English 404.04/504.02, Advanced Shakespeare                     Spring 2005               

Dr. Stephan Flores (sflores@uidaho.edu)                                 www.uidaho.edu/~sflores

2:00-3:15 TTH ED 418

885-6156

TTH 10:00-11:00 a.m. & by appt.                                           315 Commons/125 Brink Hall

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WebCT Help Guide

WebCt/CTI Summary Help Guide for Discussion

Prerequisite for undergraduates: English 102 or equivalent, and Engl 345 or permission of instructor.

An advanced introduction that explores the social, sexual, political, performative, and formal issues of selected plays, and considers Shakespeare's development as a playwright; the primary emphasis of the course is to explore recent critical perspectives and scholarship to develop each student's understanding and scholarly competence. Plays under discussion include The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Henry IV, Part I, Troilus and Cressida, Othello, King Lear, and Antony and Cleopatra--we shall touch upon more plays in our reading, our conversation and via films or productions (such as option of attending the UI production of Macbeth and possibly traveling to Spokane for the Interplayers production of Othello).

Class will proceed via discussion, with undergraduates and graduate students participating in rotation in presentations and facilitating exchange of views, research, and responses; formal course work includes a term essay, an exploratory essay, a summary of secondary criticism or research, and a critical response to a play in the context of scholarly discussion/debate, and once a week online WebCt entries--this amounts to a steady and manageable load. The class may consider several different emphases, with students invited to explore a particular strand of interest (such as representations of Others, cross-cultural interests, gender relations/roles, performance and production concerns, politics).

No general edition of Shakespeare's complete works is specified (I recommend the Norton Shakespeare, 1997 edited by Stephen Greenblatt, or David Bevington's 2004 Longman fifth edition of the plays). If you have not studied Shakespeare, I recommend Sean McEvoy's Shakespeare: The Basics (Routledge, 2000).

Required texts:

Ryan, Kiernan. Shakespeare: Third Edition. Palgrave, 2002 (ISBN: 0-333-78198-8 pbk)

Sousa, Geraldo U. de. Shakespeare's Cross-Cultural Encounters. Palgrave, 2002 (ISBN: 0-333-94947-1 pbk)

Various books and articles via the library, including library reserve (under Engl 345 General Shakespeare and Engl 404 Adv Shakespeare), and online--see this website as it is updated over the semester.

Of recent interest:

Garber, Marjorie. Shakespeare After All. Pantheon, 2004.

Greenblatt, Stephen. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare. Norton, 2004. [suitable for your holiday wish list!)

Kermode, Frank. The Age of Shakespeare. Modern Library, 2004.

Requirements: 

1. Weekly online Journal/Discussion WebCT entries (at least fifteen entries in total for the semester): each entry comprised of either a Thesis- Statement (the Thesis-Statement presents a reasoned, interpretative, precise claim on some aspect of the text/theory in question, preferably supported by a quote or citation), or paragraph length, question or problem-posing response to some aspect of the texts and topics under class discussion, and/or responding to another student's thesis-statement, to be posted to the threaded WebCt class discussion site each week between Sunday and the 1:00 p.m. final deadline each Thursday (most students may find it convenient to post sometime between the Tuesday and Thursday class meetings--the deadlines are firm with no late entries counted.

2. Critical Summary (800-1200 words): the summary should present a straightforward, selective account of what you consider to be the assigned or chosen article/essay's/chapter's primary, most important or engaging ideas and points of argument and interpretation. After reading the essay closely at least once--and perhaps make marginal notes or separate notes as you go along 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)--you might then explore your initial approach to the summary 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.

As you write the summary, work from your sense of the essay's structure and content, and it may be helpful to have written the gist of each paragraph--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 the summary.

Your summary should strive to represent the original article--or an important aspect of it--accurately and fairly. Be direct and concise, take an "objective" stance and tone, use your own words to express the author's ideas (except for brief quotes), use attributive tags (such as according to Newman or Newman 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 article's purpose or thesis and summarize its argument point by point. Include a complete bibliographic citation to note the author, essay title, place of publication, publisher, date, and page numbers for the article.

3. The Critical Response (750--900 words) addresses scholarship on a play or topic, using specific research (such as a recent published article/essay) as a point of reference and departure for further analysis. The response should present your sense of a particular topic/question/interpretative problem via your understanding of the original essay's rhetorical strategies and premises, and the effectiveness and significance of its argument. This understanding serves as a basis for composing and developing your perspective and your contribution to the implied or explicit scholarly debate. You may also choose to extend the essay's critical perspectives by explaining its potential relevance to other aspects of the play, or you may also read "against-the-grain" of the original argument to present a different or opposing perspective and argument based on your reading of the play, on other critical perspectives, and on your own understanding and reasoning. Your response can be both reflective and persuasive in its emphases and aims, and our discussions and reading may inform your views. You may find it effective to compose a thesis for your response that maps out for readers the challenging, engaging, important points that you want to develop and discuss. Include a complete bibliographic citation to note the author, essay title, place of publication, publisher, date, and page numbers for the article.

