Theater History Syllabus S16 REVISED March16

THE 3042: History of Theater
Baruch College, Vertical Campus 3-185
Spring 2016, T/Th 10:45 AM – 12 PM

Professor:        Dr. Debra Caplan ([email protected])
Office: NVC 7-229                 Phone: 646-312-4057
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4-5 PM & by appointment

Jump to:
Course Description
Learning Goals
Grading
Requirements
Required Texts
Theatergoing
***Course Outline (includes links to readings)***
Office Hours and Writing Assignments
Academic Integrity and Digital Etiquette

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course offers an exploration of the origins of theater and overviews of major world theater practices and dramatic literature from Western, African, and Asian traditions. We will examine the place of theater in society and its potential as a cultural force. We will also study the making of theater history.

LEARNING GOALS

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Outline a basic theater history chronology and explain key historical milestones
• Analyze and contextualize plays, historical events, and productions
• Conduct in-depth historical research on a topic
• Define historiography and explain different historical methodologies
• Conduct archival research

GRADING

Attendance and Participation                                                                           15%
Blog                                                                                                                              15%
Archival Item Analyses (3)                                                                                   15%
Dramaturgy Packet                                                                                                15%
NYC Scavenger Hunt  and Response                                                                  5%
Final Research Project                                                                                           25%
Final Presentation                                                                                                   10%

Total Possible                                                                                                             100 points

EXTRA CREDIT: 

One point of extra credit for attending any of the following events. All events on this list are free.

To receive extra credit, you must write a 2 page response paper to the event you attended describing what you thought of it and include proof of attendance. Each extra credit opportunity is worth one percentage point on your final grade.

Lecture: Heather Nathans, “Patriots and Outcasts: Jewish Playwrights in Antebellum America.” Friday February 19^th at 11 AM, Skylight room at the Graduate Center, CUNY

Lecture: Freddie Rokem, “Performing Kafka in Israel Today: The Hebrew Notebook and Citizen K.” Tuesday, March 1, 12pm, Graduate Center CUNY Room 3111

Lecture: Debra Caplan, “A Tortured Love Affair with the Yiddish Stage: The Spectacular Failures of Y.L. Peretz.” Tuesday, March 8^th, 6-7:30 PM. Graduate Center, Rm. 8301

Author Reading: The Brilliance of the American Theater. Thursday 3/24, 6-8 PM. The Drama Book Shop, 250 W. 40^th Street. Readings of excerpts from recent books on American theater history.

Staged Reading: August Strindberg, Miss Julie. Thursday 3/31, 12:45 – 2:30, Engelman Recital Hall, Baruch Performing Arts Center

REQUIREMENTS

1. Attendance and Participation (15%)

Attendance is required and will be taken at each class session. You are permitted two absences without penalty. After that, you will lose 1 point for every subsequent absence, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Assignments not turned in due to an absence will be considered late.

Lateness Policy: Arriving late or leaving class early will count as a lateness. For every three latenesses, you will lose one point from your attendance grade.

Your participation grade will be calculated based on your preparedness and participation in class. If you have good attendance, are well prepared, and participate regularly in class, you will earn all 15 points. The participation grade will also assess whether or not you are keeping up with the assigned readings.

2. Blog (15%)

Completion of 13 required blog posts. Each post is worth 1 point. A 2 point bonus will be awarded to students who complete all 13 posts on time.

3. Archival Item Analyses (15%)

Three short (2-3 page) papers that examine an item found in an online archive and situate it in its historical and theatrical context. 5 points each.

4. Dramaturgy Packet (15%)

A stage in the development of your final research project. Students will prepare a packet of historical information about a play intended for performers working on a production. 5-7 pages (including images and bibliography).

5. NYC Scavenger Hunt Response (5%)

Successful completion of the scavenger hunt and a short (2-3 page) response to the activity.

6. Final Research Project (25%)

A research paper on a topic of your choice relating to theater history. The topic must be related to a particular play or production. Students will be required to consult traditional and archival sources for this paper. 10-12 pages.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Students are required to acquire a copy of the following text, available at the Baruch bookstore and on reserve at the Newman Library:

Theatre Histories: An Introduction, 2^nd edition, by Zarrilli, McConachie, Williams, & Sorgenfrei

All other reading and viewing material will be provided online.

THEATERGOING

We will be going as a class to see Eclipsed (by The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira and starring Oscar winning actress Lupita N’yongo!) on Broadway. Our class has free tickets courtesy of the producers. Date TBD. Attendance will be required at this evening production.

COURSE OUTLINE

Readings/viewings are to be completed prior to the date listed.

