LIT 4044 Della Gatta Spring 2021

This course explores how the conventions of American drama changed in the last fifty years. How has engaging “the political” been made explicit or implicit on American stages? This class looks to the work of a diverse set of playwrights to engage a conversation about the relationship of power to identity, structure, and language. American drama showcases the performance of various identities and the intersections of them: ethnic, racial, gender, sexuality, religious, and regional. We will also address various dramatic narrative structures and styles.

Primary texts are American dramas from the playwrights listed below. The class includes several writing assignments, short-form exercises to engage with theatre from a creative lens, and a willingness to engage critically in conversation about theatricality, representation, and identity.

Primary texts include plays by the following: Ayad Akhtar, Migdalia Cruz, Maria Irene Fornés, Quiara Alegría Hudes, David Henry Hwang, Tony Kushner, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Cherríe Moraga, Suzan-Lori Parks, Luis Valdez, Paula Vogel, August Wilson