| 11/9/2026 8:02:19 AM |
| Changed Course |
| CATALOG INFORMATION
|
| Discipline and Nbr:
ENGL 11 | Title:
INTRO TO DRAMATIC LIT |
|
| Full Title:
Introduction to Dramatic Literature |
| Last Reviewed:5/12/2025 |
| Units | Course Hours per Week | | Nbr of Weeks | Course Hours Total |
| Maximum | 3.00 | Lecture Scheduled | 3.00 | 17.5 max. | Lecture Scheduled | 52.50 |
| Minimum | 3.00 | Lab Scheduled | 0 | 6 min. | Lab Scheduled | 0 |
| | Contact DHR | 0 | | Contact DHR | 0 |
| | Contact Total | 3.00 | | Contact Total | 52.50 |
| |
| | Non-contact DHR | 0 | | Non-contact DHR Total | 0 |
| | Total Out of Class Hours: 105.00 | Total 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:
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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.
(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 2025
| Inactive: | |
| Area: | E
L3
| Humanities
Arts and Humanities
|
| |
| CSU GE: | Transfer Area | | Effective: | Inactive: |
| | C2 | Humanities | Fall 2013 | |
| |
| IGETC: | Transfer Area | | Effective: | Inactive: |
| | 3B | Humanities | Fall 2013 | |
| |
| CSU Transfer: | Transferable | Effective: | Fall 2013 | Inactive: | |
| |
| UC Transfer: | Transferable | Effective: | Fall 2013 | Inactive: | |
| |
| C-ID: |
| CID Descriptor: THTR 114 | Script Analysis | SRJC Equivalent Course(s): ENGL11 |
Certificate/Major Applicable:
Major Applicable Course
Approval and Dates
| Version: | 08 | Course Created/Approved: | 9/4/2012 |
| Version Created: | 3/13/2025 | Course Last Modified: | 5/13/2025 |
| Submitter: | Sheryl Cavales Doolan | Course Last Full Review: | 5/12/2025 |
| Version Status: | Approved Changed Course | Prereq Created/Approved: | 5/12/2025 |
| Version Status Date: | 5/12/2025 | Semester Last Taught: | |
| Version Term Effective: | Fall 2026 | Term Inactive: | |
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:
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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
OTHER REQUIRED ELEMENTS
| Student Preparation |
| Matric Assessment Required: | E | Requires English Assessment |
| Prerequisites-generate description: | NP | No Prerequisite |
| Advisories-generate description: | U | User-Generated Text |
| Prereq-provisional: | N | NO |
| Prereq/coreq-registration check: | N | No Prerequisite Rules Exist |
| Requires instructor signature: | N | Instructor's Signature Not Required |
| | | |
| BASIC INFORMATION, HOURS/UNITS & REPEATABILITY |
| Method of instruction: | 02 | Lecture |
| | 71 | Internet-Based, Simultaneous Interaction |
| | 72 | Internet-Based, Delayed Interaction |
| Area department: | ENGL | English |
| Division: | 71 | Language Arts & Academic Foundations |
| Special topic course: | N | Not a Special Topic Course |
| Program Status: | 1 | Major Applicable Course |
| Repeatability: | 00 | Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP |
| Repeat group id: | | |
| | | |
| SCHEDULING |
| Audit allowed: | N | Not Auditable |
| Open entry/exit: | N | Not Open Entry/Open Exit |
| Credit by Exam: | N | Credit by examination not allowed |
| Budget code: Program: | 0000 | Unrestricted |
| Budget code: Activity: | 1501 | English-General |
| | | |
| OTHER CODES |
| Disciplines: | English
OR
Drama/Theater Arts |
| Basic Skills: | N | Not a Basic Skills Course |
| Level below transfer: | Y | Not Applicable |
| CVU/CVC status: | Y | Distance Ed, Not CVU/CVC Developed |
| Distance Ed Approved: | Y | Exclusively online or other technology based instruction |
| Emergency Distance Ed Approved: | Y | Fully Online
Partially Online
Online with flexible in-person activities
|
| Credit for Prior Learning: | N | Agency Exam |
| N | CBE |
| N | Industry Credentials |
| N | Portfolio |
| Non-credit category: | Y | Not Applicable, Credit Course |
| Classification: | Y | Liberal Arts and Sciences Courses |
| SAM classification: | E | Non-Occupational |
| TOP code: | 1501.00 | English |
| Work-based learning: | N | Does Not Include Work-Based Learning |
| DSPS course: | N | NO |
| In-service: | N | Not an In-Service Course |
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