230268 American Political Theater and Drama (S) (SoSe 2015)

Theater in the United States has predominantly been a commercial enterprise, forming part of an ever growing entertainment industry that seeks to deliver “an upbeat version of life and the times” (Postlewait) and to “reinforce[ ] the dominant morality of the nation” (Frick). Yet, in the course of the twentieth century different forms and traditions of political theater developed in the United States out and often against the theatrical mainstream. Inspired by, and in turn themselves informing, aesthetic innovations and political counter-movements, a growing number of plays have successfully interrogated the dominant American social, political, economic, and/or cultural discourses and their inherent ideologies. Self-consciously alternative theater companies were founded to provide the public space for these kinds of experiments and viewpoints that were little if not represented on the mainstream commercial stage. The course will analyze examples from the different strains of U.S.-American political theater, such as the the aesthetically experimental and politically interventionist endeavors of the white U.S.-American stage, from the Federal Theater project of the 1930s via alternative companies such as the Living Theater, operating since the 1940s, via the diverse traditions of the “theater of identity” (Aronson)—that is, the critical theatrical explorations of socially marginal(ized) groups, primarily people of color, women, and LGBT populations—, to contemporary playwrights of diverse backgrounds dealing with national political issues such as 9/11.

LEARNING GOALS:
1. Content Goals:
- comprehend key terminology and concepts of theater, drama, and in particular political theater, using the example of the United States
- gain or deepen knowledge of U.S. American theater and drama through the lens of its political theater history
2. Skills Goals:
- (further) develop skills in independently obtaining and assessing information as well as understanding and evaluating complex issues
- build skills in critically reading and analyzing dramatic texts as well as works of academic writing (theoretical and literary/cultural historical scholarship)
- foster skills in discussing readings in class (plenary discussions and group work) as well as present results orally or in writing
- obtain experience of doing original research: formulating research questions, locating sources, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information.

Requirements for participation, required level

Die Anforderungen an die regelmäßige und aktive Teilnahme (nur gültig für Studienmodell 2002) sind hier erläutert. In den FsB und Modulhandbüchern finden sich Informationen, ob Studienleistungen (nur gültig für Studienmodell 2011)/Einzelleistungen/Modul(teil)prüfungen vorgesehen sind, und welche Anforderungen hierfür bestehen.

Bibliography

A course syllabus and bibliography will be made available to participants by the beginning of the term.