English 345.01 Shakespeare Fall 2018                             
Dr. Stephan Flores (sflores@uidaho.edu)                                                   
3:30-4:45pm TR   TLC 244                                                                       
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, Third Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. (2015) Volume(s): Four-Volume Set / Parts Comedies, Histories, Tragedies, Romances, with The Norton Shakespeare Digital Edition registration card. ISBN: 978-0-393-26546-0

Sean McEvoy, Shakespeare: The Basics. Routledge, 2012. Paperback. ISBN-13: 978-0415682800

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.

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

Login to Bblearn before our first class meeting by using your UIDAHO NetID. You can update your password at http://help.uidaho.edu/. If you haven't already, setup your NetID at www.vandalsetup.uidaho.edu. If you continue to experience problems accessing BbLearn after changing your password, please contact the ITS Help Desk by email helpdesk@uidaho.edu, or phone (208)885-HELP.
Student Help using BbLearn

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 selected plays in the genres of comedy, history, and tragedy (but not addressing what are known as the 'problem' plays or late-work genre of '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 weekly Inquiry-Starters posted on the course Bblearn discussion thread, an in-class midterm exam, 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 (among) Shakespeare's most compelling and 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:

Much Ado about Nothing (1598)

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)

King Lear (1608/1623)

The Tragedy of Macbeth (1606-07)

Requirements:

1. Twelve written Inquiry Starters (12 in total, over the course of the semester, as specified in course schedule): a combination of citation (summary-review) with thesis/problem-driven response (at minimum 230 words each), due by 1 p.m. on your choice of either Tuesday or Thursday. Note that over the course of the semester, plan to some ISs on Tuesdays and some ISs on Thursdays: each IS should demonstrate a reflective engagement with that week's reading assignment(s), to include finding a couple of points of interest that enable you to take a stance/make a claim, state a point of view/thesis about the texts/ideas--see two examples via this weblink). Important additional note: Nine of your Inquiry Starters should respond quite directly to the text of the play under discussion (be sure, however to read the introductory headnotes in the Norton Shakespeare anthology as well as assigned chapters from McEvoy's Shakespeare: The Basics); three of your Inquiry Starters should respond directly to a substantial scholarly article/resource from Bblearn (PDF), related to the play under discussion for that week, and each of these posts should be in relation to three different plays.

Inquiry Starters present a means for you and the class to share close critical analysis, 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). No late entries —Inquiry Starters are due/posted on the Bblearn discussion thread no later than 1 p.m. and must address a scheduled text or relevant piece of scholarship for that day (in other words, do not post about a Tuesday text on Thursday). See left side menu on Bblearn, click on that, then find appropriate thread for each IS, and post an entry and provide a "title" for your entry. Entries posted any later than 1 p.m. will lose five points--that is, your semester point total will be reduced by five points for each late or missing Inquiry-Starter entry.

Come to class prepared to talk about your ISs/ideas; at times we'll spotlight individual ISs, using the projector to introduce the ISs via Bblearn to facilitate discussion, so keep in mind that you may be called upon in class to comment further upon your IS. I attend to the ISs as part of my evaluation of your performance in the course--strive each week for a full and thoughtful/analytical entry--avoid posting entries that are too brief and/or mainly descriptive rather than analytical (points might be deducted). Remember: Missing or late inquiry-starter entries will be counted against your semester grade, and if your grades are on a borderline between grade ranges then missing even one entry may reduce your semester grade (see below); moreover, along with in-class participation, the quality of your Inquiry Starters forms part of the points awarded for Participation (at midterm and at the end of semester).

Special option/note: you have one opportunity at the end of the semester--by 1 p.m. on Tuesday Dec. 4--to post a substantial Inquiry Starter (minimum 250 words) on a piece of criticism on that will make up for any points deducted for one prior Inquiry Starter. In your IS, respond to one of the essays as listed in  the Bblearn folder on Macbeth or on King Lear. You should include some summary or focus on some aspect of the article/book chapter's thesis/argument, and as with other ISs this semester, have some point of focus and hypothesis in your own critical reflections on the article and the play. For those whose grades might be borderline, this enables you to 'regain' 5 points that were deducted. This option is not available to anyone who is not missing any Inquiry Starters (because this is not a bonus point situation, only a chance to make up for one missing IS).

2. In-class 75-minute midterm exam (October 11) over two plays from different groupings (with topics/questions chosen from a range of choices—bring “blue or green books” or notebook ruled paper, your Norton/Shakespeare edition text (but not McEvoy or other texts), and you also may bring one standard (8.5"x11") piece of paper (with your name on it) on which you have written two to six quotes from scholars/critics, and one to several lines (a quote) from each of the plays that you plan to write upon. This piece of paper will be turned in with your exam. In addition to this preparation, any review that you may do of your selected plays, study questions, and McEvoy chapters, Norton and Bedford headnotes, or specific scholarly articles in Bblearn can strengthen your understanding.

