Time Schedule:
Barry B Witham
DRAMA 499
Seattle Campus
Class description
This class will investigate the relationship between war and the representation of it in the theatre. Readings will be drawn from a variety of plays and texts with special emphasis on the current conflict in Iraq. This material is particularly relevant right now as the United States embarks on a new phase ("surge") in a campaign that continues to be controversial and potentially divisive. It is important to have this examination among college students, in particular, because many of them have been "distanced" from the fighting due to the lack of a draft, and a sense that they are not being asked to "sacrifice" in a conflict which the administration frequently compares to World War II and other major campaigns. Because of that, all points of view are encouraged and enrollment will not be limited.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Students will all read the same plays (enumerated below) and respond to them on-line and in an informal journal. There will be some guest lectures and a final written project. This project can be a formal paper, if you choose, but can also be one original written scene for a play to be titled: Bringing the Iraq War Home.
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
Preliminary list of plays to be read: Stuff Happens by David Hare, Flags by Jane Martin, Serjeant Musgrave's Dance by John Arden, Bury the Dead by Irwin Shaw, Peace Mom by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, Another Day in Baghdad by David Tucker and One Day in September by Brandon Ivie and Emily Trantow
