ENGL 3123: Shakespeare’s Troubled Families: Syllabus

Course objectives

The goals of this course are to develop skills in close reading, writing, research, and argumentation through the study of Shakespeare’s plays. By the end of the course, students will be expected to

• Demonstrate familiarity with language and conventions of Shakespeare’s plays
• Formulate thoughtful questions and clear arguments, in writing and discussion, based on textual evidence
• Identify and engage with topics in recent critical conversations about the plays

Texts

This is an Open Educational Resource course: all readings are available online at no cost. If you would like to read the plays in hard copy, you’re welcome to borrow any editions from a library or purchase any editions, new or used.

Coursework and grading

Participation: 3 points weekly for attending and actively contributing to each class session, writing weekly discussion posts in Blackboard, and writing responses to other students’ weekly discussion posts. Full credit requires posting all work on time and active participation in class discussion. If you have to miss class, you can make up the participation points by writing an additional 200 word post in Blackboard.

45 points

Writing: 2 points each for 3 presentations (on the dates your group is scheduled), 3 points each for 3 2-page essays (on the weeks your group is scheduled), 30 points for final essay (3 for annotated bibliography, 3 for proposal, 3 for sample 2 pages, 5 for draft, 5 for peer-review workshop, and 11 for revision)

45 points

Exam: 10 points for take-home exam

10 points

100-97

A+

        76-74

C

97-94

A

        73-70

C-

93-90

A-

        69-67

D+

89-87

B+

        66-64

D

86-84

B

        63-60

D-

83-80

B-

59 and below

F

79-77

C+

Disability Services

In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with CSDS. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to schedule an interview by calling (718) 951-5538 or emailing testingcsds@brooklyn.cuny.edu. If you have already registered with CSDS, email Josephine.Patterson@brooklyn.cuny.edu or testingcsds@brooklyn.cuny.edu to ensure that professors receive the accommodation information.

University Policy on Academic Integrity

The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for policy implementation can be found at www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation. Students should be aware that faculty may use plagiarism detection software.

Student Bereavement Policy

You can find information on the Student Bereavement Policy here: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/initiatives/policies/bereavement.php

Sexual and Gender-based Harassment, Discrimination, and Title IX

Brooklyn College is committed to fostering a safe, equitable and productive learning environment. Students experiencing any form of prohibited discrimination or harassment on or off campus can find information about the reporting process, their rights, specific details about confidentiality of information, and reporting obligations of Brooklyn College employees on the Office of Diversity and Equity Programs website. Reports of sexual misconduct or discrimination can be made to Public Safety (719.951.5511), the New York City Police Department (911 or a local NYPD precinct), Ivana Bologna, Title IX Coordinator (718.951.5000, ext. 3689), or Michelle Vargas, Assistant Director of Judicial Affairs, Division of Student Affairs (718.951.5352).

Secondary Readings

These are some recommended secondary readings relevant to ideas of family in the plays we’re reading this seemster. Research for your final term paper may build on these readings, but will expand to include further materials as well.

Janet Adelman, “‘Born of Woman’: Fantasies of Maternal Power in Macbeth,” in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, ed. Harold Bloom (New York: Chelsea House, 2010): 33-60.

Harry Berger, “King Lear: The Lear Family Romance,” Centennial Review (1979): 348-376.

Michael Chorost, “Biological Finance in Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens,” English Literary Renaissance 21.3 (1991): 349-370.

Helen Hackett, “‘Gracious be the issue’: Maternity and Narrative in Shakespeare’s Late Plays,” in Shakespeare’s Late Plays: New Readings, ed. Jennifer Richards and James Knowles (Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, 1999), 25-39.

Coppélia Kahn, “‘Magic of bounty’: Timon of Athens, Jacobean Patronage, and Maternal Power,” Shakespeare Quarterly 38.1 (1987): 34-57.

Aaron Kitch, “Bastards and Broadsides in The Winter's Tale,” Renaissance Drama 30 (1999), 43-71.

Naomi Liebler, “‘Pelican Daughter’s: The Violence of Filial Ingratitude in King Lear,” Shakespeare Jahrbuch 143 (2007): 36-51.

Michael Neill, “‘In Everything Illegitimate’: Imagining the Bastard in Renaissance Drama,” The Yearbook of English Studies 23 (1993), 270-292.

Marianne Novy, “Adopted Children and Constructions of Heredity, Nurture, and Parenthood in Shakespeare’s Romances,” in Childhood and Children's Books in Early Modern Europe, 1550-1800, ed. Andrea Immel and Michael Witmore (London: Routledge, 2013), 63-82.

Course objectives

The goals of this course are to develop skills in close reading, writing, research, and argumentation through the study of Shakespeare’s plays. By the end of the course, students will be expected to

• Demonstrate familiarity with language and conventions of Shakespeare’s plays
• Formulate thoughtful questions and clear arguments, in writing and discussion, based on textual evidence
• Identify and engage with topics in recent critical conversations about the plays