SRJC Course Outlines

7/15/2025 2:14:09 PMENGL 11 Course Outline as of Fall 2026

Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION

Discipline and Nbr:  ENGL 11Title:  INTRO TO DRAMATIC LIT  
Full Title:  Introduction to Dramatic Literature
Last Reviewed:5/12/2025

UnitsCourse Hours per Week Nbr of WeeksCourse Hours Total
Maximum3.00Lecture Scheduled3.0017.5 max.Lecture Scheduled52.50
Minimum3.00Lab Scheduled06 min.Lab Scheduled0
 Contact DHR0 Contact DHR0
 Contact Total3.00 Contact Total52.50
 
 Non-contact DHR0 Non-contact DHR Total0

 Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50 

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade Only
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly: 

Catalog Description:
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Students will explore dramatic literature from different historical periods and world traditions, examining how major movements have shaped theater. Through reading, discussion, and analytical writing, students will engage with key dramatic genres such as tragedy and comedy and consider how theater has been influenced by cultural, social, and political struggles, amplifying voices that have shaped its evolution.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:


Recommended Preparation:
Course Completion of ENGL C1000 (formerly ENGL 1A) OR Course Completion of EMLS 10 (formerly ESL 10) OR equivalent or appropriate placement based on AB705 mandates

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description: Untitled document
Students will explore dramatic literature from different historical periods and world traditions, examining how major movements have shaped theater. Through reading, discussion, and analytical writing, students will engage with key dramatic genres such as tragedy and comedy and consider how theater has been influenced by cultural, social, and political struggles, amplifying voices that have shaped its evolution.
 
(Grade Only)

Prerequisites:
Recommended:Course Completion of ENGL C1000 (formerly ENGL 1A) OR Course Completion of EMLS 10 (formerly ESL 10) OR equivalent or appropriate placement based on AB705 mandates
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:Effective:Fall 2013
Inactive: 
 Area:E
Humanities
 
CSU GE:Transfer Area Effective:Inactive:
 C2HumanitiesFall 2013
 
IGETC:Transfer Area Effective:Inactive:
 3BHumanitiesFall 2013
 
CSU Transfer:TransferableEffective:Fall 2013Inactive:
 
UC Transfer:TransferableEffective:Fall 2013Inactive:
 
C-ID:
 CID Descriptor: THTR 114 Script Analysis SRJC Equivalent Course(s): ENGL11

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course



COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:
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1. Critically read, analyze, interpret, and write about significant works of dramatic literature, engaging with voices from a wide range of cultural and historical traditions.
2. Analyze formal qualities of dramatic literature relative to texts' artistic, literary, and aesthetic contexts.
3. Situate texts within their respective historical, political, and cultural contexts, paying particular attention to how theater has been used as a tool for resistance, social change, and the amplification of underrepresented voices.
4. Apply a range of critical approaches to dramatic literature, incorporating perspectives that highlight issues of power and identity in theatrical traditions across the world.
 

Objectives: Untitled document
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Analyze and critique assigned dramatic texts, considering both their literary and performative dimensions.
2. Identify and interpret major themes in dramatic texts and their connections to the historical, cultural, and social movements of the era.
3. Analyze the development of a variety of dramatic genres and the historical and sociocultural conditions from which they emerged.
4. Define, evaluate, and apply different modes of argumentation and interpretations, such as biographical, historical, psychological, and performance-based approaches to dramatic literature.
5. Perform literary and historical research, which may include comparative performance-based research, in order to support an interpretation of dramatic texts and their impact on audiences across different cultural contexts.

Topics and Scope
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I. Defining a Play
    A. Duration
    B. Genre
         1. Tragedy
         2. Comedy
         3. Farce
         4. Melodrama
    C. Structure
         1. The Components of a Play
              a. Plot
              b. Characters
              c. Theme
              d. Diction
              e. Music
              f. Spectacle
              g. Convention
         2. The Order of a Play
              a. The Gathering of the Audience
              b. The Transition
              c. The Exposition
              d. The Conflict
              e. The Climax
              f. The Denouement
              g. The Curtain Call
              h. The Aftermath: Criticism
II. The History of Theater
    A. Oral tradition, ritual, and myth from indigenous or global cultures
     B. Greek
    C. Roman
    D. Medieval European
    E. Early Modern European 1500 to 1700
    F. Early Modern World Drama
    G. Eighteenth-Century: Melodrama, Romanticism, and the Technical Developments in Theater
    H. Realism and Naturalism
    I.  Modern
    J.  Postwar
    K. Contemporary
III. How to Read a Play
    A. Conventions of written drama
    B. Interpreting script directions
IV. Film and Theater
V. Literary Analysis and Research
VI. Schools of Literary Criticism
VII. Writing Literary Analysis Essays

Assignments:
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1. Weekly reading assignments, which may include visual texts
2. Participation in class discussions
3. Individual or group presentations or projects, such as
     a. Performance of a section of a play
    b. Dramatic reading or recitation of an excerpt from a play
    c. Reader's theater
4. Low-stakes writing assignments, such as
    a. Reading response journals
    b. Summaries
    c. Personal response papers
5. Short critical response papers (500 - 1,000 words each)
6. Library research assignments, such as  
     a. An annotated bibliography
    b. Research sessions with a librarian, etc.
7. Essays including library research with Modern Language Association (MLA) documentation (1,000 - 2,500 words each)
8. Essay exams, objective exams, and/or quizzes
9. Additional assignments as determined by instructor may include:field trips (ungraded)

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.
Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.Writing
50 - 65%
Low-stakes writing assignments; short critical response papers; library research assignment(s); essays
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.Problem Solving
5 - 15%
Library research assignment(s)
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.Skill Demonstrations
0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.Exams
0 - 20%
Exams and/or quizzes
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.Other Category
10 - 20%
Attendance and participation in class discussion; individual or group presentation or projects


Representative Textbooks and Materials:
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The Norton Anthology of Drama, Vols. 1 & 2. 4th ed. W. W. Norton. 2025.
The Compact Bedford Introduction to Drama. 13th ed. Jacobus, Lee.  Bedford/St. Martin's Press. 2024.
Backwards and Forwards: A Technical Manual for Reading Plays. Ball, David. Southern Illinois University Press. 1983. (classic).
Any of the plays in the series Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Murfin, Ross C., series ed., Bedford/St. Martin's Press. Current Editions.
Any of the plays in the series Norton Critical Editions.
Instructor prepared materials

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