AMERICAN THEATER: FROM PROPAGANDA TO MELODRAMA
| Title | ΑΜΕΡΙΚΑΝΙΚΟ ΘΕΑΤΡΟ: ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΠΡΟΠΑΓΑΝΔΑ ΣΤΟ ΜΕΛΟΔΡΑΜΑ / AMERICAN THEATER: FROM PROPAGANDA TO MELODRAMA |
| Code | Λογ7-365 |
| Faculty | Philosophy |
| School | English Language and Literature |
| Cycle / Level | 1st / Undergraduate |
| Teaching Period | Winter/Spring |
| Common | No |
| Status | Active |
| Course ID | 600007504 |
Programme of Study: 2024-2025
Registered students: 0
| Orientation | Attendance Type | Semester | Year | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KORMOS | Elective Courses | Winter/Spring | - | 6 |
| Academic Year | 2018 – 2019 |
| Class Period | Winter |
| Faculty Instructors |
|
| Weekly Hours | 3 |
| Total Hours | 39 |
| Class ID | 600131918
|
Class Schedule
| Building | Σχολείο Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας |
| Floor | Ισόγειο |
| Hall | ΑΙΘΟΥΣΑ 112 (111) |
| Calendar | Τετάρτη 11:00 έως 13:30 |
Course Type 2016-2020
- Scientific Area
- Skills Development
Course Type 2011-2015
Knowledge Deepening / Consolidation
Mode of Delivery
- Face to face
Digital Course Content
- e-Study Guide https://qa.auth.gr/en/class/1/600131918
- At the Website of the School: www.enl.auth.gr
- eLearning (Moodle): https://elearning.auth.gr/course/view.php?id=7126
Erasmus
The course is also offered to exchange programme students.
Language of Instruction
- English (Instruction, Examination)
Learning Outcomes
The students will
• become familiar with the role of nineteenth-century American theatre as a powerful political and ideological tool through the study of both the aesthetics and ideological parameters inherent in these melodramatic plays which focus upon a number of contentious issues of the time such as nationalism and political propaganda, slavery, the myth of the American West, women’s position in American society, the emergence of class and ethnic hierarchies.
• become acquainted with the social, political, and cultural discourses of the nineteenth century from which melodrama sprang and to which it contributed.
• develop reading, writing, and speaking skills by means of textual analysis, essay-writing, and in-class oral assignments.
• develop their critical ability by drawing connecting lines with the role of melodrama (theatre, film, media) in contemporary society and its impact on the mentality and psychology of the people
General Competences
- Apply knowledge in practice
- Retrieve, analyse and synthesise data and information, with the use of necessary technologies
- Adapt to new situations
- Make decisions
- Work autonomously
- Work in teams
- Work in an international context
- Work in an interdisciplinary team
- Generate new research ideas
- Design and manage projects
- Appreciate diversity and multiculturality
- Respect natural environment
- Demonstrate social, professional and ethical commitment and sensitivity to gender issues
- Be critical and self-critical
- Advance free, creative and causative thinking
Course Content (Syllabus)
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the genre of melodrama, the most widely-accepted form of popular entertainment on the nineteenth-century American stage. The students will study a number of early American melodramas ranging from Royall Tyler’s The Contrast (1787) to George A. Aiken’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), Anna Cora Mowatt’s Fashion (1845), Bartley Campbell’s My Partner (1879), and others.
Keywords
American popular culture, melodrama, society, theatre, audience, ideology
Educational Material Types
- Notes
- Audio
- Multimedia
- Interactive excersises
Use of Information and Communication Technologies
Use of ICT
- Use of ICT in Course Teaching
- Use of ICT in Communication with Students
- Use of ICT in Student Assessment
Description
powerpoint presentations, video showings from performances, elearning platform, electronic communication with students
Course Organization
| Activities | Workload | ECTS | Individual | Teamwork | Erasmus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 98 | ||||
| Reading Assigment | 24 | ||||
| Exams | 28 | ||||
| Total | 150 |
Student Assessment
Description
Final exam
Student Assessment methods
- Written Exam with Multiple Choice Questions (Formative, Summative)
- Written Exam with Extended Answer Questions (Formative, Summative)
Bibliography
Additional bibliography for study
Barefoot, Guy. Gaslight Melodrama: from Victorian London to 1940s Hollywood.
Brooks, Peter. The Melodramatic Imagination.
Cavell, Stanley. Contesting Tears: the Hollywood Melodrama of the Unknown
Woman.
Gerould, Daniel C. American Melodrama.
Grimsted, David. Melodrama Unveiled: American Theatre and Culture, 1800-1850.
Hays, Michael. Melodrama: The Cultural Emergence of a Genre.
Kaplan, E. Ann. Motherhood and Representation: the mother in popular culture and
melodrama.
Karnick, Kristine Brunovska. Classical Hollywood Comedy.
Landy, Marcia. Imitations of Life: a reader on film & television melodrama.
McConachie, Bruce A. Melodramatic Formations: American Theatre and Society,
1820-1870.
Mason, Jeffrey D. Melodrama and the Myth of America.
Πατσαλίδης, Σάββας. Μελόδραμα Ειδολογικοί και Ιδεολογικοί Μετασχηματισμοί.
Randall, Charles H. Hisses, boos & cheers; or, a practical guide to the planning,
producing, and performing melodrama.
Williams, Linda. Playing the Race card: melodramas of Black and white from Uncle
Tom to O. J. Simpson.
Last Update
24-02-2020
