ENGLISH 312 SHAKESPEARE

Dr. Rachela Permenter Spring 1997
Slippery Rock University

Course Guidelines
Requirements
Basis for Grades
Research Topics
Students' Favorite Websites

Text:
The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Updated 4th ed. Ed. David Bevington. Longman, 1997.
You are responsible for the reading assignments for class on the day they are listed.
The following schedule may be modified as the course proceeds:

M 27 Jan:
Intro to Course; Shakespeare's London; Macbeth
M 3 Feb:
Macbeth; Sonnets
F, Sat., Sun., 7-9 Feb: Recommended attendance at UPB showing of the film Romeo & Juliet
M 10 Feb:
Troilus and Cressida
M 17 Feb:
Troilus and Cressida; Romeo and Juliet
M 24 Feb:
Romeo and Juliet
Th 27 Feb:
Workshop with ACTER in Sheehy Auditorium, 11:30-1:00
Performance of Romeo and Juliet by ACTER in Swope Music Hall, 8 pm
M 3 Mar:
No Regular Class Meeting
Class will have met instead on Thurs., 27 Feb., at 11:30 am and at 8 pm.
Th 6 Mar
Midterm Exam
M 10 Mar:
Twelfth Night
M 17 Mar: Twelfth Night; As You Like it
Spring Break: 21 March - 1 April
M 7 April:
Richard III

M 14 April:
Hamlet
F, Sat., Sun., 18-20 April:
Required attendance at UPB showing of Branagh's Hamlet on one of these dates
F 25 April:
Due: Final Exam
Classes scheduled for 28 April, 5 May, and 12 May
have met instead in London, England, 6-17 January 1997

COURSE GUIDELINES

HELP You are encouraged to seek individual conference time with the instructor during office hours or by appointment and from the tutors in the writing center (301).

FORMAT All papers (including responses) must be in MLA format and typed or wp/computer printed.

LATE WORK For each weekday an assignment is late, your grade for that assignment will fall by 5%, approximately one-half letter.

ABSENCE Absence and tardiness are strongly discouraged. For each unexcused absence above one, 25 points will be deducted from your final grade. Absences beyond one will be excused only if documentation from a dean or medical doctor is provided. (Remember, one class is one week of classes.)

PIRACY Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you submit any work which is not the product of your own study and efforts, you will receive a grade of F for that work and probably for the course. Extreme violations will be reported to the appropriate university authorities.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

  1. London/Stratford Tour Response (minimum 3 pp.; journal or retrospective)
  2. Regular class attendance and participation
  3. Five (5) Informal Reader Responses (minimum 2 1/2 pp. each; each on one play; not plot summaries; at least 3 of them must include OED reference concerning Shakespeare's language; one may be replaced with an original sonnet or an original scene which mimics or parodies Shakespeare's dramatic style)
  4. Some contribution to course Webpage or SRU in Shakespeare's London Report
  5. Research Presentation (1-2 pp. handout, bibliography, visuals, maximum 20 minutes)
  6. Midterm Exam (Short essay answers, in class)
  7. Final Exam (2 pp. informal essay and 4-5 pp. Formal Critical Paper, out of class )

BASIS FOR GRADES


London/Stratford Tour Response 50 pts.
Informal Reader Responses 5 @ 30 pts. each = 150 pts.
Research Presentation 75 pts.
Contribution to Webpage or Course Report 25 pts.
Midterm 100 pts.
Final 150 pts.

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS: 550

Final grades for this course will be assessed by your percentage of points.
Scale: 

	90-100% = A
	80-89%  = B
	70-79%  = C
	62-69%  = D
	0-61%   = F

RESEARCH TOPICS

Renaissance Art (Italy, France)
Elizabeth I
Renaissance Cosmology, Alchemy, Medicine
Shakespeare's Fools, Drunks, Bawdiness, and Insults
Authorship Controversy
Falstaff
King Lear and A Thousand Acres (Jane Smiley)
The Tudors, Henry VIII, and Henry VIII
Drama Before Shakespeare and London Theatres and Dramatic Companies
Greek Myth & Characters in Troilus and Cressida
Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
The Taming of the Shrew and Kiss Me, Kate
Henry V and Henry V
War of the Roses, Houses of Lancaster and York (Richard III and Henry VI)
Niccolo Machiavelli's Politics and Richard III
Much Ado About Nothing
Midsummer Night's Dream
The Merchant of Venice
Othello
Pericles
Shakespeare's Women
James I and Jacobean Drama
America 1564-1616, The Tempest, and Sir Walter Raleigh

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Last updated 23 January 1997

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