Gender, Sexuality, and Drama (362-0-20)
Topic
The Drama of Homosexuality
Instructors
Jeffrey A Masten
Meeting Info
University Hall 218: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
Our focus will be the homosexuality in drama, and the drama of homosexuality, in Anglo-American theatre and culture, from Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare through _Angels in America_. This course surveys that drama, but it also thinks theoretically about homosexuality's "drama"--that is, the connections the culture has made (at least at certain moments, at least in certain contexts) between male homosexuality and the category of "the dramatic." The course examines the emergence of "homosexual" and "gay" as historical categories and analyzes the connection between these categories and theatrically related terms such as: "flamboyance," "the closet," "outing," "gender trouble," "drag," "playing," "camp," "acts," "identities," "identification," and "performativity." We will also be interested in the identificatory connections between gay men and particular theatrical genres and figures such as opera, the musical, and the diva.
Teaching Method
mini-lectures; guided analysis and discussion.
Evaluation Method
Based on preparation and participation in discussion, papers, final paper/project.
Class Materials (Required)
Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, Philaster, ed. Suzanne Gossett, Arden Early Modern Drama series, published by Arden Shakespeare/AC Black, 2009. ISBN-10: 1904271731; ISBN-13: 978-1904271734. Mart Crowley, The Boys in the Band: A Play in Two Acts; Paperback (June 1968), Samuel French Inc; ISBN: 0573640041. Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction, Vintage Books, ISBN 0679724699. Tony Kushner, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (Parts 1 & 2), Revised and Complete edition, ISBN-13: 978-1559363846 Christopher Marlowe, Edward the Second, New Mermaids Series, ed. Martin Wiggins and Stephen Guy-Bray, ISBN-13: 9781472520524. John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsmen, ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. Folger Shakespeare Library (Simon & Schuster), ISBN-10: 1982170166; ISBN-13: 978-1982170165 Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays, Richard Allen Cave, Penguin Classics, new edition (February 27, 2001), ISBN 0140436065. Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, New American Library; ISBN 0451167783.
Class Materials (Suggested)
Critical, theoretical, and historical readings and films on Canvas.
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area