English 345.01 and 345.02 (CdA videoconference link) Shakespeare Fall 2015                             
Dr. Stephan Flores (sflores@uidaho.edu)                                                   
2pm-3:15pm TR   TLC 023(Moscow)/HC 128 (CdA)                                                                        
http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~sflores/                                                  English Department: 885-6156
Office hours: W 2:30pm-4:00 p.m. & by appt.                                            Office: Brink 125

Prerequisite: English 102 or equivalent, and pre-or-co-requisite of Engl 175, or 257, or 258; English majors must in addition have completed or be co-registered for Engl 215, or enroll by permission of instructor.

Required Texts:

The Norton Shakespeare Based on the Oxford Edition. Third edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. One-volume, hardcover (ISBN: 978-0-393-93499-1). Norton, 2015. Note: this new third edition also includes eventual access early to midsemester to the digital edition, which includes some additional online resources, including audio clips from the plays. [or you could order the two-volume softbound third edition, if it is available]

McEvoy, Sean. Shakespeare: The Basics. Third edition. Routledge, 2012. (ISBN: 978-0-415-68280-0 pbk)

I have placed Norton introductions (that are contained in the Essential Plays edition) to four genres on Bblearn. Also see your text's access code to Norton's online resources, which include special workshop/topics on The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, and Othello, as well as guides to writing about literature and the use of MLA citation format. Note: the Norton Shakespeare (third) edition is required--do not plan to use other pubishers/editions.

Additional essays/articles, video clips from plays in performance on film and related resources (such as study questions) online via the class Bblearn site and also via links further below. I'll 'activate' your access to the course Bblearn site by August 21 or sooner.

Note on the videoconference component of this course; as I understand it, the university is transitioning and in a situation with only one primary videocoference dedicated classroom, that proved unavailable for this course/section but as of the second day of class (8/27) we were provided with a mobile videocart codec with much better ability (relative to the first day use of Scopia) to pick up decent audio quality of the Moscow classroom for students in CDA. We will continue to provide for give and take of discussion with students in CdA, recognizing that we may need to be prompt and adept at muting microphones on one end or either end, to minimize audio feedback. For now, this system also means that I cannot show clips via a DVD in class, so I have been adapting/revising the course to include links to video clips from Shakespeare on film via Bblearn to be viewed before class, and that will shift our classroom attention to our texts and our conversation. Our discussion on Thursday Aug. 27th proved productive and we'll continue to include this kind of specific attention to the text in group work and then share for class discussion.

As noted above, seePDF documents (including scholarly articles/essays on many of our texts) and other video clips/resources in the folders/course Bblearn site.

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Course Description: We will study Shakespeare's drama through primary and secondary texts and films, and exchange points of view as we work together to develop our understanding (enjoyment!) of nine selected plays in the genres of comedy, history, tragedy, and romance. Through assigned readings, class and group discussions, and written analyses, the class shall explore the social, sexual, political, performative, and formal issues that these texts represent, and consider Shakespeare's development as a playwright. Written work includes Inquiry-Starter questions/comments, a Summary & a Critical Reflection, a Critical Essay, and a Term Essay. The steady to brisk pace of our readings is designed to provide for solid inquiry/study with sufficient 'coverage' to get a good sense of what are widely regarded as Shakespeare's (eight of the nine) major/significant plays.

Here is a general guiding premise/claim for this 300-level literature course and its outcomes (also see expected learning outcomes noted further below, following the semester schedule): Literature provides us with a way of understanding how our social life works. Human social life consists of narratives for living, with ‘narratives’ being understood here as an actual life experience spread over time and guided by cultural stories that justify it to participants. Both the cultural and real-world narrative can change; both use frames to exclude norm-dissonant perspectives and values and to ensure that the meanings that support the continuity and homogeneity of the lived process are stable, predictable, and enforced. Who tells the stories in the culture thus largely shapes how that cultural world will be organized. Stories are what people believe and how they believe, and how people believe determines how they act and how they live. Stories can change how people think, perceive, believe, and act. The analysis of the work they perform is thus an important endeavor. And that is what criticism is all about. (An Introduction to Criticism: Literature/Film/Culture--Wiley-Blackwell, 2012).

Note that this class counts toward/satisfies several different elective possibilities in the different emphases in the English major, such as the "one upper-division course in literature before 1900 (3 cr)" requirement in the Literature emphasis or in the Creative Writing emphasis the "Shakespeare or another course in literature before 1800 (3 cr)" requirement, and similar options/requirements in the Teaching emphasis or in the current Professional emphasis.

