Shakespeare’s Later Plays Joyce Van Dyke, PhD ENGL E-125, Spring 2016 [email protected] Online only TA: Greta Pane, PhD https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/8370 [email protected]
Course Schedule Lectures from the spring 2015 class will be posted on the course website on Mondays by 5:00 PM. Movies of the plays will be posted at the same time, on dates with an asterisk below. To watch the lectures and movies, go to the course website’s Virtual Classroom page (this page will be added to the website a few days before classes begin). For more information about the movies, see Movies below.
Jan 25 Introduction
Feb 1* Othello
Feb 8* Othello
Feb 15 PRESIDENTS’ DAY (No lecture or sections this week)
Feb 22* King Lear
Feb 29* King Lear Exercise 1 assigned, due March 12
March 7* King Lear
March 12 Exercise 1 due (No lecture on Friday March 12)
March 14 SPRING BREAK (No lecture or sections this week)
March 21* Macbeth
March 28* Macbeth
April 4* Antony and Cleopatra
April 11 Antony and Cleopatra Exercise 2 assigned
April 18* The Winter’s Tale
April 25 The Winter’s Tale Graduate term papers due
May 2* The Tempest Exercise 2 due
May 9 Final exam (Speeches), room TBA
I. Course Requirements
READING The only required reading is the texts of the plays. Each play should be read at least twice. Optional additional readings will be posted on the course website. The plays are available at the Harvard Coop in Harvard Square and online at Amazon.com: Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest. The edition ordered is Modern Library Classics edited by Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen. If you decide to use a different edition, please be aware that all references made in lecture will be to the Bate/Rasmussen editions and that other editions may have different line numbers, wording, etc.
EXERCISES The graded written Exercises are in lieu of exams or conventional papers. The format is short answers (one or more paragraphs) to specific text-based questions. Exercise 1 is about 5 pages; Exercise 2 (for undergraduate credit students only) is about 9-10 pages. You will be able to see a sample Exercise from a previous course on the website: https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/8370
SPEECHES One speech will be assigned each week to be learned by heart. Speeches will be “due” at the Final Exam for the course when you will write them out.
FINAL EXAM The Final Exam consists exclusively of writing out the speeches you’ve learned during the semester. You have the full 2-hour exam period to do so. You will not be graded on spelling, punctuation, verse lineation, etc.
Extension School policy requires that if you live in one of the six New England states, you must be on campus to take the Final Exam. Otherwise, you are responsible for arranging for a proctor where you live to administer this exam. Please note that the instructor and TA are not allowed to assist you with any exam arrangements or make- ups: all questions must be referred to the Extension School. For more information, go to: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/distance-education/how-distance-education- works/academic-policy-exam-proctoring
GRADES: UNDERGRADUATE CREDIT Exercise 1 = 30% Exercise 2 = 60% Final Exam / Speeches = 10%
REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATE CREDIT • Exercise 1 (see Exercises above) • In lieu of Exercise 2, a 15-20 page term paper (topic to be chosen in consultation with the instructor and TA.) • Final Exam / Speeches by heart (see Speeches above) • Graduate seminar (a one-time on-campus meeting, TBA.)
GRADES: GRADUATE CREDIT Exercise 1 = 30% Term Paper = 60% Final Exam / Speeches = 10%
II. Course website
The course website is https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/8370. Please note that this is a new course website and is still under construction: not all pages are accessible yet, but they will be published by the time classes begin on Jan 25.
In addition to using the website to watch lectures, you can use it to download handouts, participate in discussions, and watch the movies (see Movies below).
On the website you will find: • syllabus • course lecture videos, posted Mondays 5:00 PM on the Virtual Classroom page • movies of the plays, posted most Mondays 5:00 PM on the Virtual Classroom page (optional) • discussion board • weekly reading and memorization assignments, posted under “Assignments” on the Home page • class handouts, posted on the Handouts page the day before each lecture • sample Exercise, posted on the Assignments page • current and upcoming Shakespeare productions (optional) • play pages, one page for each play in the course (optional) • weekly summary of all assignments and lecture topics • and more . . .
You will need your Harvard ID and PIN in order to login to watch each lecture after the second week of classes. If you have any problems using the website, do not suffer in silence! For immediate support, you may email the Academic Technology Support team at [email protected] or call (617) 998-8571, M- F, 5PM - midnight, Sat 9AM - 10PM, Sun noon - 10PM. (Or if you are calling between 9AM and 5PM, M-F, call the Extension School at (617) 495-4024). If you have a problem watching the lecture video, you can also click on "report a problem." Please note that the TA and I do not have the ability to resolve technical problems.
III. Online only course
WELCOME! This is an online only course but we want to be in touch with you. Please introduce yourself to the TA and me via email at the beginning of the course so we can get acquainted. We welcome and value your feedback! We will post an interview form on the website before the course begins.
DISCUSSIONS All students are asked to post on the website discussion board at least once during the term. Your post can be as simple as asking a question. Anyone can start a new conversation, or respond to existing comments. If you want to start a new conversation, click on the blue “+ Discussion” button at the top right of your screen. Give your topic a title, write your comments in the text-box, and then scroll down to click “Save & Publish.”
We know from past experience that students in this course can be a great resource for each other, so we encourage you to contribute your questions and comments.
GENERAL ADVICE Experienced distance students advise the following: • Make sure you have the technical requirements in place to watch the videos, before the course begins. • Watch the lectures in a quiet setting without significant interruptions. • Stay on schedule with the rest of the class in reading and assignments.
