CIEE Global Institute Berlin

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CIEE Global Institute Berlin Course name: Brecht and Revolutionary Theater Course number: THES 3001 BRGE Programs offering course: Berlin Open Campus (Language, Literature and Culture Track) Language

semester credits: 3 Contact hours: 45 Term: Fall 2018 Course Description One of the most influential traditions in 20 th - and 21 st -century theater emerged through the work of German playwright

1 CIEE Global Institute Berlin Course name: Brecht and Revolutionary Theater Course number: THES 3001 BRGE Programs offering course: Berlin Open Campus (Language, Literature and Culture Track) Language of instruction: English U.S. semester credits: 3 Contact hours: 45 Term: Fall 2018 Course Description One of the most influential traditions in 20 th - and 21 st -century theater emerged through the work of German playwright Bertolt Brecht. His epic theater (episches Theater) was designed in 1920s Berlin to stage interventions in politics and society: Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it. In this course, students will study and see Brecht s own plays and learn about the political and cultural contexts that engendered his theater and his theories about theater (the Weimar Republic, his exile during the Third Reich, his work in East Germany). This seminar also takes advantage of taking place in Berlin, which affords us with the ability to get to visit Brecht s former theater (the Berliner Ensemble) and to see how his work lives on today. The course culminates in a project aimed at collectively developing a plan to adapt a Brecht play for the contemporary moment. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Understand Brecht s plays in their historical context and in contemporary performance practice Engage critically with Brecht s theoretical concepts in relation to the history of theatrical practice and to their contemporary relevance

2 Offer in-depth analysis and interpretation of the issues of genre, form and performance that are central to theatre Construct arguments supported by analysis, both orally and in a written form Course Prerequisites None. Methods of Instruction This course is taught through a variety of forms such as short lecture, guest speakers, study questions, close reading, PowerPoint presentations, workshops, online and inclass discussions and debates, work in small groups, individual assignments, screenings of films/video recordings, and attending live performances, which take place on Friday evenings from 7:30 pm - 10:30pm. Assessment and Final Grade Participation/Preparation 20% Reading Quizzes 10% Online Responses 10% Performance Analysis Paper I 15% Performance Analysis Paper II 15% Final Exam OR Final Paper (abstract, annotated bibliography, final version) 30% Course Requirements Participation

3 Each student is required to attend all sessions of the course and to participate actively in class discussions and during co-curricular events. Be prepared to read approximately pages per week and take copious notes while doing the readings as well as during performances. Reading Quizzes The quizzes will be very brief and will test your comprehension of the assigned texts. They will not be announced. Online Responses Short responses to the performances we have seen that weekend that need to be posted online. About 200-words (approx. two paragraphs) posted by 11:59pm on Mondays before the class. The response could be about what you have found interesting/annoying, remarkable/shocking in the play and/or the treatment of the subjects at hand. Don t be discouraged if you find the play difficult or puzzling. Just write about what confuses you the most and don t hesitate to pose questions to class. Don t cover everything that comes to your mind, but try to be as specific and insightful as possible, always probing yourself with a very simple question: Why? You will not have room to make more than one or two points. This is not a personal diary, but a form of public writing; therefore, try to maintain an appropriate point of view, tone and vocabulary. Try not to use colloquialisms and always ground your opinions on concrete observation and rigorous thought. Be respectful and thoughful. Performance Analysis Papers Performance Analysis Papers are 750 words in length and engage critically with the play and its theatrical production. More detailed instructions will be given in advance of each assignment. Final Exam OR Final Paper Accounting for the diversity of disciplinary backgrounds typically assembled in this class, this choice is up to the students: for theatre majors and minors and/or students with a strong interest in German/Cultural Studies, it is advisable to opt for the final paper in order to practice their discipline through active research. Students who have chosen this

