English 4385-01W: Shakespeare and Film
Summer Session (July 2012)
MTWR 5:00-7:45 pm Pafford 308
PROFESSOR INFO:
Dr. Meg Pearson
TLC 2240
Office Hours: MTWR 3-5 pm and by appt.
Course Description: The course will consider seven playtexts alongside their film adaptations. Units include the directorial vision of Julie Taymor, modern adaptations of difficult texts such as Othello, and politicized Shakespeare.
Course Objectives:
· Students will understand that the study of literature and language can transcend the boundaries established by the fixed curriculum.
· Students will demonstrate in both oral and written work a discipline-specific critical facility through convincing and well-supported analysis of related material.
· Students will demonstrate their command of academic English and the tenets of sound composition by means of thesis-driven analytical prose.
· Students will learn to use discipline-specific computer technologies related to the study of language such as listservs, word processing, and internet research.
Texts
Print: Plays will include Hamlet, Henry V, Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Richard III, The Tempest, and Titus Andronicus. Any critical edition may be used. I have ordered the inexpensive Pelican single play editions for the UWG Bookstore.
Films (available on 5-hour reserve at Ingram library, or you can find copies/streaming via Netflix, or Amazon.com among other places. PLAN AHEAD.):
Henry V (1989)
Merchant of Venice (2004)
Othello (1995)
The Tempest (2011)
Titus (2000)
Richard III (1995)
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Secondary Criticism (See Bibliography below): All available online as full-text via UWG databases such as JSTOR or MLA.
Our class will have a CourseDen page.
Requirements
Participation (25%): Each class meeting this summer equals a WEEK’S worth of class! If you miss more than one class, do not expect to do well. In addition, you are expected to come to class ready to discuss and inquire about the play, the film, and any assigned secondary readings. Just showing up is only half of your job! There will be quickie quizzes on the plays as well.
Online Audience Journal entries (20%): Every Tuesday and Thursday before class you will be required to turn in a brief journal entry to our course’s Course Den (see calendar – there are six due). These will be page-length (~400 words) personal reflections on the film for that day and its connection to the play we have just read. While not formal, these should be coherent and thoughtful. Check Course Den for a more detailed description of what these journals entail.
Response Papers (15% each = 30% total): Students will compose two, 2-3 page Reader Responses. For each, students will be free to choose a narrowed-down idea that interests them. However, the following parameters govern both Reader Responses: each must concern a single class film; each must possess a clear argument; each must offer specific textual evidence and discussion of it that supports the argument; and each will not include summary or secondary sources beyond our class’s assigned articles. Further, MLA format and use of Standard English apply.
Final Exam (25%): Students will expand one response paper into a full 7-8 page research essay about a Shakespearean film adaptation, which will be due on Friday, July 27th, by 12 noon.
Course Policies
Deadlines and Late Papers:
All papers and audience journals are due online via Course Den (or via email in case of server trouble) at a deadline established on the syllabus. I will grade the paper using “track changes” in MS Word and return it to you via CourseDen or email. Every day that passes after the due date means that your paper loses a letter grade. I will only accept essays electronically this semester. Extensions will be granted only in cases of verifiable emergency and/or if we have spoken about it beforehand.
Formatting and Submitting Papers:
All take-home papers will be turned in as attachements using our CourseDen page via the assignments module. However, they should still have all the appropriate formatting required by MLA standards. All papers should be typed in a simple font in 10-12 point typeface. Always leave one-inch margins on each side. Papers are always to be double-spaced. Always cite your sources. And finally, always make a back-up copy of every paper you write.
You will sometimes find it necessary to email me your papers, such as when you would like me to look over your draft. Please send papers to megp@westga.edu or, if that’s not working, to mfpearson@gmail.com. When I receive your email with an attachment, I will email you back right away to say “Got it.” If you submit something to me, not to CourseDen, and I do not email you back within 24 hours, I have not received your paper. Resend it.
CourseDen will let you know when you’ve submitted, and you can double check it yourself. If you have having troubles with CourseDen, please get in touch with the University ITS people. I cannot help you, sadly. Plan for such technological failures. They are part of life.
The departmental grading rubric for all upper-division written work may be found here. I have lots of writing tips and terms and links on my website, too: http://www.westga.edu/~megp.
