Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2018 - ENGL 311 E100

Early Shakespeare (4)

Class Number: 5511

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 7 – Aug 3, 2018: Mon, 5:30–7:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Aug 13, 2018
    Mon, 6:31–6:31 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    Two 100 division English courses, and two 200 division English courses.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A study of the works of William Shakespeare performed before 1601. Students may take both ENGL 311 and 313 for credit towards the English major. Students with credit for ENGL 312 may not take this course for further credit without permission of the department.

COURSE DETAILS:

Over the course of a semester, we will study plays from Shakespeare’s early work, engaging in a great deal of close reading but also considering the significance of history, both to contextualize our close reading and to attempt to understand the modern perspectives we bring to the texts. Though we may find much truth and beauty in Shakespeare, we won’t study his plays as a repository of “universal truths” untouched by his moment in history and our perspective in time. Rather, considering how Shakespeare’s plays engage in the historical practices, ideologies, and cultures of the Elizabethan period, we’ll explore questions surrounding topics such as marriage and other family relations, social status and class, constructions of gender, tyranny, kingship, and (of course) cross-dressing.  We will also, importantly, keep sight of the fact that these play-texts were written to be performed for an audience in a commercial theatre; thus we will be considering how the material conditions of playacting for a paying audience in early modern London, might have influenced theatrical decisions. But, of course, Shakespeare’s theatrical audience did not die with the end of the English Renaissance, and his plays live and breathe in wonderful (and some not-so wonderful) modern performances, many of which are film productions. We will watch clips of individual scenes and discuss how performance decisions can alter, enhance, and entirely change our experience of the Shakespeare text.            

Because of the Monday holidays, we are losing some class time this semester. To make up for this, there will be a mandatory, subsidized, field trip to Bard on the Beach and a short follow-up assignment. If a student is absolutely unable to make it to the field trip, an alternate assignment will be given.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

• for students to learn to critically engage with texts and performances of Shakespeare’s early plays, and more broadly, with any other cultural artefacts of past and present you may encounter
• to improve close reading skills
• to improve writing skills

Grading

  • Attendence and Active Participation 10%
  • Bard on the Beach Performance Review (1.5-2 pages; 400-600 words) 10%
  • Group Performance Project 20%
  • Short Paper #1 (5-6 pages; 1500-2000 words) 20%
  • Short Paper #2 (5-6 pages; 1500-2000 words) 20%
  • Final Exam 20%
  • Optional: Do not write the Bard Performance Review and have the short papers be worth 25% each.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

• Greenblatt, Stephen, et. al., Eds. Norton Shakespeare, Volume One: Early Plays and Poems. New York: W.W. Norton, 2015 (Third Edition) ISBN: 9780393938579
• $20-$30 for ticket to Bard on the Beach
• links to suggested critical readings will be available on Canvas

REQUIRED READING:

The Taming of the Shrew
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Twelfth Night
As You Like It
Richard III
Henry IV, Part One

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS