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LITR 244 - SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS
Open to all students who wish to develop greater understanding and critical appreciation of Elizabethan and Jacobean theater practices, Shakespeare's development as a dramatist, and his contributions to the development of the western imagination. Lectures and discussions will emphasize the treatment of Shakespeare's plays as text and script. The course will include the viewing and discussion of key 20“ and 215' century expositions of Shakespeare's plays through cinematic and video media. This course aims to familiarize students with the works of Shakespeare and his inheritors through an exploration of ﬁve plays (Titus Andronicus, Othello, Coriolunus, Midsummer Night ’s Dream, and Richard I1) and their varied afterlives. The focus of the course will be “Shakespeare with a Difference," meaning that we will examine l) how cultural difference is represented in these plays and 2) how various cultures have interacted with early modern texts that differ quite radically (historically and geographically) from their own. We will begin the course by reading Titus Ahdronicus, looking at early modern notions of authorship as they relate to performance and printing practices. Next, we will read Othello as we interrogate how its stage history has variously performed its characters’ national, racial and gendered identities. We will read and discuss the complicated nature of using Shakespeare on pages, stages. and screens in order to “perform identity." Are these performed identities Shakespeare‘s? Are they ours? Are they attempts to represent (and thereby domesticate) selves radically other than ourselves? After surveying some of Shakespeare’s sources, we will consider the play’s afterlife, particularly as it was performed in the minstrel shows of the nineteenth century. After Othello, we will read another tragedy, Coriulanus. In particular, we will examine what it means to approach the play through a Marxist lens. Next we will read A Midsummer Night ’.s' Dream as we discuss the cultural uses of comedy as a genre and humor as a vehicle for critique. Finally, we will read one of Shakespeare’s greatest history plays, Richard II. We will examine how Shakespeare stages England’s transitionfrom the feudalism ofthe Middle Ages into the liberal capitalism of the Enlightenment. 0.000 TO 4.000 Credit hours 0.000 TO 4.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Hybrid, Lecture, Online Course Literature Department Course Attributes: Gen Ed 2018, Gen Ed 18-Culture & Creativity, OLD GE-TOPICS ARTS&HUMANATIES, MJ-LITR-Litr Prior To 1800 Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate Prerequisites: FOR LITR 244 General Requirements: ( Course or Test: CRWT 102 Minimum Grade of D May not be taken concurrently. )

LITR 244 - SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS

Open to all students who wish to develop greater understanding and critical appreciation of Elizabethan and Jacobean theater practices, Shakespeare's development as a dramatist, and his contributions to the development of the western imagination. Lectures and discussions will emphasize the treatment of Shakespeare's plays as text and script. The course will include the viewing and discussion of key 20“ and 215' century expositions of Shakespeare's plays through cinematic and video media. This course aims to familiarize students with the works of Shakespeare and his inheritors through an exploration of ﬁve plays (Titus Andronicus, Othello, Coriolunus, Midsummer Night ’s Dream, and Richard I1) and their varied afterlives. The focus of the course will be “Shakespeare with a Difference," meaning that we will examine l) how cultural difference is represented in these plays and 2) how various cultures have interacted with early modern texts that differ quite radically (historically and geographically) from their own. We will begin the course by reading Titus Ahdronicus, looking at early modern notions of authorship as they relate to performance and printing practices. Next, we will read Othello as we interrogate how its stage history has variously performed its characters’ national, racial and gendered identities. We will read and discuss the complicated nature of using Shakespeare on pages, stages. and screens in order to “perform identity." Are these performed identities Shakespeare‘s? Are they ours? Are they attempts to represent (and thereby domesticate) selves radically other than ourselves? After surveying some of Shakespeare’s sources, we will consider the play’s afterlife, particularly as it was performed in the minstrel shows of the nineteenth century. After Othello, we will read another tragedy, Coriulanus. In particular, we will examine what it means to approach the play through a Marxist lens. Next we will read A Midsummer Night ’.s' Dream as we discuss the cultural uses of comedy as a genre and humor as a vehicle for critique. Finally, we will read one of Shakespeare’s greatest history plays, Richard II. We will examine how Shakespeare stages England’s transitionfrom the feudalism ofthe Middle Ages into the liberal capitalism of the Enlightenment.
0.000 TO 4.000 Credit hours
0.000 TO 4.000 Lecture hours

Levels: Undergraduate
Schedule Types: Hybrid, Lecture, Online Course

Literature Department

Course Attributes:
Gen Ed 2018, Gen Ed 18-Culture & Creativity, OLD GE-TOPICS ARTS&HUMANATIES, MJ-LITR-Litr Prior To 1800

Restrictions:
Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels:
Undergraduate

Prerequisites:
FOR LITR 244

General Requirements:
( Course or Test: CRWT 102
Minimum Grade of D
May not be taken concurrently. )

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Detailed Course Information

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Detailed Course Information		Fall 2018 Feb 04,2025