Catalog Description: Students analyze the plays of Henrik Ibsen
in English translation using a variety of critical approaches. Students
investigate ethical issues and themes in Ibsen's plays by examining the
plays through the lens of ethics, using readings in ethical theory to better
understand both the ethical issues and the plays themselves. Students will
also study Ibsen's dramatic technique and the historical and literary context
of his work. Prerequisite: completion of BTS-T or permission of instructor.
GE: EIN
Instructor: Anne Sabo, OM 14C, x8105
Office hours: by appointment (call x8105 or e-mail sabo)
Credit: GE: EIN Counts toward major/concentration: Norwegian/Nordic
Studies
In this course we will study the plays of Henrik Ibsen in English translation.
Lectures and additional readings will help place the works in a historical
and literary context, will introduce philosophical ideas on which Ibsen
based his ethical concerns, and will present various critical approaches.
Class discussion will investigate ethical issues and themes in Ibsen's
plays. Since class discussion will focus on the readings, you will need
to come prepared by thinking and writing about each assigned text. Several
short papers will be assigned, as well as oral presentations and group
projects. There will be a final oral presentation and paper. You will be
encouraged to use the internet for further information, and links will
be provided.
Course Requirements:
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Attendance is required!
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Preparation for and participation in class discussion
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Participation in "ethics expert" group
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Daily response/question papers
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One 4-6 page paper
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Scene paper and trial script
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Final 7-10 page paper
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Portfolio (contains response papers, class notes, short paper, scene paper,
trial script and final paper
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Group oral presentations (scene and trial)
Response/question papers: Response/question papers are informal
and designed to prepare for and stimulate class discussion. They should
be 1/2 to 2 pages long, and computer produced. The response/question papers
will be prepared before class on the assigned reading for the day and will
reflect your thinking about and response to the text in question. Response
papers may be informally written, making use of lists, key words, and incomplete
sentences where appropriate. You may wish to leave space for class discussion
and lecture notes to be written directly on your response/question papers,
or you may use loose leaf paper that can be kept together with the response
papers in a portfolio to be turned in at the end of the semester. Remember
to date and sign all your work. These informal "papers" will serve several
purposes. They provide an opportunity for you to practice critical responses
in writing, to work through ideas for paper topics, to come to class prepared
for discussion, and to encounter ideas from others in the class.
Response papers will be turned in at the end of each class period.
One critical paper. During the course of the semester, you will
turn in one critical paper of 4-6 pages. I will be happy to work with you
on brainstorming, drafting, and preparing the final version. Your response/question
papers and class discussion will help you think of topics and ideas. This
paper may reflect class discussion and should use the text(s) as evidence.
You can explore an ethical perspective, give further consideration to responses,
argue interpretations offered in class, or relate one text to another or
to other interesting ideas.
Due March 21 (week before spring break)
One scene paper (due April 11) and one trial script (due May 9)
Final paper: This 7-10 page paper will serve as a presentation
and review of a significant ethical issue in one or more of the plays we
read (or an optional reading). In it you will critique the text(s) you
have chosen, integrating perspectives from class discussion, other primary
and secondary texts read, and in some cases critical articles or other
background material. The paper will serve as the final exam for the course,
and the final version will be due May 16 during the scheduled exam
period .
Portfolio: You will gather your informal response/question papers,
discussion notes, short paper, scene paper, trial script, and final paper
in a portfolio to be handed in at the scheduled final exam period (May
16). A preliminary portfolio will be turned in just before spring break.
Oral presentations: 1) You will work in a group to present a
scene from an Ibsen play. The scene you choose and your interpretation
of it should reflect an important ethical issue. 2) You will work in a
group to try in a court of law a significant character from an Ibsen play.
Each group will need an accused, several witnesses, a lawyer for the defense
and a prosecutor. 3) You will be assigned (with several other students)
to become the class experts on one of the significant ethical theories.
IBSEN TEXTS:You will need to purchase the Geoffrey Hill (Penguin
Classics) translation of Brand, and Rolf Fjelde's Ibsen: The
Major Prose Plays.
OTHER readings: You will need to purchase Lawrence Hinman, Ethics:
A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory, Richard Hornby, Script into
Performance, and a reading packet.