Rules, Roles, and Rulers
English 28B: Comic and Tragic Vision
MW 11:00 – 12:20
Course Code 23320
Instructor: Chris Dearner (cdearner@uci.edu)
Office hours: M 3p-5p
Required Texts:
Aeschylus, The Orestia
William Shakespeare, Richard II
William Wycherly, The Plain Dealer
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
Sophie Treadwell, Machinal
Samuel Beckett, Play
ISBN: 978-0140443332
ISBN: 978-0199602285
ISBN: 978-0199555185
ISBN: 978-0199535972
ISBN: 978-1854592118
ISBN: 978-0802144386
N.B. – You will be required to purchase a paper copy of listed editions the books
above. Library or electronic copies will not be allowed.
The Course
E28 consists of a series of lower-division courses designed to familiarize students with
the basic literary genres—poetry, drama, and the novel. The second course in this series,
E28B employs a unifying theme to examine the formal and literary qualities of comic and
tragic drama.
This course will use performance to examine how the relationship between individuals,
social networks, and societal institutions is modeled on stage, and how these various
relationships are involved in creating and negotiating individual and group identity.
We will be looking at – among other things – how conflicting ideas about identity and
social role are resolved in various contexts through the lens of rules and rulers. Put
simply, we will be asking: what happens when characters break or adhere to social rules,
and what happens when rulers find themselves at odds with their own or other societies?
How are identities shaped by – or in opposition to – roles in society? And, importantly,
what does this tell us about our own relationship to our own identity and society? Are
you defined by your friends, your political party, and your job – or the expectations they
set for you?
Course Objectives
1. To make you a better and more engaged critical thinker. Critical thinking is both
incredibly important and, if approached correctly, really rewarding. Even what at
first seems difficult to understand or boring can become exciting and enriching upon
reflection or in debate. For this to happen, you have to discard the notion that you as
a reader are passive and that a neat, pre-packaged “meaning” will be extracted from
the text and set on a pedestal to be marveled at from a distance. Plays are messy
things, and our discussions will often resemble them in that. Reading and debating
about literature is enjoyable, and we are lucky to be able to spend ten weeks doing it.
2. To develop your skill as a close reader. We will read and reread, discuss ideas that
occurred while reading, then re-reread and write papers developing ideas and
arguments too specific and intricate for classroom discussion. We’ll be active readers,
first analyzing the text (breaking it down into parts), then interpreting it (building our
own case about what the text means or by what methods it creates its effects). There
are no right or wrong answers in this class, only arguments that are interesting or
boring, plausible or outlandish, based upon what’s in the text or based upon
generalizations, and so forth.
3. To make you a better writer, and especially a better academic writer. The academic
essay is the best place to show off your skill as a close reader, so I’ll take your essays
very seriously this quarter, and expect you to do the same. I’ll not only be looking for
excellent arguments, but also papers that are well put-together. I generally do not
believe that there is such a thing as good ideas presented poorly, so organization will
count. All essays should be revised and proofread multiple times before you submit
them, and any paper that does not live up to the standard of good college writing—
properly formatted, free of errors in spelling, grammar, usage, and mechanics—will
be severely penalized. Becoming a better writer means becoming a clearer critical
thinker, and producing a quality essay involves a great deal of discipline and care.
4. To enable you to participate in a seminar discussion. This is not a lecture-based class,
and if you come without questions, observations, points of contention, fantastic
theories, favorite passages that merit scrutiny, etc., the room will be silent and
awkward. This won’t be a book-club discussion where we express our feelings about
the plays without looking at anything specific in them, but at the same time, I’ve
never yet heard a “stupid” question or an observation from a student in class
discussion that doesn’t merit consideration, and therefore I suspect that such a thing
doesn’t exist. The classroom will hopefully be a place filled with contention (we’ll
argue a lot), but never ridicule or embarrassment.
Assignments
Class participation (10%): One of the most important aspects of this course is student
engagement and participation. Attendance is mandatory. You may miss two classes
without penalty, but after two missed classes your participation grade will be affected.
You will also need to participate both in class discussion, which means that you will need
to have not only done the assigned reading, but have spent some time thinking about it
before class.
Class discussion will consist of close engagement with the texts under examination as
well as reading out loud and, if the spirit takes us, performance of scenes or parts of
scenes. On any given day, that engagement may center on thematic questions, formal
issues, characterization, genre, psychological interpretations, philosophical musings, or
any combination thereof.