Broader contexts for desired course outcomes are situated within the department's goals for the English major and the university's learning outcomes. In addition, as mentioned see further below for learning outcomes specific to this course and to 300-level literature courses.

 Plays:

The Tragedy of King Richard III (1592-93)

The Comical History of the Merchant of Venice, Or Otherwise Called the Jew of Venice (1596-97)

The Life of Henry the Fifth (Henry V, 1599)

As You Like It (1598-1600)

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1599-1601)

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will (1600-1602)

The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (1603-04)

The Tragedy of Macbeth (1606-07)

Cymbeline (c.1609-10)

Requirements:

1. Nine Bblearn Inquiry Starters: a thesis/problem-driven response (approximately 175-250 words each in which you take a stance/make a claim, state a point of view/thesis, typically in relation to a specific passage in the play or with specific reference to a critic's claim (from a scholarly article/chapter found in the related Bblearn folder--see two examples via this weblink). Your Inquiry-Starter should be informed by some aspect of the text or performance as well as critical commentary (from the Norton edition’s introductory headnotes, or from McEvoy's Shakespeare: The Basics, or an article of your choice, available in Bblearn resource folders on each play). Inquiry Starters present a means for you and the class to share enthusiasms and questions as you delve into the text’s significance, methods, and effects, and to learn from others' comments (a version of Graff's "They Say, I Say" exchange, see Bblearn). See the following highlighed weblink for two Examples of Inquiry Starters. No late entries—Inquiry Starters are due/posted on Bblearn before class (by 12:30 pm the day of class). If you post your entry after 12:30pm but still before class begins that day, you will lose two points from your semester point total--entries posted any later will lose five points. Come to class prepared to talk about your ISs/ideas. Again: missing or late inquiry-starter entries posted after the class due date will be counted against your semester grade (minus 5 points each, see below).

2. Write a Summary and a Critical Reflection (due Thursday October 15th before class, including copy, preferably as MS Word attachment, sent by email to me):

Summary: Focus your summary (approximately 300 words) to present key aspects of one of the substantial critical/scholarly essays (PDF) in our Bblearn course site; unless you choose one of the other topical essays, it is likely that you will select your scholarly essay from the respective Bblearn folder on one of the following plays: Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, Henry the Fifth, As You Like It, or Hamlet.

Your summary of the scholarly article or chapter should present a straightforward, selective account of what you consider to be the essay's primary, most important or engaging ideas and points of argument and interpretation. After reading the scholarly essay closely—perhaps making marginal or separate notes as you go to identify questions or reflect on why you consider a particular passage or concept important (for example, is it a major or new point in the argument, a significant piece of support, a summary of the opposition, an important theoretical premise/move/point of reference and departure)—you might then explore your initial approach to the Part One summary and to your Part Two response by determining to what extent and how the reading has influenced your views and understanding, by determining points of agreement or doubt, by determining significant questions raised by your experience with this essay, by determining the most important ideas you "take away" from the reading, and by reflecting on what you might "say back" to the author in sharing your perspective on the essay and on the play, particularly in the contexts of what we have studied thus far this semester.

As you write the summary, work from your sense of the scholarly essay's structure and content, and it may be helpful to have in mind the gist of each paragraph in the scholarly essay—its function or purpose and a brief summary of its content (what it "does" and what it "says," usually a response to an implicit question)—to produce material to consider for your summary, and recognizing that you will need to select among such points because your word limit will force you to choose what ideas and arguments to focus on.

Your summary should strive to represent the essay—or as noted above, an important aspect of it—accurately and fairly. Be direct and concise, take as much as possible a fair, nonpartisan stance and tone, and except for brief quotes use your own words to express the author's ideas, use attributive tags (such as according to Smith or Smith argues that) to keep the reader informed that you are expressing another's ideas, and focus the summary to produce a cohesive and coherent account. You might begin the summary by identifying the question or the problem that the reading addresses, then state the essay's purpose or thesis and summarize its argument or primary analysis point by point (or as best you can, given the restrictions on length of the summary).

Critical Reflection: write a reflective, question -and problem-posing critical essay (minimum of 750 words for the essay, but it need not and in a sense, should not be substantially longer--that is, three to four pages or at most five pages for the Critical Reflection) in which you explain and explore what you consider to be one or more of the most important and/or problematic interpretative methods/theories and ideas--particularly about Shakespeare's drama and the analysis and understanding of his plays--in the course thus far: that is, you are to focus your critical reflection and inquiry on some aspect of what you have learned about studying and discussing Shakespeare's plays to this point in the semester. Contexts/sources for what we have studied/learned range from McEvoy, to Norton headnotes, to other discussions and any critical essays from Bblearn that you have read/studied. Given the relative brevity of this essay, you may find it useful to quote briefly from one or more passages from a play and from a scholar/critic--such as the essay that you just summarized--in order to illustrate and support your reflective inquiry with specific examples. You also may find it effective to compose a thesis for your reflective essay that maps out for readers the significant points that you want to develop and discuss. Assume that your audience is familiar with what we have read and studied, and take care to articulate clearly your inquiry into the material, especially problems or contradictions that seem difficult to resolve. For further contexts of commentary, see these excerpts from our reading selections that offer scholars' views on Shakespeare's histories, comedies, and tragedies. Also keep in mind that course learning outcomes, listed further below.

3. Critical Essay [see Bblearn folder "Advice on Writing Essays" and see this immediately prior&following highlighted weblink for fuller advice on writing critical essay(s)] on Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, Henry V, As You Like It, or Hamlet, or Twelfth Night; 1600 words/six pages for main body of essay, double-spaced, with reference to at least two pieces of “instructor-specified” secondary criticism beyond our assigned reading in the Norton edition and in McEvoy, according to selections posted on our class Bblearn folders for criticism on each play; that is, you must refer to/cite/draw upon at least two substantial article/book chapters from the Bblearn folder for the corresponding play. Though you may consult other/outside secondary criticism from scholarly journals and books, do not plan to make those sources the primary, informing perspectives and research for your essay. You also are encouraged to draw upon the Norton headnotes as well as McEvoy's book. The primary aims of this thesis-seeking/problem-posing exploratory essay assignment is to engage with the play and its critical interpretation/reception by identifying problems, developing claims and arguments, and enriching your literary understanding, interests, and commitments. Use/learn Modern Language Association format for any notes or works cited (see, for instance, link to MLA format guidelines further below, and the Norton Shakespeare's online resources/example of developing a research essay. Note: though I suggest that you avoid/choose not to write your Critical Essay on a play that you may have focused on for your Critical Reflection, you may do so with expectation that I will be looking for a substantially different and critically informed essay that differs from your relatively short essay for the Critical Reflection.

4. Term Essay due in class on December 10 (peer-editing of hard copy nearly full draft of your essay, in class on December 8), on play or plays (excluding play and topic of prior Critical Essay, double-spaced (12 pt, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, MLA format, approximately 8-9 or more pages for main body of essay), with significant reference to at least two secondary works of criticism along with any references from our Norton text/headnote and from McEvoy (the minimum two scholarly sources are to be selected from folders on Bblearn, that include recent articles or book chapters): this critical essay develops ideas prompted by our study, discussion, and viewing of the plays, by recent scholarship, and by your perspectives. I shall attend to the ways that you select, define, and engage questions and contradictions, and to the clarity, imagination, and grace that you demonstrate in presenting your topic, (hypo)thesis, and argument, and the extent to which your work engages with, explains, and contributes to the larger "conversation" of scholarship on the topic and drama under analysis. I do not always expect essays to conclude by "solving" such problems or by "proving" your thesis; I hope that you address interesting topics (questions for debate, interpretation, and analysis) in thoughtful and useful ways. Please feel invited to confer with me during the writing process. See also general advice for critical essays similar to prior advice on the Critical Essay that also pertains to this term essay. Note that the Term Essay cannot be turned in more than one day late--it is due in class on December 10, but may be turned in as late as but no later than December 11 by 4:30pm to my mailbox in Brink Hall, Rm 200 (with one day penalty of minus 4 points).

5. Complete one in-class Discussion-Starter during the semester, in coordination with/as part of a group of three students. You can model this after the inquiry-starters in that you take a stance/make a claim, state a point of view/thesis, typically in relation to a specific passage in the play or with specific reference to a critic's claim--and taking into account approximately where we are in our study of the play, and with an interest in fostering further conversation among our class. These Discussion-Starters will be scheduled to occur on days other than when Inquiry-Starters are due. Your individual Discussion-Starter should include handing in to me a hard copy of the gist of your ideas, approximately 175 words (students in CdA may send a copy by email to me: sflores@uidaho.edu).

6. Participation: Please take advantage of opportunities to share your insights and to listen and reply to others' ideas. I hope that questions and discussions will enable you to move the class in directions you find most helpful, give you opportunities to develop critical skills through collaboration, and provide for a productive, interesting exchange of perspectives among the class. You may meet periodically in small groups in class primarily for sharing Inquiry-Starters and to prompt our class discussions. I expect you to contribute productively to class discussion, and I will make an effort to call on you directly, especially if you tend not (!) to pitch in to share your views and questions.

