Course Description
Special topics related to Shakespeare.
Athena Title
Shakespeare II: Special Topics
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ENGL 4330
Non-Traditional Format
This course is writing intensive, which means that the course will include substantial and ongoing writing assignments that a) relate clearly to course learning; b) teach the communication values of a discipline—for example, its practices of argument, evidence, credibility, and format; and c) prepare students for further writing in their academic work, in graduate school, and in professional life. The written assignments will result in a significant and diverse body of written work (the equivalent of 6000 words or 25 pages) and the instructor (and/or the teaching assistant assigned to the course) will be closely involved in student writing, providing opportunities for feedback and substantive revision.
Prerequisite
Two 2000-level ENGL courses or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 3000-level ENGL course) or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 2000-level CMLT course)
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will read and understand Shakespeare in the context of a particular theme, idea, or phenomenon. Students will develop their critical skills by reading and rereading Shakespeare's works and commentaries upon them, and hone their writing skills by composing, editing and reviewing their own work and responding to comments from their instructor.
Topical Outline
The choice of a topic, and selection and sequence of sub- topics, will vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. The sub-topics will consist of selected works to be read outside class and discussed in class, and examined individually and comparatively. Some instructors will place the works in the context of the times and the circumstances of their composition; others will contextualize Shakespeare's works against a thematic or theoretical background, depending on the topic. Periodically during the semester, students will perform a number of graded tasks, including some combination of tests and out-of-class papers. A possible topic, “Shakespeare on Love,” might result in sub- topics and assignments resembling these: Coming of age--the magic of love: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest Tragic love for the young and the not-so-young: Romeo and Juliet and Antony and Cleopatra Miscegenation in love: The Merchant of Venice and Othello Transgressing (or almost transgressing) other taboos: As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Pericles