ENG 259, 260 - Contemporary Irish Drama

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirement HU.
Meets requirement: W when offered as 260
This course focuses on contemporary Irish playwrights such as Brian Friel, Conor McPherson, Marina Carr, and Martin McDonagh in the context of the history of Irish drama as a vital national cultural tradition. From the Celtic Revivalists’ plays at the founding of the Abbey Theatre, drama in Ireland has exerted shaping influence on the state as it has also provided a sensitive respondent to tumultuous events in Irish history. More than many cultures, the Irish are haunted by the past, and so we will be viewing the contemporary works as conversations that Irish writers today are staging with their own historical and more specifically their own theatrical ghosts (Yeats, Synge, O’Casey, and Beckett at the least). Satisfies Departmental “Drama/Transmedia” requirement.
Meets departmental Transformations approach.