Academic Catalog

THTR 2A: HISTORY OF DRAMATIC LITERATURE: CLASSICAL TO MOLIERE

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2025
Units: 4
Hours: 4 lecture per week (48 total per quarter)
Prerequisite: Demonstrated proficiency in English by placement via multiple measures OR through an equivalent placement process OR completion of ESLL 125 & ESLL 249.
Advisory: Not open to students with credit in DRAM 2A or ENGL 42A.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Area 3: Arts & Humanities
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Successful students will be able to employ new perspectives and skills as applied to interpreting dramatic texts for content, plot development, image interpretation, language structure, character motivation, genre as needed in an employment situation
  • Successful students will develop relevant perception, social placement and regional inspiration of plays from Ancient Egypt through Elizabethan England from both Eastern and Western cultures as they apply to historical timelines.
  • Successful students will actively apply content understanding to reflecting upon behaviors universal in human nature both past and present and will creatively apply these perspectives in employment situations.

Description

The study of the history of theatre from its origins in the East and West through the 17th century. The history and development of theatre and drama are studied through reading and analyzing representative masterpieces of dramatic literature from Aeschylus to Moliere, addressing the role of theatre/drama in active societies throughout the ancient and classical world as they relate to cultural, political, and social conditions of the time.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Assess the historical relevance, context, and importance of different plays.
  2. Outline the historical development of theatre from Ancient Egypt and the Greeks through the 17th century.
  3. Classify and differentiate the basic structures of dramatic literature.
  4. Compare and distinguish a number of plays within a historical frame of reference.
  5. Evaluate and interpret the relationship between a play as literature and a play as a living art form.
  6. Demonstrate critical thinking and communication skills, such as listening, reasoning, analysis, and criticism, when reading or viewing plays.

Course Content

  1. Literary analysis of dramatic works from Ancient Egypt through the 17th century
    1. Setting
    2. Plot
    3. Character
    4. Imagery
    5. Language structure and characteristics
    6. Cultural aesthetic and relevance
  2. Identify and compare dramatic genres
    1. Ancient religious ritual
    2. Tragedy
    3. Comedy and satire
    4. Satyr play
    5. Morality play
    6. Noh, Doll, and Kabuki
    7. Sanskrit
    8. Peking opera
  3. Survey study of the history of dramatic literature and the active timelines thereof
    1. Greek
    2. Roman
    3. Japan
    4. India
    5. China
    6. Medieval and Dark Ages
    7. Elizabethan
    8. Restoration
    9. Neoclassic
  4. Analysis of performance and presentation
    1. Artist and audience analysis
    2. Performance demands and characteristics
    3. Venues
    4. Social relevance and impact
  5. Evaluate plays for literary content, including:
    1. Narrative structure
    2. Plot development
    3. Character behavior and identity
    4. Social applications
    5. Assess elements as they translate from literature to performance and the visual manifestation thereof
  6. Demonstrate and apply interpreted perceptions to production and presentation precepts

Lab Content

Not applicable.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

When taught via Foothill Global Access: on-going access to computer with email software capabilities; email address; JavaScript-enabled internet browsing software.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Research essays comparing and contrasting two or more of targeted works
Examination of overall comprehension of selected works as applied to varied societies
In-class writings of interpretive assignments
In-class participation and discussion postings
Review quizzes and exams

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture presentations and classroom discussion using the language of theatre
In-class reading of dramatic texts by the instructor and students followed by instructor-guided interpretation and analysis
Group presentations of major projects followed by in-class discussion and evaluation
Individual oral presentations of play analysis followed by class discussion

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

All scripts used for study in this course are available from numerous sources. Some are furnished through open sources, some have been compiled into a campus reader. Students are able to purchase various new or used editions of these plays to assure economy. The following list represents a cross section of individual plays as available choices applicable to this course:
Aeschylus: The Oresteia
Sophocles: Oedipus Rex
Euripides: Medea, The Trojan Women
Aristophanes: Lysistrata
Plautus: The Brothers Manaechmus
Kalidasa: Shakuntala
Anonymous: The Second Shepard's Play, Everyman
Chikamatsu: Love Suicides at Sonezaki
Chushingura: The Forty-Seven Samurai
Marlowe: The Lamentable Tragedy of Doctor Faustus
Shakespeare: Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest
Jonson: Volpone
Beaumont: The Knight of the Burning Pestle
Benn: The Rover
Moliere: The Misanthrope, Tartuffe

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Reading assigned plays and supporting texts.
  2. Journal responses to readings.
  3. Written analysis of readings.
  4. Individual/group projects.
  5. Posting to discussion platforms.

Discipline(s)

English or Theater Arts