First, a brief review of how the general reader can become a critical reader of dramatic literature—and still find the experience delightful and enriching. Then, using Pirandello’s Henry IV as a reminder of the challenges of plays about contemporary issues and personalities, we will discuss some works from the last sixty years that have addressed concerns of science and scientists. It may be just as interesting to discover that some dramatists have intriguing insights into this kind of subject as it is to realize that sometimes both humanists and scientists can speak the same language. Texts will include Brecht’s Galileo, Kipphardt’s In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, as well as more recent efforts to present Heisenberg, Bohr, and Feynman. Offered second half of fall semester.
