Author: Mark Noonan (Page 3 of 3)

BEFORE READING THIS POST, GO TO THE POST BELOW IT (FOR FIRST DAY INSTRUCTIONS)

FIRST: WATCH MY VIDEO LECTURE ON GREEK DRAMA

SECOND: Please post a 1-2 paragraph response to what you found interesting in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Lysistrata  (or Spike Lee’s film version Chi-Raq).  Pick a specific scene, quote,  element, or theme from the play/film to discuss.   Below are some suggested questions you could answer in response to Oedipus (but feel free to choose your own). Read the student comments before yours so that you don’t repeat a similar topic/comment.  I do encourage you, however, to comment on your fellow students’ observations.

DO NOT REFER TO OUTSIDE SOURCES FOR YOUR POST. I WANT TO HEAR YOUR VOICE AND YOUR THOUGHTS.  I ENCOURAGE MAKING CONTEMPORARY (CURRENT) OR PERSONAL CONNECTIONS TO THE WORKS WE ARE STUDYING.

• The ancient Greeks believed that “one’s character determines one’s fate.” What are your thoughts about the character (personal and leadership qualities) of Oedipus?
• “Dramatic irony is a relationship of contrast between a character’s limited understanding of his or her situation in some particular moment of the unfolding action and what the audience, at the same instant, understands the character’s situation actually to be.” Where do we see dramatic irony in this drama?
• Why was Tiresias so reluctant to share what he knew about the death of King Laius?
• Did Tiresias really believe that it would be better for everyone if truth were to remain undisclosed?  Jocasta also asks Oedipus to stop investigating his lineage. What are your thoughts on this topic? Should truth always be fully revealed?
• Oedipus says, “Indeed I am so angry I shall not hold back a jot of what I think.” How do you believe leaders should manage their anger?
• Tiresias is blind but sees.  Oedipus has eyes but is blind. Why is Oedipus, the man who solved the riddle of the Sphinx, so slow to solve the riddle of his own identity?
• What is it like to read this play during a pandemic? What does the play have to say about leadership, speaking the truth, concern for community well-being, and/or suffering?
• A key idea in this play is Oedipus’s extreme pride and arrogance (“hubris” in Greek).  What is Oedipus so stubborn about in this play?  Can you think of someone who exhibited “hubris” during the past year and suffered consequences for it?

NOTE: I have posted our Week 1 assignment and accompanying video lecture above this post.

Welcome to City Tech and English 2002!

Please view my Introduction Video here.

English 2002 is an introduction to drama, a course in which we will study plays written during several historical periods drawing from many cultural traditions. We will approach plays as works of art, reading, discussing, analyzing, and writing about the texts so that we become acquainted with dramatic conventions and elements such as plot, character, theme, dialogue, conflict, setting, scene, rhetorical and linguistic devices, music and costume, and dramatic forms such as tragedy and comedy. We will also pay close attention to the cultural contexts of these plays as well as their performative aspects (and watch some great actors!).

Note that our course is asynchronous, which means that we do not have regular meeting days/times. We will interact through discussion on our course site here, and I will have weekly office hours. If you can’t make it, don’t worry; you can always call or email me (mnoonan@citytech.cuny.edu) 

Below is our First Day Checklist, due Tues. 6/1. 

Please be sure to read over the Syllabus and Course Schedule (under COURSE INFO). If you want to get started with the reading, everything is there. We are all in this together! I look forward to working with you.

1. Register for OpenLab and join our course. If you’re new to the OpenLab, follow these instructions to create an account. Once you log in to your OpenLab account, follow these instructions to join this course.  Please add a profile photo–it makes a positive difference in how we interact with each other. If you have any questions, email me. If you need OpenLab help: consult Help or contact the OpenLab Community Team
2. Post your introduction paragraph.
   • To write a new post, click the + sign at the top of the page, fill in the subject heading, add your info and click on ADD MEDIA to upload a photo of yourself or something you enjoy (pet/place in the world/ favorite food/ etc.  You can elaborate on your chosen photo in your Intro. When you are done, to publish your post, scroll down and check off OUR COMMUNITY in the Category Sticky and Categories. Click Publish. Note: You can choose to link to a video intro of yourself, instead of writing, if you prefer.
   • In your intro, include your pronouns , how you would like to be addressed, where you are from, where you reside now, your academic interests/ major,  favorite author/writer and why, and anything else you’d like to include.
   • Before next class, check back to read your classmates’ responses and reply to a few. What are some things we have in common? What are we learning from each other or encouraging each other to contemplate?