LVA 2031-01, -02

Top Performers: Business and American Drama

Babson College
Spring 2014
Sec. 01: TR 9:45AM-11:20AM in Focsle
Sec. 02: TR 11:30AM-1:05PM in Focsle
Course Syllabus
Instructor: Jon Dietrick
Office: Hollister 240
Phone Extension: 4526
Email: jdietrick@babson.edu
Office Hours: T & Th 1:30PM 2:30PM & by appointment
Goals and Objectives
This course is an intermediate-level elective in the LVA (Literary and Visual Arts)
category. According to the college, courses in this category focus on the literary and
visual arts as a realm of creativity and knowledge. They are concerned with practices
of aesthetic representation, with creative processes, and with forms of artistic
expression. Performing close readings of verbal and visual texts, these courses
develop multiple perspectives on artistic production and reception.
The specific subject we will focus on throughout the semester is the world of business
as it has been represented in American drama (mostly plays, but some films and
television shows) from the late nineteenth century to the present. Through close
reading of selected plays and outside readings from the fields of literary/theatre
criticism, history, philosophy, and sociology, some of the subjects well look into are
the following: changing American attitudes toward business; the relation of the
dramatic treatment of business to history and economics; businesss role in the
construction of gender and race; business in relation to marriage and the family; and
the ways in which the stage businessman or businesswoman becomes emblematic of
certain peculiarly American preoccupations and even anxieties. Other subjects

related to business and drama will surely appear, and I will try to keep our
investigations as open as possible.
In addition to using drama to study American attitudes toward business, this course
also strives to use business as a focal point for studying the development of American
drama from the late nineteenth century to the present. That means our investigations
should leave us with a better appreciation of the dramatic/theatrical medium, as well
as a stronger understanding of dramatic modes such as realism/naturalism,
expressionism, symbolism, absurdism, and postmodernism. These modes are related
to various philosophical and scientific movements as well as to developments in the
theatrical form, and a stronger understanding of them should greatly enrich your own
experience as a reader and viewer of plays.
Finally, this course will also take a performance studies perspective on the world of
business, investigating the roles of theatre and performance within business and
corporate culture.
Prerequisites
RHT and Foundation A&H, H&S
Required Texts
Elmer Rice, The Adding Machine
Sophie Treadwell, Machinal
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
David Mamet, The Water Engine
Kristoffer Diaz, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
Copies of these works should be in the college bookstore, but of course you may
obtain whatever editions you like.
Files and links on the Blackboard course site
Plays
Bronson Howard. The Henrietta: A Comedy in Four Acts.
Dawn Powell, Big Night.
Jerry Sterner, Other Peoples Money.
Richard Wesley, The Talented Tenth.
Criticism & Context:

Garrett Eisler. I Am a Mere Business Machine: The Commodification of the Heart

in Bronson Howards The Henrietta. The Journal of American Drama and
Theatre 19:2 (Mar. 2007) 37-60.
Charles R. Lown, Jr. "The Businessman in Early American Drama." Educational
Theatre Journal 15.1(Mar. 1963) 47-54.
Monroe Lippman. "The American Playwright Looks at Business." Educational
Theatre Journal 12.2 (May 1960) 98-106.
Jennifer Jones. "In Defense of the Woman: Sophie Treadwell's Machinal." Modern
Drama 37.3 (Fall 1994) 485-496.
Wayne S. Turney. Notes on Anti-Realism in the Theatre. A Glimpse of Theatre
History. Sept. 2, 2008.
http://wayneturney.20m.com/antirealism.htm
Timothy Spears. All Things to All Men: The Commercial Traveler and the Rise of
Modern Salesmanship." American Quarterly 45.4 (Dec. 1993) 524-557.
William Whyte. The Organization Man. The University of Pennsylvania.
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/whyte-main.html
Brenda Murphy. Personality Wins the Day: Death of a Salesman and Popular Sales
Advice Literature. South Atlantic Review 1999. South Atlantic Modern
Language Association. 1-10.
Course Requirements

Two six- to eight-page analytical essays (see schedule for due dates)
A comprehensive final exam
Participation in one group performance
Regular unannounced quizzes
Regular attendance and informed participation in class discussions

Grading
Your course grade will be calculated as follows:
First Paper
Second Paper
Final Exam
Quizzes & Short Assignments
Group Performance
Attendance

20%
20%
20%
15%
15%
10%

Course Policies
Reading: The reading load for this course is significant, and new reading
assignments will be due most class meetings. Staying on top of your reading
homework is probably the single most important thing you can do to ensure success

