INQ-271 | Playwright as Truthseeker

Full Title: Playwright as Truthseeker

Topic Description:

Drama serves as a mirror of…and sometimes a lens on…the societies that create it. From the Greeks to the modern era, good plays reflect the values and the truths of the times and places in which they’re written. In this course students will examine the issues raised by playwrights ranging from Dion Boucicault to Tony Kushner, and they will reflect on how those issues are also the issues of their own time and place.  A key topic for the course will be the one raised by Edward Albee in WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRIGNIA WOOLF?:  “Martha: Truth or illusion, George; you don't know the difference.  George: No, but we must carry on as though we did.”  What role do playwrights have in shedding light on the truth in their time and ours? Nondramatic readings will also be used to provide social and ethical context for the dramas under consideration. Truth, in this case, is defined as the truth as the playwright presents in his script, and the questions at hand are: 1. What is that truth? 2. Does that “truth” continue to be pertinent to the nature of the human condition as experienced by members of society in the United States in the early 21st century? and 3. How does a playwright use his/her art to reveal truth to his/her audience (written or performed)?

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: April 2013