DRAMA

CULTURE
 CULTURE
habits of
O thought
O behavior
O feeling

invented by humans
taught to other humans
passed down to descendents (of humans)

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 CULTURE
BUT not practiced among ALL humans
connected to
O age
O religion
O ethnicity
O race
O social class
O sexual orientation

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 LITERARY WORK
part of its social context
part of the culture in which it was produced
O the culture it was produced in
O the culture it is read in

both
O a product of its culture
O a contribution to that culture
 study a work to learn @ its culture
 study a culture to learn @ a work
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 LITERARY WORK
since literary works often critique the society
of their times
they = fitted for cultural analyses
they attack/support particular social values,
problems, norms, practices, traditions, beliefs
O rituals, racism, ageism, indifference, materialism

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 CULTURE & LITERATURE
culture = conditions of the world
O at the time of literary creation
  affect the presentation of the work’s themes

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 CULTURAL ANALYSIS
HOW TO:
O classify characters into groups
 age, race, religion, ethnicity, physical disability, class, sex,
sexual orientation
O note how characters classify or stereotype other
characters or people in general
O note themes of power & oppression
 symbols of power, prestige
O (which are culturally defined/determined)
 power relationships (who’s really in control)
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 CULTURAL ANALYSIS
HOW TO:
O elements from sociology and psychology courses
O “human universals”
O how does this culture (US MM) define success, power &
those other terms that make the culture

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 DRAMA
CRITICAL APPROACHES
TO DRAMA
 CRITICAL APPROACHES
Dramatic Elements
O Plot, Subplot
O Character
O Theme
O Setting
O Argument (Conflict & Resolution)

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 CRITICAL APPROACHES
Production Elements
O acting
O directing
O casting
O lighting
O sound
O pace

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 CRITICAL APPROACHES
Dramatic Genre
O Tragi-Comedy
O Comedy
O Tragedy
O Modern
O Classical

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 CRITICAL APPROACHES
Gender Roles
O traditional
O modern

Culture
O in which written
O in which read

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DRAMA
END