7. All required work is due at the beginning of class on the due date—work turned in late will be graded accordingly. Required graded written work will be downgraded one notch (for example, B+ to B, converted to points for each assignment) for each weekday late (not just days classes meet but counting just one day for a weekend). Note, however, that the Term Essay cannot be turned in more than one day late--it is due in class on December 10, but may be turned in as late as but no later than December 11 by 4:30pm (with one day penalty of minus 4 points). Work submitted more than a week late will not be accepted. I will grant short extensions for medical and family emergencies—but talk with me as soon as possible to request an extension. Always keep copies of your work.

8. Attendance: always attend class (unless you are sick). One or two absences will not affect your semester grade; a third absence will lower your semester total by three points, with a five-point reduction for each additional absence (four absences=minus 8 points, five absences = minus 13 points); six or more absences is sufficient cause for you to receive a failing grade for the course, regardless of your semester point total. All absences will be counted—excused or not—if something extraordinary occurs, talk to me.

9. Grades: Summary and Critical Reflection (50 pts); Critical Essay (100 pts); Term Essay (130 pts). These required assignments add up to a maximum of 280 points. Thus 252-280 points equals an A, 224-251 equals a B, 196-223 equals a C, 168-195 equals a D, and anything below 168 merits an F. I shall reserve a potential six bonus points based on my perceptions of the strength of your participation and efforts over the semester; incomplete or missing inquiry-starter entries will be counted against your semester grade, with the loss of five points for each missing or incomplete entry, to a maximum loss of 45 points. NOTE, therefore, that missing even one Inquiry Starter combined for example with three absences, could very well affect your overall semester grade by lowering your total points by 8 points. You might earn grades in the A(-) range, for instance, on the Critical Essay and on the Term Essay, yet receive a B for the semester if you incur such penalty points because of missing ISs and absences.

10. Office hours. I encourage you to confer with me—especially before assignments are due—to talk about your interests, intentions, and writing strategies. If you cannot make my regular hours (in Brink 125), we’ll arrange another time. I also welcome communicating with you by E-mail (sflores@uidaho.edu) and for students based in Couer d'Alene, Skype may prove a useful option.

11. Use of laptops and cell phones during class is prohibited; occasional use of laptops—typically for group work and to access the online components of the class—may be permitted with my approval.

12. Do not submit work for this class that you have submitted or intend to submit for a grade in another course; as always, be careful to cite anyone else's work that you draw upon. See highlighted link on the class website to a useful guide to avoiding plagiarism, and a link to information on the university's policies regarding plagiarism.

13. Classroom Learning and Civility: To support learning and discovery in this course—as in any university course—it is essential that each member of the class feel as free and as safe as possible in his or her participation. To this end, we must collectively expect that everyone (students, professors, and guests) seek to be respectful and civil to one another in discussion, in action, in teaching, and in learning. Because knowledge and learning are constructed and construed through social inquiry and exchange, it is vital that course dialogue and debate encourage and expect a substantial range of reasoned, expressive, and impassioned articulation of diverse views in order to build a stronger understanding of the materials and of one another's ways of knowing. These practices strengthen our capacities for understanding and the production of (new) knowledge. As with the critical writing assignments for this class, our primary aims include engaging with texts and their varied critical interpretations by identifying problems, developing claims and arguments with supporting lines of evidence and explanation, and enriching our literary understanding, interests, and commitments.

Should you feel our classroom interactions do not reflect an environment of civility and respect, you are encouraged to meet with me during office hours to discuss your concern. Additional resources for expression of concern and avenues of support include the chair of the Department of English, Dr. Scott Slovic, the Dean of Students office and staff (5-6757), the UI Counseling & Testing Center’s confidential services (5-6716), or the UI Office of Human Rights, Access, & Inclusion (5-4285).

14. Disability Support Services: Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have documented temporary or permanent disabilities. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services (885-6307; dss@uidaho.edu; www.uidaho.edu/dss) located in the Idaho Commons Building, Room 306 in order to notify your instructor(s) as soon as possible regarding accommodation(s) needed for the course.

Additional reference sources for further study/research: I have placed over 40 works on UI Library Reserve, under English 345 Shakespeare (collections of essays etc.). Do not rely upon or incorporate research from non-refereed, non-“scholarly” sources or publications. As noted above, however plan to seek secondary sources from the bibliographies in our texts, and the main secondary sources for you to consider are in folders in the course Bblearn site. I have also created special folders on Bblearn with articles/resources for those of you who plan to become high school English teachers: folders on Romeo and Juliet and on Julius Caesar and 1 Henry IV.

English 345.01/345.02 Semester Schedule Fall 2015 (subject to some tweaking/revision as we go along): See/review online study questions further below, resources/critical essays on each play on Bblearn, and read the The Norton Shakespeare introductions to each play and to each genre, and McEvoy Shakespeare: The Basics chapter sections. Film excerpts for each of the plays will be available on Bblearn, for viewing prior to each class. Complete your initial reading of each play by the second day of class discussion for that play.

Dates

Tuesday

Thursday

Notes

8/25-27

Introduction(s); discuss opening scenes of Richard III--view clips on Bblearn from 1.1-1.2 on Bblearn, in the folder for Richard III, before class today-- I'll 'activate' your access to the course Bblearn site by August 20 or sooner. Richard III ; view clips on Bblearn before class today: 1.4.1-60; 1.3.40-88; 3.1; 3.2&3.4; read Preview/Summary/View in Bblearn folder on Richard III  

9/1-3

Inquiry Starter 1 due by 12:30 pm on Bblearn, on Richard III; read before class: in Sean McEvoy, Shakespeare: The Basics. Third edition-(7) Understanding History: King Richard II, King Henry IV Part 1, King Henry V and King Richard III [includes subsections History and history, History and power, History and women, History and language, History in performance]; also via Bblearn folder: look over (at least) one essay on Richard III: Garber overview; or Maus; or Moulton on Richard's monstrous, unruly masculinity; or Berger Jr.'s on conscience, complicity, and history; or Pearlman on "The Invention of Richard of Gloucester"; or Charnes on ". . . Reading the Monstrous Body . . ."; view clips of 3.7 and 4.2 in Bblearn folder before class today

Richard III; Sean McEvoy, Shakespeare: The Basics:-Introduction/(1) Understanding the Text: Shakespeare’s Language [includes sections on Writing for a theatre audience, Simple or complext, the language is dramatic, Verse and prose, Prose, Verse, Rhetorical figures and tropes, Rhetorical tropes in dramatic action, Rhetorical figures in dramatic action]; Richard III (film excerpt); view clips of 5.5, and 5.7 before class; start reading The Merchant of Venice and view clips of 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 before class

 

9/8-10

The Merchant of Venice; McEvoy Shakespeare: The Basics- (5) Shakespeare’s genres-(6) Understanding Comedy: The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, As You Like It and Twelfth Night [includes subsections on Comedy and Gender, Comedy and power, Comedy and the outsider, Green Comedy, Comedy and performance]; view clips of 2.1, 2.5, and 3.1 before class; read Preview,Summary, View of the play, in Bblearn folder on The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice ; Katharine Eisaman Maus, “Shakespearean Comedy” (in Norton Essential ed. or via Bblearn); Inquiry Starter 2 due by 12:30pm on The Merchant of Venice; view clips of 3.2a and 3.2b before class

 

9/15-17

The Merchant of Venice; Greenblatt, “General Introduction: Shakespeare’s World” (Norton ed.); take a look at Ryan or Garber articles and resource folder on The Merchant of Venice on Bblearn; view clip of 4.1.1 before class

The Life of Henry the Fifth; Greenblatt, “The Playing Field”; McEvoy-(3) Shakespeare on Stage [includes sections on Othello, As You Like It, and Much Ado About Nothing]; before class, watch the first scenes of Henry V via Bblearn, with weblink to Branagh's film (in fact, plan to watch the whole film if you can manage that) and also see links to clips (1.0, 1.1-1.2.116; 1.2.222-299) of Tom Hiddleston as Henry.

 

9/22-24

Henry the Fifth; Jean E. Howard, “Shakespearean History” (Norton); Inquiry Starter 3 due by 12:30pm on Henry the Fifth; prior to class view clips of 3.1, 3.3, 3.6.91-103). Hiddleston film version cuts 2.2, so see Branagh for that compelling, important scene of the conspirators Cambridge, Grey, and Scrope

Henry the Fifth; McEvoy-(4) Shakespeare on Film [sections on How do you film Shakespeare, on Two Tempests, on Globalized Shakespeare]; rec.: excerpt (pp.205-211) from Rackin, Phyllis. "English History Plays." [excellent] in Bblearn folder; see series of clips from Acts 4 and 5.

 

9/29-10/1

As You Like It; Inquiry Starter 4 due by 12:30pm on As You Like It; see links/video clips in folder on Bblearn; also see one or more essays on the play in that folder

As You Like It; rec./see Traub's and Rackin's essays on gender and sexuality and historical difference, on Bblearn; finish watching clips from film before today's class

 

10/6-8

Hamlet; recommended: Gurr, “The Shakespearean Stage” (Norton ed.); McEvoy-(8) Understanding Tragedy: Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth and Othello [includes sections on Tragedy and historical conflict, Tragedy in history, Tragedy and power, Tragedy, theatre and ethics, Tragedy and revenge]; note: if you have a Netflix account , Baz Luhrman's Hamlet, with Ethan Hawke, is available to stream; Note: make sure that you have decided by today--if possible--what you plan to do for your Summary and Critical Reflection, due Oct. 15th.

Hamlet; Inquiry Starter 5 due by 12:30pm on Hamlet; rec.: Thompson and Taylor chapter and resource file on Hamlet in Bblearn folder; see Bblearn folder to compare clips/links of different performances on film, including those of David Tennant and Kenneth Branagh

 

10/13-15

Hamlet

Summary and Critical Reflection are due (also send copies to me by email, preferably in MS Word); Twelfth Night; Greenblatt, “Shakespeare’s Life and Art” (Norton)

 

10/20-22

Inquiry Starter 6 due by 12:30pm on Twelfth Night ; rec.: Rixon's chapter and other essays on Bblearn

Twelfth Night

 

10/27-29

Twelfth Night

Othello; in addition to the Norton introductory headnote (as always!), read the Bedford concise PDF (introductory headnote essays) on Race and Preview and View of Othello (Bblearn folder on Othello)

10/30 Critical Essay due Friday by 3pm in Brink 200 (or to me in my Brink 125 office)--also send electronic copy via email to me, preferably in MS Word; also note that for this extension, if you submit the essay after the due date/time through to 3pm on Monday November 2, I will count the essay two days late. I won’t accept late essays after 2:10 pmTuesday November 3.

11/3-5

Othello; Stephen Greenblatt, “Shakespearean Tragedy” (Norton); Inquiry Starter 7 due by 12:30pm on Othello

Othello; rec.: resource file as well as Newman, Callaghan, and Loomba's essays in Bblearn folder on Othello  

11/10-12

Othello

Macbeth; read Regan's overview chapter on Macbeth, and see too the Bedford Preview and View of the play (Bblearn folder on Macbeth, which also contains Ryan's and Carroll's essays and many more, plus the Folger Shakespeare Library guides to Macbeth for high school students)

 

11/17-19

Macbeth; Inquiry Starter 8 due by 12:30pm on Macbeth; read one of the substantial essays in Bblearn folder on Macbeth

Macbeth

 

12/1-3

Cymbeline; McEvoy-(9) Understanding Romance [includes sections on Romance and gender, Romance and utopia, Love and romance]; see one or more essays on the play in the folder on Bblearn, such as Johnson or Garber

Cymbeline; Inquiry Starter 9 due by 12:30pm on Cymbeline; McEvoy-(2) Shakespeare’s Theatre; film excerpt; rec: Walter Cohen, “Shakespearean Romance” (Norton);

 
12/8-10

Cymbeline; McEvoy-Conclusion: The Future of Shakespeare Studies; bring hard copy of full or nearly full draft of your term essay (double-spaced) to class for peer-editing today

last day of discussion; Term Essay due, hard copy in class, and also send electronic copy to me via email, preferably in MS Word. Note that if late, this essay may be turned in no later than one day late, on Friday, at my Brink Hall Rm. 200 mailbox by 4:30pm, with a one day late penalty of -4 points.

 
       

Course Learning Outcomes: English 345
General:
• Reinforces close reading, research skills, and analytical writing strategies
• Help students investigate how these literary texts shape and reflect their particular contexts, including differences in treatment of issues across the time period covered
• Helps students engage with and develop investment in the plays and related texts/criticism—using a range of assignments and resources, including online writing/discussions
• Helps students engage in scholarly conversations about literature—building from their research skills and use of evidence and related texts in previous classes to position themselves in dialogue with critical discussions
• Requires, and directs students in ways to write sustained analytical essays (with selected research) that evidence close reading of the literature to include well-developed theses/argument, engagement with critical sources, and ability to ask meaningful questions of the literature and its construction. Students are required to sustain an analysis of eight or more pages in the Term Essay, and write approximately 14 additional pages of analysis during the semester (including midterm and critical essay as well as nine concise Discussion Starters). Evaluation of students' written work includes instructor's use of a rubric to identify specific areas assessed
• Supports exploration of theoretical perspectives on literary and cultural studies, enabling students to reflect upon, compose, and articulate the ways that they engage with critical theory and practice
•Helps students understand applications of English studies with references to contemporary events/situations that show similar problems depicted in the texts recurring in present day life and social relations
•Expects and monitors that students' writing exhibits correct usage of grammar and of MLA formats and citation conventions

Learning outcomes (specific to Engl 345/Shakespeare): Students will study, explore, and seek to learn about

-Shakespeare’s use of language, including rhetorical purposes and figures/tropes in verse and prose
-the nature of theatrical performance and conditions of staging and dramatic action in Shakespearean theater/drama, including the plays’ self-referential attention to their status as non-realistic: as therefore fictive and performative
-the production and reception of Shakespeare’s plays on film
-the question/problem of classifying Shakespeare’s plays by genres of comedy, history, tragedy, and romance
-the shift from prior character and theme-based critical approaches to historically-situated analysis of the cultural and socio-political contexts and functions/purposes of Shakespeare’s work
-an understanding of Shakespearean comedy, including to what extent the playful rebellion of young lovers against parental authority is absorbed and transformed by cultural and state power into the socially sanctioned form of marriage, or whether the representation of subversive, rebellious energy demonstrates the possibility of more egalitarian and desirable relationships between men and women, and perhaps even among/across a different continuum of gender-identifications
-the function of language in the comedies to enforce the status of the powerful even as this conflicts with those who challenge predominant meanings and relationships
- how the plays’ show an awareness of the transition from a past feudal world to a political world in which monarchs seek absolute power
-that the histories, in particular, show royal power claiming divine support to serve/justify their power as monarchs, monarchs whose success depends to a substantial degree upon their respective ability to convince others through theatrical performance of their role as rulers
-that the histories also show that women’s potential to undermine men’s right to inherit is kept in check by the threat of violence
-that because the plays/theater reveal their own constructedness, we see that our understanding of historical narratives are inflected by the concerns of the teller and the interests of those who interpret/receive/reproduce these works/meanings
-that characters in the tragedies are shown to live in an early modern world whose secure basis is slipping away; moreover, these characters’ acts/beliefs reveal internalized contradictions, competing values and conflicts that make their lives impossible
-that the tragedies may show a heightened, focused attention to the social operations of power to reveal how the stories and displays of those in authority work to convince those with less power of their superiors’ right to rule even though such narratives/rights may well be baseless
-that the tragedies also highlight the nature of representation and questions of ethics/principles
-that though we are not studying directly plays in the genre of romance, students will learn that these works tend to show how women and the next generation redeem the errors of men and the older generation
-that the romances also show that though women are either unruly or beautiful/fertile beings, they nevertheless possess qualities that will make the world better because they save men from the harsh injustice of masculine desires for power and control
-that some critics argue that Shakespearean romances show how the passage of time may dismantle structures of belief and power except for those presented as common to our humanity, and that this utopian appeal to the generative capacities of fiction/imagination that we hold in common creates the basis for a more egalitarian future, one of equality and fairness
-the history of Shakespeare studies/critical orientations/theories, including the shift from early liberal humanist and character-based perspectives to contexts/relations of gender, race, and sexuality in history/politics/culture, with questions of justice, and even finer modes of historical specificity and analysis, juxtaposed to ‘presentist’ interests/claims to understand Shakespeare in relation to our own lives, and also recurring interest in ethics and ecocriticism or ‘green’ issues represented in Shakespeare’s works

-See also these excerpts from our reading selections that offer scholars' views on Shakespeare's histories, comedies, and tragedies.

Student Learning Outcomes (see this link for longer list and contexts for desired outcomes, that supplement the outcomes stated above and below)
In English 345 students will learn, develop, and strengthen abilities
- to understand and to explain the historical dimensions of Shakespeare's literary characters’ desires for and relation with others, including social negotiations and ideological debates over valued identities and principles, particularly as these desires and relations are understood as rhetorical functions and effects of the literary text in its particular language/form/structure and its contexts
-to explore the extent to which the culturally-inflected and historically-situated desires and power relations and identities in Shakespeare's plays are shown to be in flux, narrated and dramatized as being put into question or engaged in a debate among different social, political, class, gender, ethnic, religious/ideological arrangements
-to write a substantial critical essay that engages with Shakespeare's plays and their critical interpretation/reception by identifying problems, developing claims and arguments, and enriching literary understanding, interests, and commitments

Evaluation/Assessment Rubric for Critical Essay and Term Essay, with check mark along a scale, including specific comments to supplement my notations on the texts of the essays themselves:

Rubric for Initial Criteria for Evaluating Critical Writing/Essays:   Excellent    Very Good-Good    Competent-Fair    Weak
Note: Ultimately the evaluation of your work is holistic,
and therefore also intends to register the different, nuanced,
unexpected and evocative effects of your analysis,
exploration, creative expression/affect, and engagement
with learning and discovery.