Part 1/Essay 1—approximately/minimum 300-400 word essay on one of the following plays: Much Ado about Nothing, As You Like It , or Henry V (15 points maximum);

Part 2/Essay 2—approximately/minimum 550-650 word essay on one of the following plays: The Merchant of Venice or Hamlet (35 points maximum).

This midterm directs you to explore significant issues and strategies in these plays, that you situate in relation to your choice of one to three critical/scholarly commentary/perspectives on the play and/or genre, and also with a selected quote (one to three lines quote) from each play as a starting/anchoring point for each essay; you may select such quotes from among the provided excerpts on Shakespearean history, on comedy, and on tragedy, and/or the scholars'/critics’ comments on respective plays, or by selecting quotes/citations from any of the scholarly articles/chapters from folders in Bblearn. These selected quotes (from scholars and from the plays) serve as points of reference and departure, then, for your two analyses.

Your essays are (to be) succinct, but I encourage you to develop and to support your ideas as clearly and as cogently as space allows, including brief citations of specific lines that illustrate your understanding, and use of summary and paraphrase in support of each analysis.  It is helpful for your argument (advisable) to include a statement that makes a claim or presents a thesis with explanation and support.  Your interpretations are to be explanatory and implicitly argumentative: an occasion for you to clarify and advance your understanding.  This is a chance to share your perceptions, enthusiasms, and doubts as you delve into an aspect of each play's significance and purpose.  Assume that your audience is familiar with each play and take care to articulate clearly your inquiry into the material, especially problems or contradictions that seem difficult to resolve. See these excerpts from our reading selections (in the following highlighted weblink) that offer scholars' views on Shakespeare's histories, comedies, and tragedies.

3. Critical Essay (see this highlighed weblink), with title, due Monday October 29 by noon/12pm --upload to Bblearn under the main content folder for criticism etc. (include your last name as part of the document title, such as Smith_345_F18_CE) [see Bblearn folder "Advice on Writing Essays" and see this immediately prior & following highlighted weblink for fuller advice on writing critical essay(s)] on one or more of the following plays: Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, Henry V, As You Like It, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, or Othello (if you choose, you may draw upon/incorporate the content of one or both of your essays from the midterm exam--strive, however, to revise and advance/develop your analysis with greater depth and reach/complexity); approximately 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, with reference 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 (with proper MLA citation format including a Works Cite bibliography). 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. You also may draw upon/incorporate/revise one or more of your Inquiry Starters as a means to discover and to develop a topic, but you are not required or expected to do so. I encourage you to send me by email a brief description of your provisional topic and thesis, by Wednesday October 24. 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. I am not necessarily interested so much in whether your analysis is 'original' as I am in whether you address an interesting topic, explore interpretive/analytic issues productively, and demonstrate understanding that proceeds from your own reading as well as your research. For anyone, but particularly those of you who are studying to become teachers, especially at the level of secondary education/high school, you might want to write a critical essay that builds an exploration and argument to a make a pedagogical case for why a particular play could/should be taught, and what aspects of your analysis could strengthen your approach for teaching the play (including any appended examples of a 'lesson plan' for your approach). Use/learn Modern Language Association format for any notes or works cited (see, for instance, link to MLA format guidelines further below and in the folder on Advice for Writing, and the Norton Shakespeare's online resources/example of developing a research essay. I won’t accept a late Critical Essay after 3:30pm Thursday pm November 1. See also University of Idaho Guidelines on Academic Dishonesty (including plagiarism). In accordance with the UI Student Code of Conduct, I report instances of academic dishonesty/plagiarism, to the office of the Dean of Students. See rubric for evaluating the Critical Essay and the Term Essay, further below.

4. Term Essay due not later than 4:30 pm uploaded to Bblearn under the main content folder for criticism etc. ) on Friday December 7 on play or plays (excluding the play that was the focus of your prior Critical Essay, and as before, avoiding primarily repeating the content of essays from your midterm exam, 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. 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. 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. See also University of Idaho Guidelines on Academic Dishonesty (including plagiarism). In accordance with the UI Student Code of Conduct, I report instances of academic dishonesty/plagiarism, to the office of the Dean of Students.

Option: write a Term Essay in which you identify and reflect in thoughtful, critical ways upon specific aims (objectives) and strategies for teaching Shakespeare to high school or middle school students. What do you want students to learn about and to engage with or in and why, and what would you do in the classroom and in your lessons/assignments/activities to teach a particular play and related concepts and competencies? Your main essay should be at least six pages (1600 words) and keep in view the advice for writing the Term Essay, including citation of a minimum of two substantial scholarly articles, from Bblearn folders; you also should plan to append pedagogical materials/resources that you create so that the combined total pages from the Term Essay and appended materials totals at least 8-9 pages or more. Do not copy/use instructional materials from someone else’s lesson plan. See some examples of lesson plans and approaches in Bblearn, including a variety of materials in folders on specific plays as well as a weblink to the Folger Shakespeare Library’s site for lesson plans, and also Megan Sampson’s honors thesis on “Shaking up Shakespeare: Teaching Shakespeare for the Contemporary High School English Classroom.”

Concise Advice for this assignment: Work to present a clearly written argument and analysis, based on evidence, about the meaning, power, or structure of the play(s) that you select. Aim to produce a narrative that offers an explanation for the effects of the play—these effects, for instance, include (arguably) the ideas and feelings produced by the text/performance. You will need to describe the evidence you are using, state your interpretations of this evidence, and bring those insights together into a claim (thesis) about the way the play works, what it means, and how and why it has the effects that you claim (such as its emotional impact).  Such an argument aims to analyze examples in order to come to broader conclusions—your argument therefore should demonstrate inductive reasoning that moves logically and persuasively from particular pieces of compelling evidence to broader generalizations that advance, deepen, and enrich understanding. The evidence that you cite and analyze may include, for example, elements of dramatic structure and techniques as well as attention to the play's narrative arc, including its representation of specific cultural, historical, ideological issues, identities, and relationships. The drama typically engages with conflicts, contradictions, and questions or problems, and your analysis may consider to what degree the play seems to answer or to resolve such issues, and how it might open up new perspectives for understanding and experience.

5. 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 (seek opportunities each class and at least each week to do so!); I will make an effort to call on you directly, especially if you tend not (!) to pitch in to share your views and questions. It is helpful, if you wish, to keep a weekly log in which you track your participation in class discussion, by jotting down in several sentences during or following each class meeting a brief notation of what you contributed to each class meeting, then submitting those typed or legibly handwritten 'journal entries' in one document to me prior to the midterm (email to me in MS Word doc by noon Oct 13) and again by Friday noon of the last week of regular class meetings. Review the Participation Guidelines and Rubric at this weblink.

6. All required work is due when specified 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 late. See assignments for deadlines for limits on late essays. 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.

7. Attendance: always attend class (unless you are sick). One to three absences will noted in Bblearn in a minimal way for recordkeeping (-.1 point for each of up to three absences, so for instance, -.2 means that I have noted two absences); a third absence will count more substantially (- 3pts) only if you have four or more absences; a five-point reduction for each absence starts with four absences (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. Please try to schedule appointments with doctors or advisors outside of class time.

Exceptional circumstances: Another category of absence has to due with conflicting university commitments that are academic (such as a theater majors' trip to a regional conference) or a required UI athletic trip etc.—that is, absences that are due to a departmental or team trip (with supporting note from an academic adviser or the athletic department), or a doctor's appointment, or absences due to illness that accumulate to three or more, or an extraordinary personal/family event/crisis. You may use this option for such make-up work up to three times. To make up for (up to three) such absences on an absence-by-absence basis in a timely fashion/time frame, choose a scholarly article or substantial headnote/chapter from our text(s) or from a Bblearn folder—select one that can be related in some way to the text under discussion for the day for which you will be absent due to a university academic or sports commitment/conflict.

Write a concise summary (275-300 words) of some main aspect of the scholarly article/source—such as the primary, most important or engaging idea(s) and point(s) of argument and interpretation—also include some brief reflection (75-100 words) on the article’s main ideas/argument: for example, what  you find most valuable or problematic. Strive to be accurate, direct, and concise in the summary; aim for 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, coherent account. You might begin the summary by identifying the question or the problem that the essay addresses, then state the essay's purpose or thesis and summarize its argument or primary analysis.
Post your entry as an extra Inquiry Starter for that week (to be posted no later than a week following the missed class), and send an email to me with the content of that post (sflores@uidaho.edu).

8. Grades: Midterm Exam (50 pts.); Critical Essay (100 pts); Term Essay (125 pts); Participation in class and online (15 pts--see #5 and #1 above, including weblink to additional guidelines/rubric for in-class participation). These required assignments add up to a maximum of 290 points. These required assignments add up to a maximum of 290 points. Thus 261-290 points equals an A, 232-260 equals a B, 203-231 equals a C, 174 -202 equals a D, and below 174 equals an F. 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. NOTE, therefore, that missing even one Inquiry Starter combined for example with three absences, could 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--make every effort to complete each week's ISs on time, in part because such penalty points add up all too quickly. I update Bblearn with grades/points or deducted points as those accumulate. Be sure to keep track of your assigned work and points received, and especially by mid-November review your point totals for the graded assignments, 'midterm' participation grade, and any accumulated penalty points to date for missing/late ISs, and absences. It is helpful, if you wish, to keep a weekly log in which you track your participation in class discussion, by jotting down in several sentences during or following each class meeting a brief notation of what you contributed to each class meeting, then submitting those typed or legibly handwritten 'journal entries' in one document to me prior to the midterm and again in the last week of class. Note: midterm grades reported by 15 October on VandalWeb will be based on your point total to date: 51.75 points=A; 46.0-51.74 =B; 40.25-45.9=C; 34.5-40.25=D; below 34.5=F.

9. 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). If you know that you plan to stop by my office, please let me know in advance by email, and include the desired or likely time frame, and what you'd like to discuss.

10. 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.

11. 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, this includes not only formal citation of secondary resources/scholarship for the primary, graded written assignments but also informal commentary, such as in the Inquiry Starters (do not, for instance, copy/revise material from such sources as SparkNotes, to substitute for your own critical observations and insights). 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. See also University of Idaho Guidelines on Academic Dishonesty (including plagiarism). In accordance with the UI Student Code of Conduct, I report instances of academic dishonesty/plagiarism, to the office of the Dean of Students.

12. 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).

13. 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.

Note on secondary sources/scholarship for your essays: Do not rely upon or incorporate research from non-refereed, non-“scholarly” sources or publications. As noted above, however plan to seek secondary sources primarily from those provided in the folders in Bblearn; if you find something particulary relevant, seek permission from me in advance of citing or incorporating that source into your essay. 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 Semester Schedule Fall 2018 (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 are available via weblinks in Bblearn, for viewing prior to each class. For the major plays, complete your initial reading of each play by the second day of class discussion for that play.

Dates

Tuesday

Thursday

Notes

8/21-23

We'll discuss the opening scenes of Much Ado about Nothing (1598-1600)--view clips on Bblearn (for example, the films by Josss Whedon and/or Kenneth Branagh, via weblink and password, see Bblearn folder on the play) before class today, and read at least several scenes from Much Ado About Nothing before this first class meeting.

Much Ado about Nothing--before class, continue to watch more of one (or both) of the productions of the play (via weblink and password in Bblearn folder), sample another video production, and continue to read through Acts 1-3. Note other helpful resource/guides to the play in the Bblearn folder.

as you head into next week, finish reading the play and finish watching at least all of one production on film

8/28-30

Inquiry Starter 1 due by 1:00 pm Tuesday OR Thursday on Bblearn, on Much Ado about Nothing; also start reading Sean 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]--consider how well or helpful McEvoy's chapter is to your understanding of Much Ado about Nothing

plan to read one of the scholarly essays on Much Ado about Nothing, and note the Bedford ed. preview and review of the play (Bblearn folder)

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]; today we'll conclude our discussion of Much Ado about Nothing, but start reading/viewing The Merchant of Venice

by the end of this second week, start reading The Merchant of Venice and start viewing clips of the play, via weblinks in Bblearn folder

9/4-6

Inquiry Starter 2 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; The Merchant of Venice; ; view clips of 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3, 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); view clips of 3.2a and 3.2b before class

 

9/11-13

Inquiry Starter 3 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; The Merchant of Venice; Greenblatt, “General Introduction: Shakespeare’s World” (Norton ed.); take a look at one of the substantial articles (e.g. Karen Newman or others) 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, 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]; before class, watch the first scenes of Henry V via Bblearn-- see links to clips (1.0, 1.1-1.2.116; 1.2.222-299--from the recent series of Shakespeare's history plays called The Hollow Crown) with Tom Hiddleston as Henry; see also weblink clips of Kenneth Branagh's 1989 version, via Bblearn folder on Henry V, that includes study questions and scholarly essays on Henry the Fifth.

 

9/18-20

Inquiry Starter 4 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; Henry the Fifth; Jean E. Howard, “Shakespearean History” (Norton); 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; also read excerpt (pp.205-211) from Rackin, Phyllis. "English History Plays" in Bblearn folder, and/or read Andrew Hadfield's essay on Henry V

Henry the Fifth (Acts 4 & 5); McEvoy-(3) Shakespeare on Stage [includes sections on Othello, As You Like It, and Much Ado About Nothing]; see series of clips from Acts 4 and 5 of Henry V.

