English 304 01 • Shakespeare: Major Plays § Spring 2003Class meetings: 11:00-11:50 MWF, Room L213.
Instructor: Norman Boyer. Office: N427; phone: (773) 298-3233; email: boyer@sxu.edu
Office hours: 2-3 MWF and by arrangement. Home page: http://english.sxu.edu/boyerSchedule of classes and assignments
Return to English 304 listCourse Description: This course, designed for English majors and minors, will explore several of Shakespeare's plays written throughout his dramatic career and in all genres: comedy, history, tragedy, and romance. With help from recent critical scholarship on the plays and the issues involved, we will pay attention to the ways in which the plays represent the formation of female and male identities, the construction of heroism in different forms of drama, shifting conceptions of sexuality, and conflicted representations of political authority, race, and social class. We will also consider scenes from modern film versions of the plays.
Course Level. This course is primarily for junior-senior English majors, but other students with the appropriate preparation are welcome. I assume that students enrolling in the class have the ability to read, discuss, research, and write about complex literary texts with at least the skills provided by English 207, Introduction to Literary Interpretation, and have had some experience reading Shakespeare or other early texts.
Text: Stephen Greenblatt, et al., eds, The Norton Shakespeare (Norton).
Course Requirements: Weekly two-page response papers, a documented research paper of 10-12 typed pages of text and a short class presentation of your results, take-home midterm and final exams, other informal writing, and informed, active class participation. Papers must adhere to MLA format.
Response Papers: Response papers are two-page informal "journal"-like papers on the current play. Full credit will be given as long as the paper is 1) long enough, 2) on time, and 3) on the correct play. No response papers will be accepted more than a week late except under exceptional (and approved) circumstances.
Attendance Policy: Much of the work of the course takes place in the classroom; thus it is difficult to recover from absences. I will take attendance, but attendance itself will not affect your grade. If you miss classes without a reasonably valid excuse, please do not expect sympathy or additional help on that material from me. You should always check with a classmate to see what happened in a class session you missed.
Course Grading: Response papers, 10%; research paper, 50%; midterm exam, 15%; final exam, 25%. Active, informed participation in class can improve your grade. Late papers and exams may receive lowered grades.
Plagiarism Policy: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. All serious cases of plagiarism will result in a failing grade in the course and the case being sent to the department and University for consideration of further disciplinary action, which can include expulsion from the University and notation of your academic dishonesty on your transcript. You commit plagiarism any time you present the words or ideas of others as if they were your own, fail to cite the source of graphic images, or otherwise falsify or omit specific citation of your sources. In addition to checking all suspicious papers, I conduct random internet checks of all papers submitted.
Incompletes: Incompletes are granted only for illness or other emergency (personal or family) that prevents you from completing the research paper and/or the take-home final exam. If you receive an Incomplete, you must complete all work by noon Friday October 22, 2003, to allow grading time before the University deadline of November 1. If you do not complete all work by October 22, you will receive an F in the course (or a higher grade if the average of the work completed, plus the missing work counting zero, so warrants). It is your responsibility to complete the work. There will be no reminders and no extensions.
Blackboard: This course uses Blackboard, but mostly in very limited ways. Primarily, I will use Blackboard as a means of communicating with you by email as needed. Materials posted on my web site for this course will also be posted on Blackboard. There may also be assignments requiring you to post on Blackboard. There is a link to Blackboard from my web page. The URL is http://courses.sxu.edu .
What Paper Grades Mean: A = excellent work that shows originality, critical sophistication, highly effective use of primary texts and secondary sources, and elegance in responding to the assignment and in the writing. B = good work that shows thoughtfulness and precision in responding to the assignment, in the use of primary and secondary sources, and in the writing. C = acceptable work that meets the assignment in all ways, uses primary and secondary sources adequately, and meets the standards of acceptable university-level writing. D = poor work that barely meets the assignment, does not use primary or secondary sources adequately, and/or does not meet the standards of acceptable university-level writing. F = failing work that either does not meet the assignment, fails to use primary and secondary sources when required, and/or has serious problems with organization, development and support of ideas, or grammar, syntax, and mechanics. (These definitions reflect the grade descriptions on pp. 26-27 of the 2002-2003 SXU undergraduate catalog: A = excellent; B = good; C = acceptable; D = poor; F = failure.)
Reading Questions: Reading questions for each play are available on my web site.
Performances: You are strongly encouraged to attend live Shakespeare performances. Defiant Theatre at Red Orchid Theatre is performing Titus Andronicus through February 22. The box office number is (312) 409-0585 and the website is www.defianttheatre.org. Chicago Shakespeare Theater (on Navy Pier) is performing Julius Caesar through February 23 and The Winter's Tale March 22-June 1. The box office number is (312) 595-5600 and the website is www.chicagoshakes.com. Court Theatre (in Hyde Park) is performing The Romance Cycle, consisting of Pericles and Cymbeline in separate performances March 28-June 1. The box office number is (773) 753-4472 and the website is www.courttheatre.org. For information on all professional theater productions in the Chicago area, see www.chicagoplays.com. Plan ahead; many performances, especially at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, sell out early.
Schedule of Classes and Assignments:
Take-Home Final Exam due at N427 by 2 pm Friday, May 9.
1.
1/13
Introduction to the Course.
1/15
Titus Andronicus, act 1; General Introduction pp. 1-12
1/17
Titus Andronicus, act 2; General Introduction pp. 12-24. Response 1 due.
2.
1/20
Titus Andronicus, act 3; General Introduction pp. 30-41
1/22
Titus Andronicus, act 4; "The Shakespearean Stage" pp. 3281-3301
1/24
Titus Andronicus, act 5; General Introduction pp. 41-51. Response 2 due.
3.
1/27
A Midsummer Night's Dream, act 1; General Introduction pp. 51-61
1/29
A Midsummer Night's Dream, act 2; General Introduction pp. 61-65
1/31
A Midsummer Night's Dream, acts 3-4; General Introduction pp. 65-76. Response 3 due.
4.
2/3
A Midsummer Night's Dream, act 5
2/5
Henry IV, Part 1, act 1
2/7
Henry IV, Part 1, act 2. Response 4 due.
5.
2/10
Henry IV, Part 1, act 3
2/12
Henry IV, Part 1, act 4
2/14
Henry IV, Part 1, act 5. Response 5 due.
6.
2/17
Henry IV, Part 2, scenes 4.3, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5
2/19
Henry V, act 1
2/21
Henry V, acts 2-3. Response 6 due
7.
2/24
Henry V, act 4
2/26
Henry V, act 5
2/28
Twelfth Night, act 1. Response 7 due.
8.
3/3
Twelfth Night, act 2
3/5
Twelfth Night, acts 3-4
3/7
Twelfth Night, act 5. Take-Home Midterm Exam due.
Spring Break
9.
3/17
Measure for Measure, act 1; General Introduction pp. 25-29
3/19
Measure for Measure, act 2
3/21
Measure for Measure, acts 3-4. Response 8 due.
10.
3/24
Measure for Measure, act 5. For the 400th anniversary of Elizabeth's death, read All Is True (Henry VIII), 5.4.
3/26
Othello, act 1. Topic Conferences for Research Paper Weeks 10-11.
3/28
Othello, act 2. Response 9 due.
11.
3/31
Othello, act 3
4/2
Othello, act 4
4/4
Othello, act 5. Response 10 due.
April 5 is the last day to drop a course12.
4/7
King Lear, act 1 (read the conflated text, beginning on p. 2479)
4/9
King Lear, act 2
4/11
King Lear, act 3. Response 11 due.
13.
4/14
King Lear, act 4. Optional Conferences for Research Paper Available Weeks 13-15.
4/16
King Lear, act 5. Response 12 due.
4/18
No class--Good Friday.
14.
4/21
The Winter's Tale, act 1
4/23
The Winter's Tale, acts 2-3
4/25
The Winter's Tale, act 4
15.
4/28
The Winter's Tale, act 5. To see what we miss in 5.2, read Pericles, scenes 21-22.
4/30
Informal presentation of research projects.
5/2
Informal presentation of research projects. Conclusions, Research Paper due.
Final Grades: Final grades will be available on CLAWS online. Graded research papers will most likely be available on May 9. If you want your take-home final returned, please attach a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage, or see me in the fall. (If you haven't picked up your research paper, I will also mail it to you if you provide enough postage.
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