Shakespeare’s Women–EN 326
Block 8, Spring 2002
Prof. Regula Meyer Evitt Office:
Armstrong 346Course Goals:
When you hear the word "Shakespeare" who do you think of? Hamlet? Othello? Lear? Macbeth? For centuries, his tragic male protagonists have taken center stage. In fact, critics and directors vexed by the function of Shakespeare’s women have, until recently, found efficient ways to make them less problematic: cutting their parts, portraying them as docile or necessarily subservient, circumscribing evidence that Shakespeare sees women as autonomous, intelligent dramatic subjects. Yet Shakespeare’s female characters are remarkably complex, both in their own right and as they help us to understand gender relations in Early Modern England. In this course we will read a selection of plays from Shakespeare with special attention to how he represents women. We’ll consider the cultural and historical contexts which shape his understanding of "woman" as well as the social conditions which challenged conventional representations of women during the late sixteenth-, early-seventeenth centuries. You can explore, play by play, the extent to which Shakespeare invests in or reacts against the misogyny inherent in his society’s normative relationships between women and men. We’ll also want to consider the relevance of the domestic controversies he portrays for gender relationships in our own culture.
Required Course Work
participate in an online class discussion of plays
Grading
Grade distribution–
E-journal [10%]; Making a Scene [20%]; Critical Paper [30%]; Group research presentation [20%]; Take-home Final Exam [20%]
Attendance–If you miss more than two class meetings, your course grade will drop one letter grade for each subsequent absence. The exceptions to this policy include, of course, serious illness or real emergencies. Please come talk with me if you run into difficulties.
Late assignments–Late assignments lose one full letter grade for each day that they are late (e.g., an A- becomes a B-, a B becomes a C, etc.). During the block you can turn in one assignment late without penalty (this includes all assignments equally). However, you need to arrange for this "freebie late" at least one day in advance. Assignments turned in more than one week late receive a NC. As above, the exceptions to this policy include serious illness or real emergencies. We’ll work out a schedule for completing your course work if necessary.
Plagiarism–Using sources beyond your primary text[s] without documenting them is intellectual theft. Borrowing work from other students violates Colorado College’s Academic Honor System as well. Plagiarized work receives a grade of "F" and is subject to review by the college honor committee. Please make sure you understand Colorado College’s Academic Honor System; respect the academic integrity it calls for and the community of trust it aims to create.
Credit/no credit–Let the registrar know immediately if you plan to take the course for credit rather than a grade.
Course Texts
We’ll be drawing most of our contextual readings (see Schedule of Meetings and Assignments below) from these editions. If you decide not to buy these editions, make sure you arrange to borrow a friend’s copy and xerox the necessary readings. Russ McDonald , The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare: An Introduction with Documents (New York: Bedford-St. Martins, 2001). ISBN: 0-312-24880-6Please purchase the specific editions listed below.
William Shakespeare, Hamlet (A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism), ed. Susanne L Wofford (New York: Bedford-St. Martins, 1994). ISBN: 0-312-05544-7
William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, ed. N. W. Bawcutt (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998). ISBN: 0-19-283422-3
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Texts and Contexts), ed. Gail Kern Paster and Skiles Howard (New York: Bedford-St. Martins, 1999). ISBN: 0–312–16621–4
William Shakespeare, Othello. Ed. E. A. J. Honigmann. The Arden Shakespeare. Walton-on-Thames Surrey: Thomas, Nelson & Sons Ltd., 1998. ISBN: 0174434642
William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (Texts and Contexts), ed. Frances E. Dolan (New York: Bedford-St. Martins, 1996). ISBN: 0–312–10836–2
William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (Texts and Contexts), ed. Bruce R. Smith (New York: Bedford-St. Martins, 2001). ISBN: 0-312-20219-9
Schedule of Meetings and Assignments (subject to change if needed)
Week 1
April 22
Course introduction9:00-10:15 a.m.–
April 23
April 24
Primary reading: Taming
of the Shrew
Contextual readings: *Dolan, "Marriage" (160-199); *Dolan,
"The Household: Authority and Violence" (200-43)
E-journal 1(due by 9:00 p.m.)
Primary reading:
Taming of the Shrew
Making a Scene 1April 25
Primary reading:
A Midsummer Nights Dream
Contextual readings: *Paster and Howard, "The Making of Men" (149-91); *Paster and Howard, "Female Attachments and Family Ties" (192-264); *Paster and Howard, "Natural and Supernatural" (265-324)
E-journal 2 (due by 9:00 p.m.)
April 26
Primary reading:
A Midsummer Nights Dream
Making a Scene 2
Week 2
April 29
Primary reading:
Twelfth Night
Contextual readings: *Smith, "Sexuality" (183-236); *Smith, "Clothing and Disguise" (237-78); *Smith, "Clowning and Laughter" (357-98)
E-journal 3 (due by 9:00 p.m.)
April 30
Primary reading:
Twelfth Night
Making a Scene 3
12:30-2:00 p.m.–Follow-up session on creating web pages (TLC computer lab, basement of Tutt Library)May 1
Primary reading:
Measure for Measure
Contextual readings: *Bawcutt, "Introduction" (1-63); *Mario Digangi, "Pleasure and Danger: Measuring Female Sexuality in Measure for Measure," ELH 60 (1993): 589-609 [find this piece online at Tutt Library in Jstor]
E-journal 4 (due by 9:00 p.m.)May 2
Primary reading:
Measure for Measure
Making a Scene 4May 3
NO CLASS (time to work on your papers)
Week 3
May 6
In-Class Writers’ Workshop:
A complete draft of your paper is due today
E-journal 5–Othello group only (due by 9:00 p.m.)May 7
Primary reading (group 1):
Othello
Contextual readings: *Honigmann, "Introduction" (1-111, with special emphasis on the following sections: Shakespeare and the Barbarians, 1-2; Venice in the sixteenth century, 8-11; Cyprus, 11-12; Cinthio, 12-13; Othello, 14-27; Otherness, 27-31; Iago, 31-41; Desdemona, 41-43; Emilia, 43-47; Relationships, 47-49; Sex and love, 49-54; Feminism, 54-58)
Critical paper, 7-8 pages, DUE at 9:00 a.m. in my box in the English Department office
E-journal 6–Hamlet group only (due by 9:00 p.m.)May 8
Primary reading (group 2):
Hamlet
Contextual readings: *Wofford, "Feminist Criticism and Hamlet" (208-219); *Showalter, "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism" (in Wofford, 220-40)May 9
Primary reading (group 1):
Othello
Contextual readings: *Honigmann, "Appendix 3: Cinthio and Minor Sources" (368-89)
BREAKFAST AT RE’S
May 10
Primary reading (group 2):
Hamlet
Contextual readings: * Wofford, "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Hamlet" (241-55); *Adelman, "Man and Wife is one Flesh’: Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body" (in Wofford, 256-82)
BREAKFAST AT RE’S
Week 4
May 13
In-class group research presentations:
Othello and Hamlet
Completed web pages due today by 8:00 a.m. May 14Take-home Final Exam (begin)
May 15Take-home Final Exam (turn in)
Have a good summer!