4 class as an elective can demonstrate their mastery of the material equally well in a final exam format. The final paper is 2,000 words long. This paper must be an in-depth analysis of one of the topics discussed in class and include and discuss at least four scholarly sources. All papers are research papers and must therefore have proper annotation. An abstract and an annotated bibliography are due during week 5 in order to allow for an on-going discussion between student and instructor and to ensure high academic standards. Participation As part of your work in this course, students should demonstrate learning beyond the submission of written assignments or presentations. As such, all students receive grades based upon participation. Participation is valued as meaningful contribution in the digital and tangible classroom, utilizing the resources and materials presented to students as part of the course. Students receive grades based upon their contributions both in the classroom and in the Canvas course. Meaningful contribution requires students to be prepared, as directed by the Instructor, in advance of each class session. Students must clearly demonstrate they have engaged with the materials where directed. This includes valued or informed engagement in, for example, small group discussions, online discussion boards, peer-to-peer feedback (after presentations), interaction with guest speakers, and attentiveness on co-curricular and outside-of-classroom activities. Attendance Policy Regular class attendance is required throughout the program, and all unexcused absences will result in a lower participation grade for any affected CIEE course. Due to the intensive schedules for Open Campus and Short Term programs, unexcused absences that constitute more than 10% of the total course sessions will also result in a lower final grade. Students who transfer from one CIEE class to another during the add/drop period will not be considered absent from the first session(s) of their new class, provided they were

5 marked present for the first session(s) of their original class. Otherwise, the absence(s) from the original class carry over to the new class and count against the grade in that class. For CIEE classes, excessively tardy (over 15 minutes late) students must be marked absent. Attendance policies also apply to any required co-curricular class excursion or event, as well as to Internship, Service Learning, or required field placement. Students who miss class for personal travel will be marked as absent and unexcused. No makeup or re-sit opportunity will be provided. An absence in a CIEE course will only be considered excused if: a doctor s note is provided a CIEE staff member verifies that the student was too ill to attend class satisfactory evidence is provided of a family emergency Attendance policies also apply to any required class excursion, with the exception that some class excursions cannot accommodate any tardiness, and students risk being marked as absent if they fail to be present at the appointed time. Unexcused absences will lead to the following penalties: Percentage of Total Course Hours Missed Equivalent Number of Open Campus Semester classes Minimum Penalty Up to 10% 1 No academic penalty 10 20% 2 Reduction of final grade More than 20% 3 content classes, or 4 language classes Automatic course failure, and possible expulsion

6 Weekly Schedule NOTE: this schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor to take advantage of current experiential learning opportunities. Week 1 Introduction Key concepts: drama, theatre and performance Screening of documentary film Bertolt Brecht: He Made Suggestions [1978] Friday performance: A classic play at Deutsches Theater, Schaubühne, or Berliner Ensemble Over the weekend: 1. Write a response to the production due online Monday night (by 11:59pm) 2. Read a) Brecht s In the Jungle of Cities (60pp) b) Benjamin s Understanding Brecht What is Epic Theatre? [Second version] (pp ) Studies for theory of Epic Theatre (pp ) due in the next class session Week 2 Developing aesthetic: what is epic theatre? Early Brecht: In the Jungle of Cities Discussion of the performance we saw last week; analysis of In the Jungle of Cities Friday performance: Dickicht at Gorki Theater

7 Over the weekend: 1. Write a response to the production, due online Monday night (by 11:59pm) 2. Read texts in Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic: The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre (pp ) The Street Scene (pp ) Shouldn t We Abolish Aesthetics? (pp ) Conversation about being Forced into Empathy (pp ) Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction (pp ) Alienation Effects in Chinese Acting (pp ) The Literarization of the Theatre (pp ) due in next class session 3. Read: Brecht s The Threepenny Opera (120 pp.) due in second class session Week 3 Week 3 Brecht s politics and ideas in Weimar performance tradition Brecht s concepts & theatrical practice Discussion of the live performance Close reading of Brecht s concepts and discussion on their theatrical application; debate on empathy in Brecht s theater Political theater and cabaret Discussion and analysis of Brecht s Threepenny Opera Excerpts from The 3 Penny Opera, dir. G.W. Pabst [1931] Friday performance: Dreigroschenoper at Berliner Ensemble 1 st Performance analysis paper due

8 Over the weekend: 1. Write a response to the production due online Monday night (by 11:59pm) 2. Read Brecht s The Life of Galileo (80 pp.) Week 4 Post-war epic theater Brecht s use of history in his Life of Galileo Discussion of the live performance Fragments from audiorecordings: Bertolt Brecht before the Committee on Un-American Activities [1947] and The Life of Galileo [2008] Friday performance: Untergang des Egoisten Johann Fatzer at Deutsches Theater Over the weekend: Week 5 1. Write a response to the production due online Monday night (by 11:59pm) 2. Read Peter Weiss s Marat/Sade (102pp) due in second class session Week 5 Post-Brechtian theatre Revolution according to Peter Weiss in Marat/Sade Fragments of Marat/Sade, dir. Peter Brook [1964] 2 nd Performance analysis paper due Friday performance: Marat/Sade at Deutsches Theater Over the weekend: 1. Write a response to the production due online Monday night (by 11:59pm) 2. Read Brecht s Mother Courage and Her Children (60pp.) due in next class session

9 Week 6 Workshop: Revolutionary theatre today Preparation for workshop: discussion of Brecht s Mother Courage and Her Children Fragments from Theater of War [2006] Workshop: contemporary staging of Brecht s Mother Courage Final paper due or in-class exam Readings Primary sources: Brecht, Bertolt. Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic Edited and translated by John Willett. Methuen, In the Jungle of Cities. Translated by Gerhard Nellhaus. In Brecht, Collected Plays, edited and with introduction by Tom Kuhn and John Willett, vol. 1, Bloomsbury, The Life of Galileo. Translated by Mark Ravenhill. Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, Mother Courage and Her Children: A Chronicle of the 30 Years War. Translated by Eric Bentley. Samuel French, The Threepenny Opera. Translated by Ralph Manheim and John Willett, commentary and notes by Non and Nick Worrall. Methuen Drama, Weiss, Peter. The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade. Translated by Geoffrey Skelton. Verse adaptation by Adrian Mitchell. Introduction by Peter Brook. Atheneum, 1965.

10 Secondary sources: Adorno, Theodor. Commitment. Translated by Francis McDonagh. In Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch and Bertolt Brecht, Aesthetics and Politics. Afterword by Fredric Jameson. Translation editor Ronald Tayolor, London: Verso, Benjamin, Walter. Understanding Brecht. Translated by Anna Bostock. Introduction by Stanley Mitchell. Verso, Bentley, Eric. The Brecht Commentaries. New York: Grove Press, Inc., Blau, Herbert. Receding into Illusion: Alienation, the Audience, Technique, Anatomy. New German Critique no. 47 (Spring-Summer, 1989): Brooker, Peter. Bertolt Brecht: Dialectics, Poetry, Politics. Croom Helm, Bryant-Bertail, Sarah. Space and Time in Epic Theatre. Camden House, Esslin, Martin. Some Reflections on Brecht and Acting. In Re-Interpreting Brecht: His Influence on Contemporary Drama and Film, edited by Pia Kleber and Colin Visser, Cambridge University Press, Giles, Steve, and Livingstone, Rodney, editors. Bertolt Brecht: Centenary Essays. Rodopi, Jameson, Fredric. Brecht and Method. Verso, Kleber, Pia, and Visser, Colin. Re-interpreting Brecht: His Influence on Contemporary Drama and Film. Cambridge University Press, Leach, Robert. Bertolt Brecht. In Makers of Modern Theatre: An Introduction. Routledge, Martin, Carol, and Henry Bial, Henry, editors. Brecht Sourcebook. Routledge, Mumford, Meg. Bertolt Brecht. Routledge: New York, 2009.

11 Pavis, Patrice. Brechtian Gestus and Ist Avatars in Contemporary Theatre. Translated by Hector Maclean. Brecht Yearbook/Brecht-Jahrbuch 24 (1999): On Brecht s Notion of Gestus. In Pavis, Languages of the Stage: Essays in the Semiology of the Theatre, Performing Arts Journal Publications, Thomson, Peter, and Glendyr Sacks, editors. The Cambridge Companion to Brecht. Cambridge University Press, Wright, Elizabeth. Postmodern Brecht: A Re-Presentation. Routledge, Additional sources: Theater of War. Directed by John Walter, performances by Meryl Streep and Kevin Klein. DVD. Alive Mind, Bertolt Brecht before the Committee on Un-American Activities. House of Representatives, 80th Congress, 1st session, Oct , An historical encounter presented by Eric Bentley. CD. Folkway Records, Pabst, G.W., director. The 3 Penny Opera. DVD. The Criterion Collection, The Life of Galileo. By Bertolt Brecht. Translated by David Hare, with Stacy Keach, Emily Bergl. CD. LA Theatre Works, Brook, Peter, director. Marat/Sade. DVD. I.S. Productions, Bertolt Brecht: He Made Suggestions. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 2004.

CIEE Global Institute London

CIEE Global Institute London Course name: British Women s Literature Course number: LITT 3002 LNEN Programs offering course: London Open Campus (Literature and Culture Track) Language of instruction: English