College Seminar (101-7-25)

Topic

Shakespeare Goes to the Movies

Instructors

Wendy L Wall

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L04: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

Imagine a classic love story played out in a society of warring corporations where media saturates every thought, or the military hero Othello as a Black basketball player in a white high school in the American south, or A Midsummer Night's Dream as the story of Victorian marriage in crisis: modern directors mobilize Shakespeare's plays to speak to timely cultural issues, including race relations, insurrection, non-binary gender roles, teen angst, same-sex desire, gang warfare, and the alienation of technology. In this seminar, we will read Shakespearean plays (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, and Othello) alongside film versions, including O, She's The Man, and Shakespeare in Love. How, we will ask, do classic plays from 400 years ago offers tools for exploring love, betrayal, ambition, and identity crises in strikingly new contexts? Students will be encouraged to develop skills in writing, argumentation, and creative adaptation. Required text: Norton Shakespeare 3rd edition, Stephen Greenblatt, editor (ISBN 978-0393249835).

Class Attributes

WCAS College Seminar