Special Topics in Shakespeare (339-0-20)
Topic
Shakespeare and Others
Instructors
William N West
Meeting Info
University Hall 112: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
While many of them are set among courts and kings, Shakespeare's plays explore experiences and perspectives of those outside prevailing circles of power and social acceptance of his time: the poor, women, the young and the old, members of racial and religious communities different from the dominant ones in England. Shakespeare himself fell into some of these categories of "otherness"; as actors without fixed social status, so did his colleagues; as a woman ruler, so for that matter did his Queen. Readers and interpreters of Shakespeare have found in his representations of other identities much to praise and much to question, but they have found common material to think with. Given Shakespeare's unique status within anglophone and world literatures, Shakespeare's writings are rich ground for posing questions of otherness, identity, and empathy, of commonality, belonging, and difference. In this class we will take up some of the cues from Shakespeare's plays, their insights and oversights, and investigate how Shakespeare, and others, responded to people imagined to be somehow different.
Teaching Method
Largely discussion; occasional lecture.
Evaluation Method
Papers; other research-based projects; imaginative work; group work.
Class Materials (Required)
Texts will be available at: Norris, or I will supply information for ordering books by mail
• Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, ed. Drakakis (Arden/ Bloomsbury)
ISBN 978-1903436813
• Shakespeare, Othello, ed. Neill (Oxford)
ISBN 978-0199535873
• Shakespeare, The Tempest, ed. Vaughan and Vaughan (Arden/ Bloomsbury)
ISBN 978-1408133477
OR
• Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, ed. Hodgdon (Arden/ Bloomsbury)
ISBN 978-1903436936
Class Attributes
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area