In this class we will study from the vantage point of the end of the twentieth century, mindful of the role of current knowledge and opinion in shaping our view of the major achievements in contemporary drama. From Realism, Naturalism, Expressionism, Epic Theatre, Theatre of the Absurd to the present, the plays we are going to read have been selected primarily for their artistic greatness. I make no arbitrary distinction between historical importance and intrinsic excellence. The most vital and significant plays of the modern repertoire must necessarily have a special historical importance. These plays are landmarks in the contemporary theatre, not only because they broke new ground at the time they were performed, but because reader and theatre-goers of a later time can return to them again and again with new understanding and enjoyment.

TEXTS (Selected reading list):
Ibsen: Peer Gynt (1867); The Wild Duck (1884); Hedda Gabler (1890)
Strindberg: Miss Julie (1888); A Dream Play (1906);The Ghost Sonata (1907)
Chekhov: Uncle Vanya (1899); Three Sisters (1901); The Cherry Orchard (1904)
Shaw: Major Barbara (1905)
Brecht: Mother Courage (1939-41); The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1945) 
Pirandello: Six Characters in Search of An Author (1921)
Beckett: Waiting for Godot (1953); Endgame (1957); "All That Fall" (1957)
Ionesco: The Chairs (1952); Rhinoceros (1960)
Muller: Hamletmachine (1979)
Pinter: The Birthday Party (1959); The Caretaker (1960); The Homecoming (1964)
Shaffer: Amadeus (1980); Equus (1973); The Gift of the Gorgon (1992)
Stoppard Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1967); Travesties (1975);Arcadia (1993)
Churchill: Cloud Nine (1980)

Requirements: 
1) Regular attendance with preparation and class participation 
2) Most of our class time will be spent in discussion, so each of you will be responsible for two in-class oral presentations. You may use questions/discussion style, or whatever effective method(s) you like to use. You have to provide handouts, including bibliography references. 
3) A review/critique of a journal article for each playwright you read for class and the option of doing two papers (8-10 pages each)--the first due around midterm--or one longer paper (15 pages) due at the end of the semester.

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The 1920s was a decade that saw revolutionary changes in values, morals, philosophic thought, aesthetics, and ordinary life in the United States. These changes are reflected in and partly were shaped by the literature and art of the time. These revolutionary changes were not confined to the United States, but were evident in many nations, including the literature produced in Taiwan during the 'twenties and beyond. This course will study the intellectual and social background of the American 1920s and of the literature (and some of the art) of the time, including such writers as Hemingway, cummings, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner, and will provide opportunities for interdisciplinary and intercultural studies. Course requirements will include a series of class presentations, participation in critical discussion as in a graduate level seminar, an annotated bibliography on an assigned topic with no less than twenty-five entries, a major research essay fifteen to twenty pages in length, and a final exam.

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課程目標：

1.知識：閱讀文獻，鑑賞作品；並概括掌握中國韻文與散文敘事體的發展，積累心靈成長的資料。
2.方法：鍛鍊鑑賞文學作品的觀念和能力；並從過程、方法的鍛鍊中培養眼力、胸襟、處事態度和自主學習的能力。
3.心靈：從作品、作家與主題中體會民族文化心理，學習如何反省自己、社會、傳統、潮流，並對應世界文明發展的主潮，為自己找個安身立命之處。
4.延伸：可為中外比較之參考。

課程內容：

1. 課程說明　１(指上課次數,下同)
2. 文學之門　２
3. 如何做到詩的完全鑑賞　１
4. 選擇點、背景設計、模式塑造與主題呈現　１
5. 被追求者的悲劇-戀愛悲劇模式Ｂ型　１
6. 中國女性的文化宿命-負心婚變與怨棄悲劇模式　２
7. 中國人精神家園的追尋與失落-鄉愁悲劇模式　１
8. 散文敘事體敘論　１
9. 筆記體小說專題　１
10. 傳奇體小說專題：命與意的拉鋸－士妓之戀母題　１
11. 話本體小說專題：中國女性在沈淪中的自救意識　１
12. 章回體小說專題：永遠的飄泊-“儒林外史”對中國文化的深沈反思　３
13. 期末報告

說明：

1. 上列專題含詩、詞、散曲、戲曲 、神話、寓言、史傳、志人小說、傳奇小說、話本小說、章回小說等。
2. 期末報告一篇，至少6000字，分繳題目、資料目及期末發表兩階段。
3. 文學發展須看規定之中國文學史，並寫成精要提要，按期繳作業。
4. 上課方式：(1)預習(必須做好)；(2)討論(必須參與)。
5. 評量：包括預習、討論、作業、期末報告(繳題、資料、口頭、文章)、出缺席等項目；必須很嚴謹，詳細會列在課程進度表，並在第一次上課說明。
6. 講義自印；書須自備。
7. 建議假期先讀一些比較大的作品，以減低學期中壓力。書目可到助教室看進度表。
8. 本所中國文學課程已改成兩年開一次，內容大幅壓縮，情非得已；同學只有一次機會，歡迎來看看不同的世界，體會不同的生命境界。
9. 如有疑義，可來面談。
10. 進度表已做好，各項說明都有，願者請到助教室參閱或自行影印。

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