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| Semester | spring semester 2022 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Balázs Rapcsák (balazs.rapcsak@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This seminar will explore the work of three major contemporary playwrights who, each in their own way, have challenged the realist conventions which dominate mainstream theatre to this day. Tom Stoppard's intellectual comedies provide supreme entertainment through their scintillating humour, intricate stagecraft and witty dialogue. We will read his rewriting of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from the perspective of two minor characters ("Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead", 1966), and then delve into his ‘science plays’, namely "Arcadia" (1993) – which jumps back and forth between the early nineteenth century and the present while ingeniously mixing the themes of Romantic poetry, thermodynamics, chaos theory, and landscape gardening – and "The Hard Problem" (2015), which features a group of neuroscientists debating the nature of human consciousness. Caryl Churchill is among the most noteworthy political dramatists of our times, with a background in socialist feminism, as well as one of the most innovative. We will survey the formal experimentation and thematic diversity of her output, from the feminist dramaturgical strategies developed in "Top Girls" (1982) to groundbreaking representations of ecological disaster, war and terror in "Far Away" (2000) to questions of bioengineering, cloning and personal identity in "A Number" (2002). All the while, we will be asking: What does a non-naturalist political theatre look like? And finally, we will be attacked viscerally by Sarah Kane’s disturbing plays, which combine grotesque violence with extreme emotional intensity and lyricism, evolving new understandings of what it means to be political. The course will thus engage with a series of relatively recent dramatic texts that teach us to listen and see in novel ways. |
| Learning objectives | Students will become acquainted with influential strands of contemporary British theatre and related critical approaches, hone their close-reading skills, enhance their knowledge of drama analysis, and explore a range of significant political, social and cultural issues. |
| Bibliography | The texts of the plays to be discussed, film adaptations, audiovisual recordings, and critical literature will all be made available on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This seminar is for students who have completed all three introductory modules (including the proseminar papers). |
| Course application | Please sign up via MOnA. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Thursday | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 24.02.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 03.03.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 10.03.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Fasnachtsferien |
| Thursday 17.03.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 24.03.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 31.03.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 07.04.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 14.04.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Ostern |
| Thursday 21.04.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 28.04.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 05.05.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 12.05.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 19.05.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 26.05.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Auffahrt |
| Thursday 02.06.2022 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular and active participation, a brief presentation and short writing assignments |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |