What This Course Is About This hands-on seminar class is as much about Shakespeare, as it is about other authors, creators, and works, or Shakespop, that have been reverberating his themes, characters, stories, or language in ways that shatter the fixed image of Shakespeare as a canonical English writer. We will explore different ways in which Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted and appropriated for the theatre and the screen, as well as in popular culture, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, by combining close study of the plays with analysis of the process, ideology and methodology of their adaptations. The originary text will be approached not as a privileged text, but as one that undergoes a constant process of rewriting and disruption. While we will be focusing on how adaptations open up new perspectives of the written texts and engender a plurality of meanings, students will be invited to experiment with new ways of thinking and writing about Shakespeare and even creating and presenting their own adaptations of his works.
How This Course Is Organized It is organized as a workshop for a small number of students. Special emphasis will be given on the plays as performance texts, and our work will be largely interactive and experiential, encouraging creativity and initiative. Students interested in enrolling, should bear in mind that regular class attendance, active participation, and group work are essential and their overall evaluation will be based on these.
Course Objectives
Assessment Class attendance as well as active participation in class activities and group work are of high importance for this workshop. As 60% of the classwork depends on live participation, it is essential that students attend regularly and do not miss more than 2 classes. It is significant to note, however, that the aim is not to make class attendance mandatory, but enjoyable, so that students look forward to coming to classes because they want to and not out of sheer obligation.
Mark also that since there will be no final exam,
assessment will depend on in-class participation, reflective paragraphs or
reviews, preparation and implementation of an adaptation project, and a written
report on the project (approx. 2,000 words).
Each responsibility will count as follows:
In-class participation and group work: 30%
Preparing & carrying out of project: 30%
Reflective paragraphs/reviews
and final report on project: 40%
Who can register This small workshop class is designed for fourth- and third-year students. Students who have attended Lit 6-472 on Shakespeare are also welcome.
Course Outline
