English 197: Beckett in Context: Theater, History, and the Mind

Instructor: James H. Donelan
Meetings: MW 11-12:15 SH 1415
Enroll Code: 17574
Office Hours: Monday 9:30-10:30, Tuesday 11-12 or by appointment.
Office Location: 2715 South Hall
Home Page: http://www.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/jdonelan/teaching/Beckett.htm
Texts: All texts are available at the UCEN Bookstore.

Beckett, Complete Dramatic Works
Beckett, Three Novels: Malloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnameable
Guignon, Existentialism: Basic Writings
Ackerley, The Grove Companion to Samuel Beckett

Description: A study of the major works of Samuel Beckett as reflections of twentieth-century theories of human consciousness and existence. We will examine the novels (Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnameable) as well as the major plays (Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Krapp’s Last Tape, Happy Days) in relation to works by other writers, including James Joyce, J. M. Synge, Jean-Paul Sartre, Eugene Ionesco, and Harold Pinter. Our objective is to understand Beckett as both an Irish and a French writer, and reveal the political and philosophical subtexts of his most challenging works.

Requirements: The course requires regular attendance, active participation in class discussion and activities, and timely completion of all assignments, including, a short essay (5-6 pages), two brief reports (2-3 pages), and a longer essay (8-10 pages) based an approved prospectus. In addition, please do your best to observe the following rules:

• Papers should be no longer or shorter than the length assigned and submitted on time. Late papers will result in grade reductions.
• Never submit a paper without proofreading it carefully. Students are expected to adhere to MLA citation style.
• Your classmates and your instructor depend on your presence in class and your full participation. Do not miss class unless you must.
• All university regulations regarding academic dishonesty will be enforced.
• We will have a series of workshops at the end of the quarter to help you develop and improve the final project. I will ask you to submit a prospectus and a working title and discuss the progress of your work with me and your fellow students. Timely submission of materials to be used in the workshop is extremely important.
• Please read the assignment for a particular day before class. Reading assignments vary in length and difficulty, so please plan ahead.

Syllabus

I. Early Works and Existentialism

1/3       Introduction: Samuel Beckett, Literature, and Philosophy in the 20^th Century
1/5       Molloy, begin; Existentialism, Introduction.

1/10     Molloy, continued; Existentialism, excerpt from Hegel, 19.
1/12     Molloy, continued; Existentialism, excerpt from Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy, 119

1/17     Martin Luther King Day
1/19 Malone Dies, begin. Existentialism, excerpt from Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols, 172

1/24     Malone Dies, continued; The Unnameable, begin.
1/26 The Unnameable, continued; First Paper Due.

II. Major Plays and the Theater of the Absurd

1/31     Waiting for Godot, begin; Existentialism, Sartre’s The Humanism…, 290
2/2       Waiting for Godot, continued; Existentialism, excerpt from Heidegger, 211

2/7       Endgame, begin; Reports, Group I
2/9       Endgame, continued; Reports, Group II

2/14     Happy Days; links from Theatre of the Absurd
2/16     Krapp’s Last Tape; more links from Theatre of the Absurd

2/21     Presidents’ Day Holiday
2/23     Act Without Words I and II

III. Later Works and Beckett’s Descendants

2/28     Rockaby; Catastrophe; A Piece of Monologue
3/2       Pinter, TBA; Reports, Group I

3/7       Absurdist work TBA; Reports, Group II
3/9       Conclusions

3/14     Final Project Due