Although early female dramatists like Susan Glaspell or Lillian Hellman made significant contributions to American Drama in the early 20th century, it was not until the feminist movement in the 1960s and 70s that a feminist agenda reached American stages. This agenda included defining issues of role allocations, gender, empowering women, sexism, supporting the equality of women, and aimed at contradicting the often stereotyped depiction of women written by male dramatists. In this seminar students will be introduced to how female US-American dramatists strove to create a contemporary canon of feminist plays to foreground women’s struggle for independence. Different dramatic works by Modernist and Contemporary female dramatists will provide the literary and cultural context for our in-class discussions.
Students should purchase the following texts:
A course reader providing excerpts of feminist dramas and secondary literature will be made available at the copy shop Reckhammer Weg 4 before the first class meeting
Wendy Wasserstein, The Heidi Chronicles. Josef Weinberger Plays, 1989. (81 pages) ISBN: 978-0822205104
Marsha Norman, `Night, Mother. Josef Weinberger Plays, 2015. (67 pages) ISBN: 978-0822208211
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun. Vintage, 2004. (160 pages) ISBN: 978-0679755333
Although early female dramatists like Susan Glaspell or Lillian Hellman made significant contributions to American Drama in the early 20th century, it was not until the feminist movement in the 1960s and 70s that a feminist agenda reached American stages. This agenda included defining issues of role allocations, gender, empowering women, sexism, supporting the equality of women, and aimed at contradicting the often stereotyped depiction of women written by male dramatists. In this seminar students will be introduced to how female US-American dramatists strove to create a contemporary canon of feminist plays to foreground women’s struggle for independence. Different dramatic works by Modernist and Contemporary female dramatists will provide the literary and cultural context for our in-class discussions.
Students should purchase the following texts:
A course reader providing excerpts of feminist dramas and secondary literature will be made available at the copy shop Reckhammer Weg 4 before the first class meeting
Wendy Wasserstein, The Heidi Chronicles. Josef Weinberger Plays, 1989. (81 pages) ISBN: 978-0822205104
Marsha Norman, `Night, Mother. Josef Weinberger Plays, 2015. (67 pages) ISBN: 978-0822208211
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun. Vintage, 2004. (160 pages) ISBN: 978-0679755333
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