in this class. Also please keep in mind that reading a play is different from reading a
novel or short story. With those forms youve got the complete work of art in front
of you. With a playtext, youve got a kind of blueprint with dialogue. You must try
to envision the play happening on stage while you read, and you must not skip over
stage directions or other descriptive matter.
Writing: In the course of the semester, youll be required to complete two typed,
MLA-formatted, analytical essays, each between six and eight pages in length,
and each on a text weve read in this class. I strongly encourage you to arrange to
meet with me to discuss your papers well before they are due, and even to get my
feedback on rough drafts. I am happy to give such feedback. Check the schedule for
due dates.
Exam: There will be a comprehensive final exam at end of term. This exam will
test your knowledge of specific texts as well as your ability to write critically about
the way several texts treat some common themes.
Group Performance: In the first week of classes each of you will be randomly
assigned to perform a scene from a play as part of a small group. See the course
outline for performance group due dates. The performance must be adapted from the
play under discussion on that day; it should be roughly 10 minutes in length; and it
should be done in a way that conveys a sense of beginning, middle, and end that is,
even though it is taken from a longer work, it should feel relatively complete on its
own. This performance should be off book: that is, the players should have
their lines memorized. I expect you to be creative in how you use the classroom as
a theatrical space. You may use doors for entrances and exits, or not. You may use
the lights to suddenly illuminate a scene or to black out. You may use costumes
and props if you choose to. You may use slides or video to convey setting or theme.
You may use music. You may use the blackboard. You may ask the class to reorient
themselves (to move their desks). You should also feel free to adapt the playtext,
within reason (that is, without meaningfully distorting the plays theme). You can
turn dialogues into monologues or vice versa. You can eliminate a character if you
must. Entertain us, startle us, worry us a little if the scene calls for it, make us think
and feel all the things a good performance is supposed to do.
Attendance: I expect you to attend every class meeting on time. If you do miss a
class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and be prepared for the
following class. If some situation arises that seems to necessitate your missing a
class, please speak to me about it as soon as possible. Missing more than one or two
classes in a semester will result in a lowering of your attendance grade, as will
arriving late to class. Missed quizzes may not be made up. Your attendance grade
will be calculated this way:
0 2 absences:
3 absences:
4 absences:

A
B
C

5 or more absences:

*Late arrival to class counts as absence.

Quizzes: These will not be announced in advance, and will usually be given in the
first five minutes of class, and cannot be made up. This means you need to be
here on time in order to do well in this class. To do well on the quizzes, all you have
to do is complete the reading assignments and show up to class on time.
Preparedness: Come to each class meeting prepared to speak and write about the text
under discussion on that day. If youve been absent, it is your responsibility to find
out what youve missed and come to the next class prepared. I wasnt here is
almost never a valid excuse for being unprepared for class.
Adherence to Deadlines: A late paper will receive a reduction of five points for
each day (not each class) that it is late. So if a paper due on Monday is handed in the
following Wednesday, and that paper earns a grade of 85, its a 75.
Plagiarism: If youre caught passing off someone elses words or ideas as your own,
youll be charged with plagiarism and the matter will be handed over to the colleges
Honor Board for action. Please familiarize yourself with the colleges policy on
plagiarism, which is described in detail in your student handbook, as well as here.
Please be aware that the taking of any words or ideas from another source (even if
the source is on the internet) without acknowledging that source is plagiarism. I
didnt know that was plagiarism will never be accepted as an excuse. If the word or
idea is from another source, cite it. If youre unclear about any of this, come see me
and Im happy to help you understand. If youre having trouble with an assignment
or breaking under the pressure of a deadline, come and see me and Ill help you
never, ever cheat in this class.
Accommodation for a Documented Disability: Any student who is entitled to an
academic accommodation due to a documented disability should contact me
privately during office hours to discuss his or her specific needs. Students who need
an accommodation should also visit the Office of Disability Services, located in the
Office of Academic Services (Horn 220).
Laptops: Unless I ask you to use the device for a specific assignment (such as inclass writing) or we are discussing a reading posted on Blackboard, please do not
open your laptop in this class. If at any point I discover that youre using your
laptop in class for purposes other than those related to the class I will no longer
allow you to open the laptop in my class for any reason, and youll have to print up
all your Bb readings.
Deportment: If at any point during the semester you behave in a manner
disrespectful of your classmates or of me, or if you engage in any behavior that may
interfere with your classmates progress in this course, I may seek to have you

removed from the class. Disrespectful/distracting behavior includes, but is not

limited to, the following: talking out of turn, talking on the phone, leaving the room
to take phone calls during class, text-messaging or playing with electronic devices in
class, doing work for another class while youre in this one, speaking in a
disrespectful manner to your professor or your classmates, and repeatedly arriving
late to class.

Master Schedule of Readings and Assignments

Th 9/3

Course introduction.

T 9/8

Bronson Howard, The Henrietta (1897, Bb).

Th 9/10

Howard continued. Performance Workshop.

T 9/15

Elmer Rice, The Adding Machine (1923); Turney, Anti-Realism in

American Theatre (Bb).

Th 9/17

Rice continued. Performance Group 1.

T 9/22

Sophie Treadwell, Machinal (1928)

Th 9/24

Treadwell continued. Performance Group 2.

T 9/29

Dawn Powell, Big Night (1933).

Th 10/1

Powell continued. Performance Group 3.

T 10/6

Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman (1949). William H. Whyte,

Introduction to The Organization Man (Bb).

Th 10/8

Miller cont. Performance Group 4. Begin film: The Apartment (1960).

T 10/13

Babson Monday (No Class)

Th 10/15

Film concluded & discussed: The Apartment (1960). First Paper Due.

T 10/20

David Mamet, The Water Engine (1977).

Th 10/22

Mamet continued. Performance Group 5.

T 10/27

Jerry Sterner, Other Peoples Money (1984).

Th 10/29

Sterner continued. Performance Group 6.

T 11/3

Richard Wesley, The Talented Tenth (1989).

Th 11/5

Wesley continued. Performance Group 7.

T 11/10

Kristoffer Diaz, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (2008).

Th 11/12

Diaz continued. Performance Group 8.

T 11/17

Paper Conferences.

Th 11/19

Paper Conferences.

Thanksgiving Break
T 12/1

Mad Men viewing & discussion (episode TBA).

Th 12/3

Mad Men viewing & discussion. Second Paper Due. Exam Review

T 12/8

Exam Review.

Th 12/10

Final Exam.