English Seminar: American Dream, American Nightmare
Pre-requisite
None
Course description
This is a literature class which reads plays instead of novels, yet
places them on the same literary level. In this drama-as-literature class, we will study
two of the great classics of the American stage, Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the
Sun, through the lens of the American Dream. Some of our essential questions for the
course will include: “What do we mean by the American Dream?” “What are some of the
dark sides of the American Dream?” “What goes wrong with the Loman family and the
Younger family to bring about their tragedies?” “How do race and class make these two
experiences of Americana fundamentally different?”
We will anchor our reading in performance theory and criticism, and students will also
complete creative writing assignments where they imagine how they would stage our
class texts. This is a writing-intensive class which includes assigned papers on literary
analysis, historical research, and personal memoir. Grammar and composition will be
taught through and alongside student writing.