English
3123: Playing Dead in Shakespeare Tanya
Pollard |
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207 Whitehead Hall TR 11:00-12:15 E-mail:
Tpollard@brooklyn.cuny.edu
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Office:
3108 Boylan Phone: 718-951-5000 x 6216 Hours:
T 12:15-1:30 & 3:15-4:30, Th 9-9:30, and by appt. |
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All theatrical deaths are
staged – played, enacted, artificial, fake – but some are more
staged than others. From his earliest to his latest plays, Shakespeare
routinely revisited the phenomenon of playing dead, whether intentionally or
accidentally, in a range of settings and genres. In particular, figures who survive apparent
deaths tend to be women in positions of peril, whose staged deaths and
restorations facilitate experimentation with generic conventions and the
resources of the theater. This
course will explore ShakespeareÕs investments in apparent deaths in plays
including Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles, Cymbeline, The WinterÕs
Tale, and The Tempest.
Assignments will include regular short reading quizzes, four short close
reading essays, one final research paper, and midterm and final exams. |
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Week |
Date |
Assignment |
Presenters |
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1 |
2-2 |
Introduction |
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2-4 |
Comedy of Errors, Acts 1-2 |
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2 |
2-9 |
No class (CUNY runs Friday
schedule) |
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2-11 |
Comedy of Errors, Act 3-5 |
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3 |
2-16 |
Oxford English Dictionary exercise; Library room 383 |
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2-18 |
Much Ado About Nothing, Acts 1-2 |
1 |
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4 |
2-23 |
Much Ado About Nothing, Acts 3-4 |
2 |
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2-25 |
Much Ado About Nothing, Act 5 |
3 |
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5 |
3-1 |
Pericles,
Acts 1-2 |
4 |
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3-3 |
Pericles, Acts 3-4 |
1 |
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6 |
3-8 |
Pericles, Act 5 |
2 |
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3-10 |
Exam |
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7 |
3-15 |
Cymbeline,
Acts 1-2 |
3 |
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3-17 |
Cymbeline,
Acts 3-4 |
4 |
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8 |
3-22 |
Cymbeline,
Act 5 |
1 |
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3-24 |
WinterÕs Tale, Acts 1-2 |
2 |
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9 |
3-29 |
WinterÕs Tale, Acts 3-4 |
3 |
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3-31 |
WinterÕs Tale,
Act 5 |
4 |
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10 |
4-5 |
Tempest, Acts 1-2 |
1 |
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4-7 |
Tempest, Acts 3-4 |
2 |
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11 |
4-12 |
Tempest, Acts 5 |
3 |
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4-14 |
Review |
4 |
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12 |
4-19 |
Research workshop |
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4-21 |
Exam |
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spring break |
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14 |
5-3 |
research presentations and
responses |
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5-5 |
research presentations and responses |
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15 |
5-10 |
research presentations and
responses |
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5-12 |
Research paper due;
peer-editing workshop |
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16 |
5-17 |
Revised research paper due |
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Course Requirements
and Expectations: |
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Attendance Because
your contributions to class discussion are a central part of your work for
this course, attendance is crucial.
If you miss more than three classes, your overall grade will drop; at
six absences, you will fail the class. Missing part of class – whether
through arriving after 11:00, leaving before 12:15, or leaving the room
during class – will count as one-third of an absence. |
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Texts I
have ordered Signet Editions of the plays on our syllabus at the college
bookstore; you may purchase them elsewhere if you prefer, or you may use other
editions. Bringing a hard copy of
the play to each class session is a requirement: if cost is an issue, you
will find copies in the library, and in an emergency can borrow copies from
me. |
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Participation Learning
is a collaborative process, which works best when each of you engages fully
with the texts and with each other.
To this end, I will expect you to participate actively in class
discussions, and you will be required to present ideas for class discussion
on a rotating basis. Your contributions
will determine a significant portion of the semesterÕs grade. In order to
build a classroom atmosphere of courtesy and concentration, please avoid
behavior that is disrespectful and interferes with othersÕ learning,
including rudeness, talking while others are speaking, and ringing from
cell-phones, pagers, watches, etc. |
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Writing Over
the course of the semester you will write four short (2 page) papers
accompanying in-class presentations, as well as one longer (8-10 page)
research paper. All written work
should have a central claim that is well argued, clearly written, and
directly supported by close readings of textual passages; the research paper
will also incorporate, and respond to, at least three secondary sources. All papers should be stapled, typed,
double-spaced, in a 12-point font, with one-inch margins on all sides. Written work is due at 11am; lateness
will result in lowering of the grade by one-third of a grade per day. In event of printer problems, you may
receive credit for written work e-mailed to me before 11am, as long as you
follow it up with a hard copy within 24 hours. Any use of othersÕ ideas must be fully
acknowledged in footnotes; speak to me if you are unsure about what this
means. Plagiarism is a serious
offense, and will result in failing the class and being reported to the
DeanÕs Office. |
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Coursework
and grading:
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