Academic Honesty:
Plagiarism or cheating, whether it is using the words and/or ideas of another
without properly giving credit to the source(s), submitting someone
else’s work as your own, submitting your own work completed for another class
without my permission, collaborating on individual exercises, or otherwise
violating the university's code of academic integrity will not be tolerated,
and infractions will be severely punished. Familiarize yourself with the
proper rules for citation for the English department (MLA) and the university’s
policy on academic dishonesty: http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/Plagiarism/pladef.html.
If an idea does not come fully-sprung from your own skull, you need to figure out whose idea it is and give them credit through citation. If you cheat in my class, you will receive an automatic F for the class. Do not test this. If you are in doubt or have questions, please ask me.
Extra Help:
If you feel you need help or if you have any questions regarding the class,
come by my office, Room 2240 in the TLC. I will always be in my office and
prepared to offer assistance during my office hours. If for some reason
you are unable to see me during my office hours, we will arrange an alternative
meeting time. Contact me via email to set up an appointment. Also, do not
forget about the Writing Center where the instructors and staff work to assist
writers at any point in the writing process. For more information or to make an
appointment, e-mail the Writing Center at writing@westga.edu.
Contacting Me:
I am most easily tracked down using email: megp@westga.edu. (Please note that mpearson@westga.edu is NOT ME. Poor Mike Pearson is very tired of hearing from my students.) You may also contact me using the email function in CourseDen. Please e-mail me from your university account in order to make it easier to identify the sender of the e-mail and to avoid unnecessary security or virus risks.
Special Needs:
The University of West Georgia adheres to the Americans for Disabilities Act,
known as ADA, which requires that all programs at the university be accessible
to people with disabilities. If you have a registered disability that will
require accommodation, please see me in my office at the beginning of the
semester. If you have a disability that you have not yet registered through the
Disabled Student Services Office, please contact Dr. Ann Phillips in 272 Parker
Hall at (678) 839-6428.
Full Bibliography of Secondary Articles – Due Dates on Syllabus
(all of these are available online as full text via the MLA Database or MUSE/JSTOR)
Deleyto, Celestino. "Men In Leather: Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing And Romantic Comedy." Cinema Journal 36.3 (1997): 91-105. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
Helmbold, Anita. "'Take A Soldier, Take A King': The (In)Separability Of Conflict In Branagh's Henry V." Literature Film Quarterly 33.4 (2005): 280-289. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
Johnson, Jared Scott. "The Propaganda Imperative: Challenging Mass Media Representations In Mckellen's Richard III." College Literature 31.4 (2004): 44-59. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
Marks, Elise. "'Othello/Me': Racial Drag And The Pleasures Of Boundary-Crossing With Othello." Comparative Drama 35.1 (2001): 101-123. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
Pittman, L. Monique. "Locating The Bard: Adaptation And Authority In Michael Radford's The Merchant Of Venice." Shakespeare Bulletin: A Journal Of Performance Criticism And Scholarship 25.2 (2007): 13-33. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
Walker, Elsie. "'Now Is A Time To Storm': Julie Taymor's Titus (2000)." Literature Film Quarterly 30.3 (2002): 194-207. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
Taymor Tempest Reviews (Due July 17th)
Beames, Robert. "'The Tempest' with Helen Mirren in first screening at Venice Film Festival." Rev. of The Tempest , by By Julie Taymor. The Telegraph 11 Sept. 2010 [Chatham, Kent] . Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/7996596/Review-The-Tempest-with-Helen-Mirren-in-first-screening-at-Venice-Film-Festival.html>.
Blake, Leslie. "Julie Taymor Stirs Up a Tempest." Rev. of The Tempest, by Julie Taymor. TheaterMania 9 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/12-2010/julie-taymor-stirs-up-a-tempest_32602.html>.
Brody, Richard. "Julie Taymor’s “The Tempest”." Rev. of The Tempest, by By Julie Taymor. The New Yorker 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2010/12/julie-taymor-the-tempest.html>.
Scott, A O. "Dread Rattling Thunder! Yes, It’s Shakespeare." Rev. of The Tempest, by By Julie Taymor. New York Times 9 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/10/movies/10tempest.html>.