1. Strength and clarity of (hypo)thesis/focus/introduction

2. Intellectual/conceptual strength and persuasiveness of
main claim as well as ensuing argument/logic/premises/
critical analysis/theory/ideas        

3. Cohesive and coherent development, logical
 organization, including well-structured paragraphs with
clear points and compelling, specific support/evidence

4. Analysis of text’s/topic’s relevant cultural/historical
 contexts and if specified, of related scholarship/criticism;
analysis of text’s rhetorical/persuasive strategies, structure
(narrative or dramatic structure, aspects of performance)

5. Topic’s depth/complexity, including explanation of
problem to be addressed, recognition of text’s
conflicts/contradictions (ideological/rhetorical),
creativity and sense of discovery/affective engagement
conveyed—the articulated sense of “what’s at stake, why
it matters”

6. Significance/ conclusion

7. Effective sentences, syntax, verbs, diction,
punctuation, complexity, and suitable style: academic,
critical, appropriate to your understanding of the
materials/subjects

8. MLA style—parenthetical citation of sources,
Works Cited; formatting; spelling ungraded but noted

University of Idaho Guidelines on Academic Dishonesty (including plagiarism)

Some Advice on Writing Critical Essays for this course (see also folder in our course Bblearn site for Advice on Writing Critical Essay)

Purdue OWL advice on Writing in Literature (including links for writing a 'good' literature paper and writing about plays etc.

UNLV Writing Center's Tips on Writing About Literature

Lessons on Style (general advice/quited dated handout but perhaps worth looking over) [pdf]

Quick Advice on Punctuation (also dated) [pdf]

Summary/Overview of Perspectives on Critical Theory

Online Writing Center Resources (from writing essays to grammar and usage advice):

Review Guide to Using MLA Style for Citing Sources [from OWL/Purdue, see esp. left side tab: formatting and style guide]

Lecture on Richard III [link to Dr. W. Harlan's lecture]

Study Questions on Richard III [link to Dr. W. Harlan's questions]

Penguin Guide to Richard III

Questions on The Merchant of Venice

Questions on Cymbeline

Examples of some Journal Entries on The Merchant of Venice [pdf]

Interview with Trevor Nunn about PBS film production of The Merchant of Venice

Synopses of 1 & 2 HIV [pdf]

Study Questions on 1 Henry IV [pdf]

Examples of some Journal Entries on 1 HIV [pdf]

Questions on Henry the Fifth

Overview of Evaluation Guidelines, Criteria, and also Resources for Critical Essays

Questions on As You Like It

Questions on Hamlet

Flores's Questions on Twelfth Night

Examples of some Journal Entries on Twelfth Night [pdf]

Questions on Othello

Penguin Guide to Othello

Examples of some Journal Entries on Othello [pdf]

Flores's Questions on Macbeth

Penguin Guide to Macbeth

Questions on Cymbeline

Examples of some Journal Entries on Macbeth [pdf]

Interesting piece on Shakespeare and Marxism

Interesting piece on Cross-dressing/casting in Shakespeare

Lessons on Style (general advice/quited dated handout but perhaps worth looking over) [pdf]

Quick Advice on Punctuation (also dated) [pdf]

Example Student Essay on Politics and Authority in A Midsummer Night's Dream (not a recent essay, dates back quite a few years) [pdf]

Example Student Essay on Cymbeline (not a recent essay, dates back quite a few years) [pdf]

Example of Midterm Explication Exams on TN and Macbeth [pdf1]

Examples of Midterm Explication Exams on TN and Macbeth [pdf2]

Examples of Midterm Explication Exams on TN and Macbeth [pdf3]

M.Hallen's Student Essay on The Tempest [pdf]

Selected Criticism on Shakespeare

Questions on A Midsummer Night's Dream

Examples of some Journal Entries on MND [pdf]

Questions on Measure for Measure

Online Writing Center Resources (from writing essays to grammar and usage advice):

Purdue OWL advice on Writing in Literature (including links for writing a 'good' literature paper and writing about plays etc.

How to Lead Discussion (focused on peer-peer interaction)

Leading an Effective Discussion (focused on TAs and faculty)

Facilitating Discussions (focused on TAs and faculty)