Overview
English 304: A History of Drama Part II: Modernist Theatre is a senior-level university course which examines the beginnings of Western modernism in plays of the nineteenth and twentieth century from Europe, Britain, the United States, and Canada. It considers the “realistic” interrogation of social dynamics in the plays of Henrik Ibsen, Bernard Shaw, and Anton Chekhov; the satirical dimensions of epic theatre in a play by Bertolt Brecht; the expressionistic style of Eugene O’Neill; and the metatheatre of Luigi Pirandello. It examines the characteristics of the “Theatre of the Absurd” in plays by Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter; and of postcolonial theatre in plays by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Brian Friel, Jack Davis, Tomson Highway and Athol Fugard. It concludes with a consideration of the postmodern stylistic and thematic aspects of M. Butterfly by David Henry Wang. English 304 provides an analysis of individual plays as theatre and as text, and includes brief background notes on the authors and on the significance of the plays in the context of Western theatre.
Evaluation
To receive credit for ENGL 304, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent)and a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the final examination. A supplemental examination is available. All assignments are required in order to pass the course. The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Scene Analysis | 10% |
| Critical Review | 20% |
| Essay Proposal | 5% |
| Essay | 25% |
| Examination | 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:
The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama 6th ed. Ed. W. B. Worthen. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2011.
Timberlake Wertenbaker. Our Country's Good. Woodstock, IL: The Dramatic Publishing Company, 1989.
Studying Plays, 3rd ed. Mick Wallis and Simon Shepherd. London: Arnold, 2010.
Other Materials
All other course materials are online.
Special Course Features
Several of the plays in ENGL 304 are available for streaming viewing via the AU Landing, or via 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 304 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