To provide students with a broad critical framework of reading American drama, we will read O'Neill, Williams, Miller, Albee, Mamet, Hansberry, Huang and Wilson, among others. Several cultural issues, types--realistic plays, naturalistic plays, feminist plays, gay plays and black theater--and diverse topics we will deal with are

• American family--parents/children, sibling relationship
• The quest for identity
• Women's role in family and society (domestic/public sphere)
• Social changes in economic system and values
• AIDS and homosexuality
• Political/racial/gender issues and
• American dream motif.

For research's sake, I divide these American playwrights into three categories: the mainstream: Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Sam Shepard, David Mamet and John Guare; minority playwrights--women and black playwrights--such as Maria Irene Fornes, Lorraine Hansberry, Adrienne Kennedy, Ntozake Shange and August Wilson; gay playwright--Tony Kushner--as representatives.  Through the study of selected plays of diverse subject matter and particular theatrical treatment in American drama, students get familiar with American theater as well as cultural and social perspectives.