I am a Shakespeare Geek

Or Nerd. I don't care which you call me. I have received my schedules for the modules I am doing in the Autumn Term. The Institute seems to prefer to cram a module into a number of whole days rather than a regular two-hour seminar slot. This will lead to much intensive (and, I rather expect, exhilarating) work. Beneath the cut I am posting the schedules themselves. As Miss Jean Brodie said, "To those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like." This is very much the sort of thing I like.


Core Module: Shakespeare’s Theatre
Autumn Term 2015 - 3 weekends
Convenor: Dr Chris Laoutaris
Email: c.laoutaris@bham.ac.uk

Fri 2 Oct – Sun 4 Oct; Fri 23 Oct – Sun 25 Oct; Fri 20 Nov – Sun 22 Nov

Module description: (as a reminder)

Shakespeare’s Theatre
There are three components of the core module. The first is a close reading of text that will lead to a consideration of the theatrical function and distinctive qualities of Shakespeare’s language. The second is a study of Elizabethan and early Jacobean stages and performance; and the third is an extension of the historical perspective, including Shakespeare’s medieval inheritance, that will inform inquiry into the contemporary and continuing theatrical life of The Comedy of Errors, Titus Andronicus, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard II, Henry V, Hamlet, Cymbeline and The Tempest.

Preliminary Schedule: These sessions may be subject to change. You will be given 24 hours notice of any changes to the schedule. All sessions are with Dr Chris Laoutaris in the First and Third Weekends, and with Dr Abigail Rokison in the Second Weekend, unless otherwise stated.

NB: The Research Skills module, led by Dr Erin Sullivan, runs alongside this module. Times are indicated below. Please see the Research Skills module outline for more information on content, delivery and assessment for this module.

First Weekend
Friday 2nd October
6-6.10pm: Welcome and Introductions.
6.10pm-7pm: Lecture – Foundations, Sources, Beginnings: The Comedy of Errors and Titus Andronicus
7pm-9pm: Research Skills with Dr Erin Sullivan

Saturday 3rd October

10am-12am: Seminar - The Comedy of Errors and its Medieval Inheritance
Reading for this session: The Comedy of Errors and Mankind (see reading list)
Questions to consider: How does The Comedy of Errors build on, modify and/or challenge its medieval inheritance? How do these two works deal with the moral dilemmas they present? How do they engage with such themes as the natural order; conflict between men and women; the power and dangers of language; concepts relating to value, worth, and price; and the loss of identity?
12noon-1pm: Lunch break
1pm-3pm: Research skills with Dr Erin Sullivan
3:30pm-5:30pm: Seminar – Dismembering and Remembering: Staging Bodies in Titus Andronicus
Reading for this session: Titus Andronicus
Questions to consider: Why is this play so obsessed with the fragmentation and dissection of bodies? How does Shakespeare stage the memorialisation and ritualisation of bodies and what significance does this have in relation to political order and disorder in the play’s world? How does Shakespeare imbue stage entrances and exits with meaning and why are they important? If you were a director, how would you stage the various scenes of blood, gore and excessive violence in this play and what problems might this have posed for actors in Shakespeare’s day? Is this play a ‘revenge tragedy’?

Sunday 4th October
11am-1pm: Workshop - The Taming of the Shrew with Professor Michael Dobson and RSC actor or director (tbc)
Reading for this session: The Taming of the Shrew
Question to consider: What kind of play is The Taming of the Shrew?
1pm-2pm: Lunch break
2pm-4pm: Seminar - Shakespeare’s Language: What Makes Shakespeare’s Language ‘Shakespearean’? (There is no pre-set preparatory work for this seminar. Just come along and I’ll do the rest! Handouts will be provided on the day)
4-5pm: Tutorials with Dr Chris Laoutaris (optional)
First research paper (2,000 words) due: 11th November 2015 at 12 noon

Second Weekend
Friday: 23rd October
6pm-8pm: Lecture – Henry V: The “Wooden O” in theory, in practice and on film
Reading for this session: Henry V.
Questions to consider: Who is the Chorus? What is the function of the Chorus?
8-9pm: Tutorials with Dr Abigail Rokison (optional)
Saturday: 24th October
10am-11am: Lecture – Writing about Performance
11:30am-1pm: Richard II: Kingship, Politics and Shakespeare’s sources (This lecture will look at Shakespeare’s use of historical sources, and examine the genre of the History play)
1pm-2pm: Lunch break
2pm-4pm: Lecture – Hamlet: 3 texts, Implications for Staging
Reading for this session: Hamlet – Q2, F and Q1
Questions to consider: How do textual variants affect performance choices?
Sunday: 25th October
10-1pm: Research Skills with Dr Erin Sullivan
1pm-2pm: Lunch break
2pm-4pm: Practical Theatre Workshop with RSC actor (tbc) (Bolded because EXCITING!!!)

