ENGL 680: Shakespeare

(Re)Produced

 

 

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Professor Moira P. Baker

406 Young Hall

mpbaker@radford.edu

831-5352 (Office) 731-4104 (Home)

Office Hours:  TR: 3:30-4:30; W:  5:30-6:30 and by appointment

Course Objectives, Procedures, Policies and Required Texts:

Paying homage to the power of Shakespeare's art, Virginia Woolf once wrote:  "If ever a human being got his work expressed completely, it was Shakespeare.  If ever a mind was incandescent, unimpeded, [...] it was Shakespeare's mind." This course sets out to study the dramatic art of that gifted and incandescent writer.  But, unlike Woolf, we will not examine Shakespeare simply as some unique genius, who transcended the social and political concerns of his own day, arriving at a serene vision of truth to last throughout the ages.  Rather, we will look at Shakespeare as an artist keenly interested in the momentous social, economic, and political changes that characterized his own world as it moved into the early modern period.  In order to understand how Shakespeare’s works have been continually (re)produced and interpreted, we will compare short segments of filmed productions of the plays, examine various modes of literary scholarhip about them, attend at least one live performance of a play at the Blackfriars’ Theatre in Staunton, VA., and stage our own (humble) (re)production of scenes from his plays.  By studying how Shakespeare has been (re)produced in the contemporary worlds of theatre, film and scholarship, we will examine how Shakespeare’s works have significance, in Dr. Johnson’s words, “not for a day but for all times.”  We will consider how the timelessness of Shakespeare's art--its continuing ability to speak to new generations of readers--may, paradoxically, result from its very imbeddedness in its own historical moment, its own culture, and the issues that emerged during the early modern period.  Our contemporary world still grapples with the issues that catapulted Shakespeare's world toward the threshold of the modern period--issues concerning gender and sexuality, social class and economic change, authority and rebellion, tyranny and justice, geopolitical power and the domination of racialized "others." This course draws upon the latest developments in Shakespearean scholarship and criticism and a variety of filmed versions of the plays to illustrate the wide range of ways that Shakespeare's texts may be read, enjoyed, and taught—in short (re)produced-- today.  

Procedures:

We will conduct this class as a graduate-level seminar in which each of you will be involved in the design and instruction of the course.  I have selected seven plays and scholarly articles about each of them to begin our work in the course (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Henry V, Measure for Measure, Othello, The Tempest).  Together you will select an additional six plays, which we will read and discuss in the course.  In addition, each of you will engage in a research project about one play, culminating in a bibliographic essay about the scholarship on that play.  You will present your research in a report to the class about the scholarship on that play on the night that we discuss it.  Culminating your work in the course, you will either produce a scholarly essay on one or more plays OR participate in a staging and (re)production of scenes from one or more of the plays.  We will use writing, research and discussion throughout the course to deepen our enjoyment of Shakespeare's dramatic art and to develop our skills as readers of Shakespearean scholarship and as producers of our own scholarship on the plays.  We will view various short video clips of scenes from the plays and compare (re)productions to sharpen up our awareness of how each (re)production is actually an interpretation.  We will attend a live performance of one play—since that’s what they were written for.  And, finally, we will try our hand at our own performance to (re)produce scenes from Shakespeare for our own world.  The success of the course depends upon how fully each of us invests ourselves in the role of teacher/learner.  I extend my appreciation to you in advance for accepting your role as teacher/learner in this course.

 

Course Policies:

 

Class Attendance and Participation:

 

Regular attendance and thoughtful participation in class discussion are essential not only to your individual performance, but also to the success of this course.  Our work together relies on collaboration in every phase of the course so that we might form an intellectual community whose insights and power surpass those of any one of us working on our own.  We are all subjects who share the responsibilities of teaching and learning in this class.  Each of us has a responsibility to the group and to the learning that goes on in class.

 

Therefore, more than 1 absence will affect the final grade adversely; more than 3 absences will result in automatic failure of the course.

 

Late Work and Requests for Extensions:

 

I do not accept late work.  In the event of extreme circumstances, such as sickness, family tragedy, or an emergency, I can be reasonable about deadlines and the possibility of extensions.  But you must request an extension on your work before the due date. I may grant an extension provided you have a legitimate reason.  You can contact me via e-mail or phone.  I will not grant any extensions of deadlines if you do not request one before the due date.

 

Plagiarism: 

 

The University Affairs Council has asked all faculty to include the following statement in our course policies:

 

"By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support, and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception.  Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated.  This class will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code.  Please refer to your Student Handbook for details."

 

Plagiarism--including the use of work submitted to another course without the consent of both instructors, the use of work by another person, or the use of someone else's words, ideas, or arrangement of ideas without giving proper reference to the author--is a serious violation of the Honor Code.  This applies to all electronic sources found on the Worldwide Web or on other on-line databases such as those available through McConnell Library.  Please see the section on plagiarism in your Student Handbook.  Be especially careful, as you complete your scholarly essay, that you do not use the ideas of other critics without giving them credit even if you do not use direct quotations.  You must give credit to a critic when you paraphrase his or her ideas. 

 

Required Texts:

 

Baker, Moira, ed.  Readings in Shakespearean Criticism. Available in Web CT course materials. 

 

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.  Ed. Joseph Gibaldi.  New York:  MLA, 1998.  Strongly Recommended

 

Shakespeare, William.  The Complete Works of Shakespeare.  Ed. David Bevington.  New York:  Longman, 2001.  Or some other authoritative, scholarly edition of the Complete Works.

 

Home Page | 633 Requirements | 633Syllabus | 633 Critical Readings | Course Descriptions and Syllabi