DRAM 3559-001, 3 credit hours (New Course in Drama) (ID number:  20297)
Fall 2014: TR, 9:30-10:45 am, Rouss/Robertson 410
Marva Barnett, Department of Drama; Director & Professor, Teaching Resource Center
Enrollment limit:  42

In our fast-paced digital world, thinking people still dedicate hours to reading novels, seeing plays, watching movies.  Why?  In this seminar, we’ll explore the multifaceted appeal of literature, theater, and film by plunging into one great novel: Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.  What is it about this story that speaks to people across decades and cultural divides?  How can such a tragic story be so uplifting?  How has this epic been translated into one of the world’s most popular staged musicals and the 2012 musical film, as well as into over 50 different films?  What does each artistic medium bring to our experience, and how?

In a discussion class that will depend primarily on students’ ideas and questions, we will embark on a wide-ranging conversation about these big questions:

•    Why is this novel is considered “great”?
•    How do literature and performance intersect and interact?
•    How are meanings are translated differently in novels, on stage, and in film?
•    How are the ethical dilemmas that Hugo explores are relevant for us today?
•    What can “great literature” do for us personally?

Students who will most enjoy and learn from this course are intellectually curious; eager to read, think, and share their ideas; interested in hearing others’ perspectives and exploring new ideas; willing to open themselves to art and personal inquiry.