The University of Jordan

Faculty of Foreign Languages

Department of English
Fall 2013/2014

Course Information
Course No: 2201702
Course Title: English Drama
Section: 1
Time: Thursday, 5.00-8.00 pm.
Location: FLB R#14
Instructor: Professor Mahmoud Alshetawi
Cell: 0777460270
E-Mail: alshetawi_m@ju.edu.jo
Office Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 4.00-5.00 pm. Other Time by Appointment
Required Texts
The plays required for the course are listed below. We will use any
available editions of the plays.
Course Description
According to the M.A Study Plan, "this course is intended to provide
students with a general acquaintance of the development of drama,
major theories of drama and criticism of drama, in-depth study of
individual plays chosen from a variety of periods and minor dramatic
genres, main trends in drama, modern developments of the art of
drama. It should be noted that the emphasis throughout is on drama as
a literary type rather than on dramaturgy".

However, it is my intention in this semester to cover modern British

drama from 1890 to the late twentieth century. Therefore, the course
syllabus will only reflect this vibrant and rich period of British drama
and theater.
Course Objectives
We will study in this course modern/contemporary British drama. The
focus of the course will be on the issue of drama and society. For this
purpose, students will look into the various movements and trends in
English drama from 1890 to the late twentieth century, and perhaps
after. In this course will examine a large corpus of plays and related
dramatic criticism that should illuminate the dramatic movements and
other theatrical schools pertaining to this rich period of British drama. To
achieve the goals intended in the course students will read
representative plays by significant playwrights who have left indelible
impact on the modern stage. Additionally students must also learn
about British theater in terms of performance and theatrical festivals. As
supplementary to the course materials, students will have to look at
filmed plays and you tubes of performances.
Learning Outcomes
After the completion of this course, students are expected to have
achieved these goals:
1. appreciate modern/contemporary British plays as literature and
theater
2. be acquainted with the history of modern drama and the stage
history of each required play
3. analyze the individual plays in their social and intellectual
contexts
4. be acquainted with the stage history and literary reviews of each
play
5. be familiar with the different trends and movements in modern
English drama
6. be acquainted with the theories of the modern stage
2

7. be able to write critical analysis of topics or issues relating to the

course materials
8. produce a well-documented paper or research using proper
research tools.
Weekly Course Schedule (Tentative)
Week 1. Introduction; an overview of the history of British drama; trends
and dramatic movements, etc.
Week 2. G. B. Shaw, Major Barbara
Week 3. Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere' Fan
Week 4. J. M. Synge, The Playboy of the Western World; Sean O'Casey,
Cock-a-doodle Dandy
Week 5. O'Casey continued; W. B. Yeats, The Countess Cathleen
Week 6. Noel Coward, Privates Lives
Week 7. John Osborne, Look Back in Anger
Week 8. Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot, Endgame
Week 9. John Arden, Serjeant Musgrave's Dance
Week 10. Harold Pinter, The Caretaker, The Homecoming
Week 11. Arnold Wesker, Chicken Soup With Barley; Shelagh Delaney, A
Taste of Honey
Week 12. Simon Gray, Butley; Peter Shaffer, Equus
Week 13. Edward Bond, Saved, Lear
Week 14. Brian Friel, Translations; Tom Stoppard, Jumpers
Week 15. Caryl Churchill, Top Girls
Week 16. Revision & Final examination
Course Requirements

1. a portfolio for each playwright (bio-data, bibliography, stage history,

criticism and reviews)
2. class presentations
2.a research paper, properly documented, and carefully developed
(topic to be discussed with me)
Grading Policy
1.Participation & Presentations: 20%
2.Research Paper: 10%
3.Midterm Exam: 30%
4.Final Exam 40%
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. It is a reason for failure in the course.
The student who commits plagiarism will also be subject to further
disciplinary procedures.
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. If you feel that you have to be absent, you
must ask for an early excuse, or provide me with a written one for your
absence. However, if your absences exceed the permitted limits, then
you may not be allowed to take the final exam.

References
1. Aleks Sierz, Rewriting the Nation: British Theatre Today. Methuen
Drama, 2011.
2. Chris Megson, Modern British Playwrights: The 1970s: Voices,
Documents, New Interpretations. Methuen Drama, 2012.
3. Christopher Innes, Modern British Drama: The Twentieth Century.
Cambridge University Press,2002

4. Dan Rebellato, 1956 and All: The Making of Modern British Drama.
Routledge, 1999.
5. David Lane, Contemporary British Drama. Edinburgh University
Press, 2010.
6. Elaine Aston, An Introduction to Feminism and Theatre.
Routledge, 1994.
7. John Russell Taylor, The Angry Theatre: New British Drama. Hill
and Wang, 1969.
8. John Russell Taylor, Anger and After: Guide to the New British
Drama. Methuen Publishing Ltd, 1977.
9. John Russell Taylor, Second Wave: British Drama of the Sixties.
Methuen Publishing Ltd, 1977.
10.John Smart, Twentieth Century British Drama. Cambridge
University Press, 2002.
11.Lizbeth Goodman, Contemporary Feminist Theatre: To Each Her
Own (Gender in Performance). Routledge, 1993.
12.Martin Esslin, The Theater of the Absurd. Vintage, 3rd edition,
2004.
13.Michael Billington, State of the Nation: British Theatre Since 1945.
Faber and Faber, 2009.
14. Michelene Wandor, Post-war British Drama: Looking Back in
Gender. Routledge, 2001.
15.Richard F. Dietrich, British Drama, 1890 to 1950: A Critical Hstory.
Twayne Publishers, 1989.
16. Sanford Sternlicht, A Reader's Guide to Modern British Drama.
Syracuse University Press, 2004.
17.Simon Shepherd, The Cambridge Introduction to Modern British
Theatre. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
18.Una Ellis-Fermor, The Irish Dramatic Movement. Nabu Press,
2011.