FALL 2007 HONORS COURSES

HONR 219P Do Not Enter: Outsiders in Modern American Drama
Monday/Wednesday 2:00-3:15 p.m.
Dr. Korey Rothman, Visiting Professor, Theater Department

The promise of America has been equality and opportunity, in other words, inclusion; yet the literature often reflects a widespread sense of alienation or "outsidership." Twentieth-century American plays in particular depict individuals, families, minorities, and others who exist on the margins of the mainstream, suffering from the various effects of exclusion. Not all the characters, however, are alienated from American ideas. For example, no one buys in to the American Dream of success more than the protagonist of Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, who dreams big and plays by all the rules, but is never more than an incompetent small-timer that no one respects. On the other hand, Tennessee Williams depicts the lonely isolation and tragic vulnerability of emotionally fragile characters, such as Laura Wingfield and Blanche Dubois, who cannot compete in the mainstream activities necessary for survival. Sam Shepard represents rootless Americans: poor white trash drifters whose families are in decay. And the outsiders in Tony Kushner's Angels in America-Jews, gays, Mormons, and AIDS victims-all of whom he calls "Reagan's children," are essentially orphans of America-"loveless and afraid."

In this class we will examine the plays closely, asking questions such as: What do these plays depict as the various forms of outsidership in twentieth-century America? What do they suggest are the causes of exclusion, and what are the social, economic, and psychological effects of exclusion on the central characters? Do these plays offer alternatives to exclusion? And finally, how do we imagine this theme evolving in the 21st century American theater? Will multiculturalism, for example, make the American mainstream more inclusive, or will it have the opposite effect? How do changes in the composition of families influence inclusion or exclusion in mainstream American life? If you were writing a play on American life as you know it, what would be the elements-setting, characters, and themes-of that play?

Requirements: Short papers, a mid-term, and a final exam. In addition, each student will develop ideas-setting, characters, and themes-for a hypothetical play of his or her own on this topic.

Texts May Include:
Eugene O'Neill, The Hairy Ape, Long Day's Journey into Night
Lillian Hellman, The Children's Hour ; Tony Kushner, Angels in America
Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie, Streetcar Named Desire
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun; Paula Vogel, How I Learned to Drive
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible
Sam Shepard, True West, The Curse of the Starving Class
August Wilson, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

CORE: Literature [HL] Diversity [D]