Required texts:

Henrik Ibsen, Complete Major Prose Plays, trans. Rolf Fjelde (NAL pb)

August Strindberg, Five Plays, trans. Harry Carlson (U of California P pb)

Anton Chekhov, Five Plays, trans. Ronald Bingley (Oxford pb)

Plays by Bernard Shaw, forward by Eric Bentley (Signet pb)

Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion and Major Barbara (Bantam pb)

Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra (Penguin pb)

Bernard Shaw, Heartbreak House (Penguin pb)

Bernard Shaw, St. Joan (Penguin pb)

SCHEDULE:

Thurs 4 Organization

Tues 9 Ibsen, A Doll’s House

Thurs 11 Ibsen, An Enemy of the People

Tues 16 Ibsen, Hedda Gabler

Thurs 18 Ibsen, The Master Builder

Tues 23 Ibsen, Little Eyolf

Thurs 25 Ibsen, Little Eyolf

Tues 30 Strindberg, Dance of Death (Part 1)

Thurs 2 Strindberg, Dance of Death (finish Part 1 and Part 2)

Tues 7 Strindberg, Dream Play

Thurs 9 Strindberg, Ghost Sonata

Tues 14 Chekhov, Seagull

Thurs 16 Chekhov, Uncle Vanya

Tues 21 ****MID-TERM EXAM**** Bring blue book

Thurs 23 Chekhov, Three Sisters

Tues 28 Chekhov, Three Sisters

Thurs 30 Checkhov, Cherry Orchard

Tues 4 Checkhov, Cherry Orchard

Thurs 6 Shaw, Mrs Warren’s Profession

Tues 11 Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra

Thurs 13 Shaw, Major Barbara

Tues 18 Shaw, Pygmalion [became a musical as My Fair Lady]

TERM PAPER PROPOSAL DUE             Click here for instructions

Thurs 20 Shaw, St. Joan

Tues 25 paper conferences

Thurs 27 THANKSGIVING BREAK

Tues 2 Shaw, Heartbreak House

Thurs 4 Shaw, Heartbreak House

Tues 9 Finale: What have we accomplished?

Thurs 11 spare/conferences

Fri 12 Term Paper due in my mailbox (116 Burrowes) by 4 p.m. WITH ROUGH DRAFT PLEASE

Wed 17 Final Exam due in my mailbox by 4 p.m.

Expectations and General Information:

(1) You are required to attend all class meetings and to be on time: attendance will be taken. You are expected to come prepared, and to participate in discussion. A passive class is a dull class. The class will be as good as your joint participation makes it.

(2) You must read each play before the first meeting on it. You are strongly advised to re-read each play at least once after we discuss it.

(3) Informal, ungraded reading notes are due from each of you on the first day we discuss each play. Half a page to a page will be plenty (typed would be nice, but handwritten is acceptable). Please give me some reaction to the play, and some questions about it in need of discussion. These notes will help you come to class prepared, and they will help provide a basis for class discussion. The notes are required as scheduled. My records will show only that you have turned them in (or not): there will be no grade and they will not be returned. Failure to produce such notes will have a seriously negative effect on your term grade. NB: Keeping copies of your notes will help you study for the exams.

(4) There will be a mid-term exam (in class, closed book) on 21 October. A formal one-page (typed) proposal for the term paper is due on 18 November. The term paper should be roughly five (5) typed pages. The final exam will be take-home and open book, but not easy.

(5) Late papers will be penalized one-third of a grade per working day unless you have obtained an extension in advance.

(6) Finding a valid topic is often the most important part of writing a paper. Therefore I will not assign topics. You are expected to find your own topics. I will, however, be happy to discuss a possible topic with you in advance, in person or by phone, and I will try to help you find good ones.

(7) I do not want papers from frat files or off the web. Therefore you are required to turn in your handwritten rough draft together with your final typed/printed version. (If you write rough drafts at the keyboard, then please hand in a first printout that is significantly different from your final draft.) NB: Keep an uncorrected carbon or a second printout in case the paper somehow gets lost, disappears from your harddisk, etc.

(8) The final grade will not be determined by any tidy mathematical formula. The term paper will be important; class participation will have a significant effect on the final grade. Both exams will be important in demonstrating your grasp of a wide range of material. I do not grade on a curve: you are not competing against one another for grades.

(9) Plays are of course meant to be seen in live performance. You are strongly encouraged to attend whatever live performances are available on campus this fall as a way to improve your visualization of performance. You are likewise encouraged to use videos, both as a form of "reading" and for your papers.

(10) Please drop into my office hours at your convenience and get acquainted during the first month of class. This is a polite request, but also a requirement. I want to know who each of you is. I am happy to talk about British Literature, the English Major, the University, Life in the Real World, Jobs, Graduate School, or the Universe with you.

Copies of this syllabus and the instruction sheet for the term paper are available on my website:

Warning: Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, and Shaw were radicals in their day, and some students still find their political, social, and sexual views upsetting. If you are likely to be disturbed (for example) by anti-Christian positions, you might prefer to look for another class.

Please note the following University policies.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT

Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course. Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Students who are found to be dishonest will receive academic sanctions and will be reported to the University’s Judicial Affairs office for possible further disciplinary action.

DISABILITY ACCESS STATEMENT

The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified people with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities and is committed to the policy that all people shall have equal access to programs, facilities, and admissions without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University Policy or by state or federal authorities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please tell the instructor as soon as possible.