(“TH” = Theatre Histories: An Introduction)

 

	TOPIC	READ / WATCH	DUE
T 2/2	What is theater history?		Get copy of textbook!
Th 2/4	The Beginning of Theater: Oral Traditions Case Study: The Purim Play	TH 1-39 “Contraband”	Blog: Critical Question
T 2/9	NO CLASS Friday schedule
Th 2/11	Ritual Theater	TH 52-102	Blog: Critical Question
T 2/16	Ancient Greek Drama	The Bacchae Visit The Ancient Theater Archive and Choose Object	Item Analysis: Ancient Theater Archive
Th 2/18	Ancient Roman Theater	TH 104-125	Blog: Critical Question
T 2/23	Early Indian Drama	The Little Clay Cart Kathakali Excerpts Online	Blog Response
Th 2/25	Introduction to Final Projects: Research Methods	Laura Schmidt, “Using Archives”	Topic Research: Identify 3 topics of interest
T 3/1	Theater Archives: Visit to NYPL Billy Rose Theater Division	Browse NYPL Billy Rose Website	Meet at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza
Th 3/3	Medieval Drama	Everyman	Blog: NYPL Response
T 3/8	Theater and the State	TH 169-234 Shakespeare, Twelfth Night	Topic Selection and Preliminary Sources (5)
Th 3/10	Visit to Museum of the City of New York: New York’s Yiddish Theater Exhibit Suggested donation: $10		Meet at the Museum of the City of New York: 1220 Fifth Avenue.
T 3/15	Melodrama	TH 235-269	Blog: MCNY Response
Th 3/17	Eclipsed discussion (tentative)		Blog: Eclipsed Response
T 3/22	Theater and the Nation	TH 270-298	Blog: Critical Question
Th 3/24	Popular Entertainment	TH 327-353 Browse Library of Congress Archive	Item Analysis: LOC Archive
T 3/29	The Avant-Garde	TH 299-387	Blog: Critical Question
Th 3/31	Modernism	TH 388-424	Optional Extra Credit: Attend Miss Julie reading at BPAC during club hours
T 4/5	Case Study: Ibsen and A Doll’s House	A Doll’s House	Dramaturgy Packet
Th 4/7	Theater and Politics	TH 425-456 Find Object on Federal Theater Project Archive	Item Analysis: FTP Archive
T 4/12	Case Study: Brecht	Mother Courage and Her Children	Blog Response
Th 4/14	Postwar Theater History	TH 459-480	Blog: Critical Question
T 4/19	Globalization and Theater’s New Marketplace	TH 482-511 Fugard, Sizwe Bansi is Dead	Blog Response
Th 4/21	New Paradigms: Performance Studies	TH 551-588 A Student’s Guide to Performance Studies	Draft of first five pages of paper
4/22 – 4/30	NO CLASSES Spring Break
T 5/3	Theater History in NYC: A Scavenger Hunt	John Kenrick, “Theater in New York City: A Brief History”	Meet at Baruch promptly at 10:45.
Th 5/5	American Musical Theater	TBA	Scavenger Hunt Response Paper
T 5/10	Putting Contemporary Theater in Context	Ben Brantley, Hamilton: Young Rebels Changing History and Theater Browse: Hamilton Genius Annotations “Cesar Alvarez is Changing the American Musical Form” “Starring Me!”	Blog: Contemporary Theater Response
Th 5/12	Student Presentations
T 5/17	Student Presentations		Final Research Project

OFFICE HOURS

My office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-5 PM. I am also available to meet with students outside of these times by appointment. These meetings are an opportunity for us to discuss class material, your progress, assignments, preparing for exams, your feedback on the course, or anything else related to this class. Email me to set an appointment. You can also feel free to stop by my office anytime and say hello.

EMAIL CONTACT

Please allow 48 hours for receipt and response to all emails. Email correspondence should be reserved for setting appointments outside of office hours and for quick clarification questions. If you have questions that require a longer explanation, it’s best to make an appointment.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

FORMATTING:  All written work should be typed in 12 point font and double-spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.

LATE ASSIGNMENTS:  One day late – 1 letter grade reduction (i.e. A to B)
Two days late – two letter grade reduction (i.e. A to C)
Three days late – three letter grade reduction (i.e. A to D)

PAPERS 4+ DAYS LATE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

I encourage you to use the services offered by the Baruch Writing Center. Writing Center consultants are available to meet with you and/or consult via email, online chat, or phone to help you with your writing.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses. My policy is to give a failing grade to any assignment that has been plagiarized or an exam in which you have cheated. I am also required by Baruch College policy to submit a report of suspected academic dishonesty to the Office of the Dean of Students. This report becomes part of your permanent file.

Cheating is the attempted or unauthorized use of materials, information, notes, study aids, devices or communication during an academic exercise. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Copying from another student or allowing another to copy your work
• Unauthorized collaboration on an assignment or examination
• Taking an examination for another student
• Asking or allowing another student to take an examination for you
• Submitting substantial portions of the same paper to two classes without consulting the second instructor
• Allowing others to research and write assigned papers including the use of commercial term paper services

Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writing as your own:

• Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes
• Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledgment
• Using information that is not considered common knowledge without acknowledgment
• Failure to acknowledge collaborators on homework assignments

For more on plagiarism, see the online tutorial prepared by the Newman Library.

DIGITAL ETIQUETTE

Please turn off your phone and/or other electronic devices before you enter the classroom. You will learn more if you can concentrate on the course while you’re in the classroom. For this reason, I ask that students not use laptop and tablet computers in class. If you have a documented disability that require you to use a laptop or tablet, please speak with me. Recording of lectures and classroom discussions is strictly prohibited.