Scandinavian 245A: Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, and Late 19th-Century Scandinavian Drama

This course will focus on gender, sexuality, class difference, and crisis in the dramatic works of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and his key rival, Sweden’s August Strindberg. The two most important European playwrights of their epoch in the 1880s and 1890s, both created their greatest plays in self-imposed exile on the Continent in Germany, Italy, France, et al. Course lectures, readings, and discussions will further illuminate their artistry and influence within the cultural, political, and social history of their times. Course taught in English.