WSTD 432 - Family Dramas,Family Players

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Burnham. Though families have been the subject of literary scrutiny at least since Oedipus Rexm Eugene O'Neil's magisterial Loong Day's Journey Into Night was arguably the first American work to look unflinchingly at the darker side of family life. In this course, we will read twentieth century novels, plays stories and poems (as well as some nonliterary theoretical works on gender) that show the family as a whole, albeit a fragmented whole. We will read stories by the Irish writers William Trevor and Edna O'Brien who show marriage in various stages of decay, as well as two short novels by the American Jane Smiley whose family survives their crises. We'll look at the relationship of neighborhood and family through stories by the African-American writers John Edgar Wideman and Toni Cade Bambara. Arthur Miller's "Death of a Saleman" and poems from Life Studies by Robert Lowell will let us examine family through the lens of America's obsession with success. Finally, we'll look at families with traditional homes, through Barbara Kingsolver's "The Bean Trees" and Marilynne Robinson's "Housekeeping." Several of the works on the list have been made into excellent films, and we will watch at least two. Brief weekly response papers will encourage all to participate in discussion. There will be a final comparative paper, and no exam.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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