4. Thesis-Seeking/Problem-Posing Exploratory Essay (1600 words for undergraduates, 1900 words for graduate students, double-spaced, titled). The primary aim of this essay assignment is to engage with a play and its critical interpretation/reception by identifying problems, developing claims and arguments, and enriching your literary understanding, interests, and commitments--this focused pursuit occurs via particular theoretical perspectives and specific interpretative practices and questions in relation to a particular play or aspect of Shakespeare's dramatic work and its contexts.

5. Term Essay: 2200 words, body of essay, excluding works cited page for undergraduates; 3200 words, body of essay, excluding works cited page for graduate students--double-spaced, titled. This critical essay develops ideas prompted by our study and discussion of the plays and related scholarship, informed by your perspectives and interests regarding the texts we have considered this semester. I shall attend to the ways that you select, define, and engage questions and contradictions, evaluate the essay's explanatory and analytical value (including strengths of reasoning and evidence), and consider 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 and contributes to the larger “conversation” of scholarship on the topic and plays 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 in thoughtful and useful ways. Please feel invited to confer with me during the writing process.

6. Participation in discussions (including informal writing in class and online). Please take advantage of opportunities to discuss your reactions, share your insights and understanding, and to listen and reply to others' ideas. Group work will help to facilitate class discussion on a fairly regular basis, and groups shall also prepare in advance to lead off discussion once each during the semester. On these days the group shall lead off our discussion by presenting their positions on the material (with some brief summary, focus on key points in the reading, perhaps some incorporation of secondary criticism or historical research or interpretation), and by suggesting further issues the class might consider. Pairs of students shall also rotate providing, in turn, a summary of some aspect of secondary material under discussion, and the other student's question posing response and evaluation of the secondary material. This means that at least once during the semester each student will lead off class with an informal summary of assigned reading, and at another date, each student will serve in the role of providing feedback (“what did you get out of this reading”) to material that is assigned for summary. I hope these strategies 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 and participation among the class.

7. Due dates: Each of the graded writing assignments is due at the beginning of class on the due date--work turned in later will be marked late and graded accordingly. All required graded written work is 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). Work submitted more than a week late will not be accepted; note that online WebCt entries must be entered on time each week and cannot be made up/accepted later. I will grant short extensions for medical and family emergencies—but talk with me as soon as possible to request an extension. ALWAYS KEEP EXTRA COPIES OF YOUR WORK.

8. Attendance is required. If you have no absences by the semester's end (excused or not), you will receive three bonus points; with only one absence you will receive two bonus points. Two absences will not affect your semester grade, but a third absence will lower your semester total by four points, with a five point reduction for each additional absence (for example: four absences=minus 9 points, five absences = minus 14 points); six or more absences will cause you to fail the class, regardless of your semester point total. Almost all absences will be counted--excused or not--if something extraordinary occurs, talk to me.

9. Grades: WebCt entries (15 pts total); Summary (25 pts); Critical Response (35 pts); Thesis-Seeking/Problem-Posing Exploratory Essay (75 pts.); Term Essay (110 pts). These required assignments add up to a maximum of 260 points. Thus 234-260 points equals an A, 208-233 equals a B, 182-207 equals a C, 156-181 equals a D, and anything below 156 merits an F. I shall also reserve bonus points based on my perceptions of the strength of your participation and efforts over the semester (up to a maximum of 5 pts.); in addition, incomplete/missing weekly WebCt journal entries will be counted against your semester grade, with the loss of one point for each missing/incomplete entry--these entries are evaluated/assessed on a weekly basis, up to a maximum loss of 15 points.

10. Office hours. I encourage you to confer with me--especially before assignments are due--to talk about your interests, intentions, and writing strategies. My office in Brink Hall is not accessible to the handicapped, so please let me know if you need to meet me at my office in the University Honors Program, 315 Commons. If you cannot make my regular hours, we'll arrange another time. I also welcome communicating with you by E-mail via our UI Vandalmail addresses (sflores@uidaho.edu).

English 404.02/504.04 Advanced Shakespeare Schedule Spring 2005 (check for updates, especially due dates and in terms of assigned summaries and responses to texts and additional criticism/essays/book chapters for formal summary and the critical response assignment)