Third Weekend
Friday 20th November
6pm-9pm: Research skills with Dr Sullivan
Saturday 21st November
10am-11am: Lecture – Staging Spectacle and the Influence of the Indoor Playhouse: Cymbeline and The Tempest
11.30am-1:30pm: Seminar – Making meaning of Cymbeline
Reading for this session: Cymbeline.
Questions to consider: How does Shakespeare construct meaning through the uses of spectacle, symbol and emblematic presentation in this play? How and why does this particular script challenge modern directors, designers, actors and audiences? Do you think Shakespeare may have intended it to be so challenging? If so, why?
1.30pm-2.30pm: Lunch break
2:30pm-4pm: Workshop on Staging Shakespeare’s Spectacles with RSC assistant director and/or actor (tbc)
4pm-5:30pm: The Tempest: Archival evidence. With Karin Brown, Shakespeare Institute Librarian
Reading for this session: The Tempest.
Sunday 22nd November
10am-1pm: Student presentations
1pm-2pm: Lunch break
2pm-4pm: Seminar – Reading Shakespeare’s Visual Theatre: Image, Emblem and Iconoclasm (No set preparation for this seminar. Handouts will be provided on the day)
4:30pm-5:30pm: Tutorials with Dr Chris Laoutaris (optional)

Second research paper (2,000 words) due: 13th January 2016 at 12 noon

That's the compulsory module - well, two modules, really, as the Research Skills is more or less separate. The 4,000 word length limit for essays is a bit of a pity, though - cutting work down to that length will be a hassle.

Then there's the other module for next term:

Plays and Poems of Shakespeare A:


Module leader and contact details
Name: Dr Martin Wiggins

Semester 1 (Autumn Term)

Module description
Students are encouraged to engage with, and to see the relationship between, texts from the first half of Shakespeare's career, in which the dominant genres were comedies and histories.

The module will cover the first half of the Shakespeare canon in chronological order from 1591 – 1600. Learning is via student presentation and response.

Assessment method - One 4,000 word essay (100%)

Date of assessment submission
DATE OF SUBMISSION: January 2016 at 12 noon – date to be confirmed

The method of submission for Shakespeare Institute postgraduate taught modules is via the ‘Turnitin’ portal on Canvas (located in the Shakespeare Institute portal). You will be sent information about how to access this closer to the submission deadline.

Semester timetable
This module consists of one 30 minute meeting on 29th September 2015 at 2,30pm in order to establish the presentation schedule for the term, followed by five full day sessions on the following dates:

13th October 2015, 27th October 2015, 10th November 2015, 24th November 2015 and 8th December 2015.

Teaching will take place on the above dates between 10am – 1pm and 2.00pm – 5.00pm in the Lounge at The Shakespeare Institute, Mason Croft, Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6HP.

The schedule of teaching is as follows:

Initial Meeting – 29th September 2015 at 2.30pm
Content: 30 minute meeting to establish the presentation schedule for the term. Please note that all students who have registered on this module, need to be in attendance at this initial meeting. It will not be possible for students to continue with this module if they do not come to this initial meeting.
Teacher: Dr Martin Wiggins

First Full Day – 13th Oct 2015
Content: 2 Henry VI
3 Henry VI
The Taming of the Shrew
1 Henry VI
Titus Andronicus

Second Full Day – 27th Oct 2015
Content: The Comedy of Errors
Venus and Adonis & The Rape of Lucrece
Richard III
Edward III
The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Third Full Day – 10th Nov 2015
Content:
Romeo and Juliet
Richard II
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Love’s Labours Lost
King John

Fourth Full Day – 24th Nov 2015
Content: The Merchant of Venice
1 Henry IV
The Merry Wives of Windsor
2 Henry IV
Love’s Labours Won
Much Ado About Nothing

Fifth Full Day – 8th Dec 2015
Content: Henry V
Julius Caesar
As You Like It
Hamlet

*****

I have no idea why Twelfth Night is out but Hamlet is in. Chronology can bugger up the neatest schemata I suppose.


I don't want to bore people with Shakespeare stuff. I'll always put it under a cut, but should I make a special filter? Here's a chance to make a poll, because we all love Teh Ticky.