100% |
Challenge for credit course registration form