IV. Sections
Section meetings are optional but highly recommended! There will be section meetings on every play, both on-campus and via web-conferencing. All students, whatever their registration status or location, are welcome to participate in sections. Section days/times will be scheduled after the class is polled during the first week so that we can accommodate as many interested students as possible. Please keep an eye on the Sections page on the website for updates about these meetings.
All sections will be led by the TA, Greta Pane (PhD, Harvard University). Greta has been the TA for Shakespeare’s Later Plays and Shakespeare’s Early Plays for the past few years. Below is Greta’s description of how to get started with online sections.
Getting Started On-line sections are like conversations conducted over Skype. A section lasts for about 50 minutes. For complete information on participating in the on-line sections, please see the Web-Conference Course Guidelines on the Extension School web site. (You will see, for instance, that you will need a headphone/microphone.) In addition, please visit Blackboard Collaborate’s first time users page and complete the four steps that are described on that page.
If you need help:
Contact DCE’s student computer support: [email protected] (617) 495-4024 Mondays through Fridays from 9 am to 5 pm eastern standard time (617) 998-8571 Mondays through Fridays, 5 pm to midnight; Saturdays, 9 am to 10 pm; and Sundays, noon to 10 pm eastern standard time.
V. Movies
The movies are optional but highly recommended! Whenever possible, you are welcome – indeed encouraged – to watch the movies before reading the plays or watching the lectures.
Movies will be posted to the Virtual Classroom page of the course website by 5:00 PM on Mondays, according to the schedule below, and will remain available to you for the rest of the semester.
You may also be able to rent the movies from Netflix (and some can be streamed on Netflix). Other online options for some movies are listed below.
Movie Schedule
Feb 1 Othello (RSC production, dir. Trevor Nunn, w/Willard White, Ian McKellen, Imogen Stubbs, 205 min.)
Feb 8 Othello (South African production, dir. Janet Suzman, w/John Kani, Richard Haines, Joanna Weinberg, 188 min.)
Feb 22 King Lear (RSC production, dir. Trevor Nunn, w/Ian McKellen, 155 min.)
Feb 29 King Lear (dir. Peter Brook, w/Paul Scofield, 132 min.) Also available online here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjng89W7mP4
March 7 King Lear (Dir. Grigori Kozintsev, w/Yuri Yarvet, 139 min.) (Caution: you may find links to this movie online, but please be careful: previous students experienced computer damage.)
March 21 Macbeth (Dir. Rupert Goold, w/ Patrick Stewart, Kate Fleetwood, 161 min.)
March 28 Macbeth (RSC production, dir. Trevor Nunn, w/Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, 146 min.)
April 4 Antony and Cleopatra (RSC production, dir. Trevor Nunn, w/Janet Suzman, Richard Johnson, Patrick Stewart, Colin Redgrave, 161 min.)
April 18 The Winter’s Tale (RSC production, dir. Greg Doran, w/Antony Sher, 170 min.)
May 2 The Tempest (dir. Julie Taymor, w/Helen Mirren, 110 min.)
VI. Other resources
The following resources are all optional.
BOOKS ON RESERVE AT GROSSMAN LIBRARY
Grossman Library on the 3rd floor of Sever Hall is the Extension School’s reserve library. Books may be read at Grossman only. http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k11950
John Barton, Playing Shakespeare Charles Boyce, Shakespeare A to Z Northrop Frye, Northrop Frye on Shakespeare
VIDEO
The following excellent series are available from Netflix.
• Slings and Arrows: superb fictional Canadian TV series about a Shakespeare theatre company. Season 1 features a Hamlet production, Season 2 Macbeth, Season 3 King Lear.
• Playing Shakespeare: Royal Shakespeare Company Founding Artistic Director John Barton directs RSC actors – including Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart – in a series of fascinating conversations as they explore Shakespeare’s language and dramaturgy. The text of this series is on reserve at Grossman Library (see above).
ONLINE RESOURCES
Shakespeare’s Words: a glossary and more: http://www.shakespeareswords.com/
David Crystal’s site on Original Pronunciation (OP), with a few recordings you can listen to: http://www.pronouncingshakespeare.com/
Shakespeare concordance, if you want to look up the frequency and location of particular words: http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/concordance/
Folger Shakespeare Library http://www.folger.edu/welcome.htm
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/home.html
Shakespeare’s Globe (the new Globe in London) http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/
Shakespeare’s Restless World http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/shakespeares-restless-world/
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare http://shakespeare.mit.edu/
For iPad users, an app for Shakespeare’s sonnets: http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/2/3131600/digital-print-oral-shakespeares- sonnets-for-ipad
We welcome hearing from you about other online resources and apps that you find helpful.
VII. Extension School policies
DISABILITY SERVICES The Extension School is committed to providing an accessible academic community. The Accessibility Office offers a variety of accommodations and services to students with documented disabilities. For more information please visit www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources/disability-services- accessibility.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY You are responsible for understanding Harvard Extension School policies on academic integrity (www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/student-conduct/academic- integrity) and how to use sources responsibly. Not knowing the rules, misunderstanding the rules, running out of time, submitting the wrong draft, or being overwhelmed with multiple demands are not acceptable excuses. There are no excuses for failure to uphold academic integrity.
To support your learning about academic citation rules, please visit the Harvard Extension School Tips to Avoid Plagiarism (www.extension.harvard.edu/resources- policies/resources/tips-avoid-plagiarism), where you'll find links to the Harvard Guide to Using Sources and two free online 15-minute tutorials to test your knowledge of academic citation policy. The tutorials are anonymous open-learning tools.