Hauptseminar Cornerstones of 20th Century U.S American Drama

This course will introduce students to a selection of 20th Century American dramas. After a short introduction into the genre and the developments of U.S.-American drama in the 20th century, this seminar will deal with a selection of three Pulitzer Prize awarded American dramas. Starting with Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, we will discuss how Williams combines historical topics with innovative ideas and in how far his drama has influenced up following American dramatists. The second drama is Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman which will be analyzed in the context of the American Dream and Miller's theater of the social consciousness. The last drama to be dealt with in this class is Tony Kushner's Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes which deals with the handling of AIDS and homosexuality in the American society of the late 1980s. Short introductory lectures on the discussed dramas will provide the literary and cultural background for our discussion of exemplary texts. Course Readings: Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. Reclam Verlag. ISBN-10: 315009240X , ISBN-13: 978-3150092408 Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Reclam Verlag. ISBN-10: 3150091721, ISBN-13: 978-3150091722 Kushner, Tony. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Theater Communications Group. ISBN-10: 1559362316, ISBN-13: 978-1559362313 Anglistik Universität Duisburg-Essen SS 2012 Mag, Magisterstudiengang Engel Wiebke