National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Faculty of English Language and Literature

Department of Literature and Culture

Instructor: Dr. Konstantinos Blatanis

Office: 902
Office hours: Mon. 17:00-18:00 & Fr. 12.00-13.00
e-mail: kblatanis@enl.uoa.gr

Twentieth-Century American Drama

The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the aesthetic and ideological
character of 20th-century American drama. Through the study of representative plays
by Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill, Thornton Wilder, Lorraine
Hansberry students are led to attain a thorough understanding of the theoretical trends
and practical modes that define modern American drama. In addition, attention is
given to the ways in which these outstanding American playwrights positioned
themselves and their artistic output within the enveloping socio-political and cultural
context.
Students are expected to participate actively in class discussions and are
advised to keep themselves informed about additional material distributed by the
instructor. In addition, they will be asked to react and comment on excerpts from
filmed productions of the plays studied.

C O U R S E O U T L I N E:

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Introduction
Thornton Wilder – Our Town (1938)

Weeks 3 and 4: Thornton Wilder – Our Town

Weeks 5, 6 and 7: Eugene O’ Neill – Long Day’s Journey into Night (1941)

Weeks 8 and 9: Tennessee Williams – A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)

Weeks 10 and 11: Arthur Miller – The Crucible (1953)

Week 12 and 13: Lorraine Hansberry – A Raisin in the Sun (1959)

Review
Suggested further reading:

- Bigsby, Christopher. Ed. The Cambridge Companion to Arthur Miller.

Cambridge University Press, 1997.

- Bigsby, Christopher. Ed. The Cambridge Companion to Eugene O’ Neill.

Cambridge University Press, 1997.

- Bigsby, Christopher. A Critical Introduction to Twentieth-Century American

Drama. Cambridge University Press, 1982-1985.

- Bloom, Harold, Ed. Arthur Miller. Chelsea House, 1987.

- Bloom, Harold. Ed. Eugene O’Neill. Chelsea House, 1987.

- Bloom, Harold. Tennessee Williams. Chelsea House, 1987.

- Dukore, Bernard F. American Dramatists 1918-1945. Macmillan, 1984.

- Houchin, John. The Critical Response to Eugene O’ Neill. Greenwood Press,

1993.

- Kolin, Philip C. Ed. The Influence of Tennessee Williams: Essays on Fifteen

American Playwrights. McFarland, 2008.

- Krasner, David. Ed. A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama.

Blackwell 2005.

- Mason, Jeffrey. Stone Tower: The Political Theater of Arthur Miller. The
University of Michigan Press, 2008.

- Miller, Arthur. Echoes down the Corridor: Collected Essays, 1944-2000.

Methuen, 2000.

- Roudané, Matthew. Ed. The Cambridge Companion to Tennessee Williams.

Cambridge University Press, 1997.

- Wainscott, Ronald Harold. The Emergence of the Modern American Theater.

Yale University Press, 1997.

- Wilmeth, Don and Bigsby, Christopher. Eds. The Cambridge History of

American Theatre. Cambridge University Press, 1998-2000.

- Young, Harvey. Ed. The Cambridge Companion to African-American Theatre.

Cambridge University Press, 2013.