Your midterm project will be a short (4-5 pages) research paper which will focus on one play from a short list of candidates that emerge from one of our focus eras. You are expected to contextualize your play within the era it was written, bringing up aspects of performance, culture, and society to illustrate your points.
Areas of focus should include:
How your selected play represents its specific cultural region/era
Considerations of staging conventions/demands
Considerations of costuming/props/masks
How audiences are incorporated
How the artistic heritage of the past influences the play
The reception of the piece over time
Complete the Following Tasks:
Find the play you would like to write about in the folder on Blackboard.
Read the play thoroughly with the writing prompts in mind.
Do extensive research on your play both on and off-line, featuring at LEAST four peer-reviewed (scholarly) sources.
Write your paper (4-5 pages minimum) on your play, avoiding plot summaries.
Cite all sources carefully in-text
Ensure your Works Cited list is robust and error-free
Proof-read your entire paper carefully.
Ask questions well in advance of submission date.
Learning Objectives:
Students will:
Read plays representative of cultural movements and eras
Identify ways in which the selected play activates its era
Have the opportunity to develop a historiographical argument related to a play text, incorporating class concepts.