 

9/25-27

Inquiry Starter 5 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; As You Like It; as always, see the Norton Shakespeare headnote to the play; see links/video clips in folder on Bblearn; also see one or more essays on the play in that folder , including the Bedford Shakespeare's Preview and View of the play

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

 

10/2-4

Inquiry Starter 6 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; 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, may be available to stream.

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

 

10/9-11

Hamlet; read another essay on Hamlet, from the Bblearn folder. Greenblatt, “Shakespeare’s Life and Art” (Norton)

[Thursday]: In-class Midterm Exam--see guidelines above

 

10/16-18

Inquiry Starter 7 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn on Twelfth Night; rec.: Casey Charles's and also Dympna Callaghan's essays on Twelfth Night, and/or other essays on Bblearn

Twelfth Night; optional: McEvoy-(4) Shakespeare on Film [sections on How do you film Shakespeare, on Two Tempests, on Globalized Shakespeare]

 

10/23-25

Inquiry Starter 8 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; we'll conclude Twelfth Night, and begin 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)

Othello; Stephen Greenblatt, “Shakespearean Tragedy” (Norton)

Critical Essay due Monday October 30, by noon/12pm in Brink 200 (or to me in my Brink 125 office)--also send electronic copy via email to me, preferably in MS Word; I won’t accept late essays after 3:30pm Thursday pm November 2.

10/30-11/1 Critical Essay due Monday October 29th, by noon/12pm in Brink 200 (or to me in my Brink 125 office)--also upload electronic copy in Bblearn; I won’t accept late essays after 3:30pm Thursday pm November 1.

Inquiry Starter 9 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; read one of the essays in the Bblearn folder on Othello

King Lear (let's work from/read not primarily the Folio edition or the Quarto edition, but the admittedly more familiar, traditional 'combined text(s) edition of the play (p. 2494)

In addition to the Norton headnote, see the Bedford concise Preview and View of this play; review McEvoy's and Greenblatt's chapters on tragedy; also see, as usual, different versions of the play in performance on video, via weblinks in the Bblearn folder on King Lear

 

11/6-8

Inquiry Starter 10 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; read one or more of the substantial essays in Bblearn folder on King Lear

King Lear

 

11/13-15

Inquiry Starter 11 due no later than this Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; start reading and viewing Macbeth; NOTE: class is canceled today, because I need to make a presenation at Faculty Senate.

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

 

11/27-29

Inquiry Starter 12 due Tuesday or Thursday by 1:00 pm on Bblearn; Macbeth; 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 Bblearnsee weblink video clips via folder in Bblearn

Macbeth; McEvoy-(2) Shakespeare’s Theatre; film excerpt; Walter Cohen, “Shakespearean Romance” (Norton); please take some thoughtful/reflective time to fill out/complete the course evaluations online:  https://vandalweb.uidaho.edu/ssomanager/c/SSB?pkg=uicrseval.onlineform

 

 
12/4-6

McEvoy-Conclusion: The Future of Shakespeare Studies--wrapping up the semester!

No class meeting today (Thursday)--please feel invited to confer with me by email or in office hours this week, regarding your Term Essay, which is due by 4:30 pm tomorrow/Friday December 7, uploaded to Bblearn. I will not accept Term Essays any later than this deadline of 4:30 pm Friday.

 
       

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 of the
literary work(s)
, exploration, creative expression/affect,
and engagement
with learning and discovery.

1. Strength and clarity of (hypo)thesis/focus,
this may include your introduction to the problem to be
addressed, the critical/scholarly question and
conversation that your essay will contribute to,
intervene in …

2. Intellectual/conceptual strength and persuasiveness of
main claim as well as ensuing argument (including
counter-argument to respond to differing or opposing views
/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 deployed, of related scholarship/criticism;
analysis of text’s rhetorical/persuasive strategies, structure
(narrative/dramatic/poetic 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” —what difference your essay makes

6. Significance/ conclusion

7. Effective sentences, syntax, verbs, diction,
punctuation, complexity, and suitable style: academic,
critical, appropriate to your understanding of the
materials/subjects; avoids clichés and trite expressions, avoids
overusing prepositional phrases, appropriately concise

8. MLA style—parenthetical citation of sources,
Works Cited; formatting; spelling not graded but noted
at times in body/text of your essay

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):

Purdue OWL workshop/guidelines on using MLA for citation

MLA Quick Guide to Works Cited/citation

Royal Shakespeare Company's website on Love's Labour's Lost

Utah Shakespeare Festival's Guide to Love's Labour's Lost

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)

Some Anthologies of Drama (to get a sense of other plays/works)