English 244 - Spring, 2012

Shakespeare

Class Information

Instructor: Bloom, Gina
CRN: 93527
Time: W 12:10-3:00
Location: 120 Voorhies
Breadth: Earlier British
Focus: Genre, Interdiscipline, Method

Description
Research Approaches to Shakespeare

It can be daunting to find something original to write about an author as canonical as Shakespeare. Nevertheless, the field of Shakespeare studies continues to grow, and the demand for scholars who can write on and teach the plays remains high. This course provides an introduction to research methods in and approaches to Shakespeare so as to help students engage productively in and make original contributions to the field. We will focus our reading on less canonical plays and on scholarship dealing with topics of continued and emerging importance in Shakespeare studies (including criticism on spatiality, animals, performance, media/adaptation, the senses, temporality, and friendship). Students will also become familiar with journals, databases, and other resources in the field.

A central goal of the course is to help students learn to position their work in relation to a range of scholarship on Shakespeare’s plays, so we will also devote some attention to thinking about methodologies used in critical essays we read.

Reading list to include:
The Winter’s Tale
Cymbeline
The Tempest
Titus Andronicus
Merchant of Venice
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Two Noble Kinsmen
Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2

Required text: The Norton Shakespeare. (You may use any edition of the Norton, but, especially if you plan to remain in the field, you might find it helpful to purchase a set of the genre-divided paperbacks, which are more portable)

Grading

Requirements include a “word exploration” paper and a final 10-12 page research paper with abstract and bibliography. Students will also be responsible for leading one hour of discussion

Texts

The Norton Shakespeare