L.008.32820 The Theatre of the Absurd

Lehrende: Prof. Dr. Merle Tönnies

Veranstaltungsart: Hauptseminar

Orga-Einheit: Anglistik/Amerikanistik

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Semesterwochenstunden: 2

Unterrichtssprache: Englisch

Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: - | 50

Literatur:
Texts:
Participants should purchase the following plays and read the first one (The Homecoming) until the beginning of the semester:
Harold Pinter, The Homecoming (1965).
Edward Albee, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962)
Any available edition of these works can be used. Further primary material will be made available via PAUL.

Reserve Shelf: to be announced

Kommentar:
This seminar aims at transcending the standard critical generalisations about the 'Theatre of the Absurd' as portraying desperate characters in senseless a world by studying both the basic concept of the 'absurd' and the techniques used in concrete plays in greater detail. In this process, both British and American approaches to absurdity will be included. A special focus will be on the comparison between Harold Pinter, the key British representative of this form of drama, and Edward Albee, his American counterpart, possibly uncovering some differences as well as similarities between them. In addition, the possibilities and limitations of realising the absurd in the theatre will play an important role in the seminar discussions.
It is essential for the success of the seminar that participants prepare the plays under discussion in detail at home. If necessary, this knowledge will be tested in the course of the seminar. Moreover, students should have some knowledge about the features of classical (non-absurdist) plays in order to be able to understand the deviating characteristics of the absurd.

Credits: requirements for credits will be announced in the first seminar session and also uploaded in PAUL