ENGL3818 · English
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
What makes an American family? In this course we will study plays and films that stage the American family at key points in its history as we attempt to understand it as an evolving social institution embedded in historical circumstances. We will investigate how family values, together with our very notion of what constitutes a family, have shifted in response to changing social, economic, and sexual mores. Works may include The Octoroon; You Can't Take It With You; Long Days Journey Into Night; Fences; and The Kids Are All Right.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.8 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.7 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.7 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.6 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~5
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect only recovered evaluations connected to this course.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Spring 2025
2 sections