Reading quizzes and scene presentations will make up a part of your class participation
grade.
Essays (70%): First essay (2-3 p.): 15%, Second essay (4-5 p.): 25%, Third essay (5-6
p.): 30%
You will write three formal essays this quarter. The first essay will be prompt based, and
the second two will allow to work from a prompt or develop your own thoughts (pending
my approval.) Essays should not recapitulate class discussions. Rather, they should
develop and expand your own ideas and arguments.
The first essay you write must be turned in as a draft, discussed in conference, and then
substantially rewritten; the subsequent two essays may be submitted as drafts and
discussed in conference, although this is not required. If you choose your own topic for
the second or third essay, you must meet with me for my approval.
The third essay must be comparative, and deal with two of the works we have read in the
class.
Essays must be in MLA style. That means they are to be formatted in 12 pt. Times New
Roman, double-spaced, with one inch margins, and include pagination and a properly
formatted Works Cited with properly formatted citations.
Final examination (20%): The final exam for this course will be comprehensive. The
exam will be comprised of both short answer and essay questions. The short answer
questions will cover your knowledge of terminology and basic facts about the works
we’ve read over the course of the quarter, while the essay questions will provide a venue
for you to demonstrate your understanding of the close reading methods we’ve practiced
over the course of the quarter.
Course Policies
ADD/DROP Policy: The Add/Drop Policy for all courses in the School of Humanities
states: A student may add or drop a course in the School of Humanities up to the end of
the second week of classes. To add or drop the course, you must obtain an authorization
code from the instructor. Requests to add or drop E28 after the second week will be
granted only in exceptional circumstances and must be approved by the E28 course
director. After the 6th week, students need the dean’s permission to drop.
Second-day rule: The School of Humanities also has a “second-day” rule. If you are not
in class on the second day of the quarter (and do not have an emergency to account for
your absence) you may lose your place to a student on the waiting list. You are still
responsible for dropping the course through the usual procedures. If you know ahead of
time that you will be unable to attend on the second day, you should notify your
instructor.
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism: All quotations and ideas taken from outside
sources (that means anything outside your own brainpan) must be cited in proper MLA
style. I do not believe that “minor” or “accidental” plagiarism exists. Any instance
of plagiarism will be grounds for failure of the assignment, and in some cases, the
course. All essays must be uploaded to turnitin.com. Please be sure to read the UCI
Academic Honesty Policy, available at this URL:
http://www.senate.uci.edu/9_IrvineManual/3ASMAppendices/Appendix08.html.
Technology: Laptops and cellphones are not allowed in class. You will not see my
phone over the course of the quarter; do not let me see yours. Technology, while
wonderful in myriad ways, often distracts from what is directly in front of us. Think of
this class as a chance to spend at least three hours in the week completely unplugged.
Preparation: Come to class prepared. This means you must have read all of the assigned
pages. This is a literature class; it requires reading. Please know that I know what
Sparknotes is and that reading plot synopses or other notes alone will result in an inability
to discuss, a lack of insight into the text, and failing the course.
Also, be prepared to talk about the texts in class. The course will be a lot more fun if we
can create an interactive atmosphere in which you can explore the plays and readings of
them.
Always, always, always bring the appropriate class texts to class. At a minimum, this
means the current and previous week’s texts. Please print and bring any required PDFs I
email to you as well.
Disability: Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this
class are encouraged to contact the Disability Services Center at (949) 824-7494 as soon
as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely
fashion.
Tentative course schedule
Please keep in mind that the course will probably change, and we may end up extending
or shortening the time we spend with any particular play. I will make any changes clear
in class and via email. I may also email you additional readings in .PDF format.
Week 1
Welcome; excerpts from Aristotle’s Poetics and Plato’s Republic; Agamemnon
Week 2
Agamemnon
Week 3
Richard II
Paper 1 Draft Due
Week 4
Richard II, cont.
Paper Conferences
Paper 1 Final Due
Week 5
The Plain Dealer
Scene Presentations
Week 6
The Plain Dealer, cont.
Scene Presentations
Week 7
The Importance of Being Earnest
Paper 2 Due
Week 8
Machinal
Scene Presentations
Week 9
Play
Scene Presentations
Week 10
Play, cont.
Paper 3 Due