ENG32300 Making Shakespeare

Academic Year 2020/2021

‘Making Shakespeare’ examines the formation of Shakespeare's monumental cultural and literary legacy. This module will provide participants with a knowledge of Shakespeare's place in the early modern literary marketplace, the practicalities of producing a play in early modern London, the blurred lines between historical fact and Shakespearean fiction, the use of Shakespeare's work as a tool of colonial rule, and the contemporary reinvention of Shakespeare's work.

Students will explore the intricacies of Shakespeare's plays alongside their modern adaptations in this module. Key texts for the 2020-21 academic year will include: Cymbeline, Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Winter's Tale. These plays will be read alongside adaptations of Shakespeare's work by Maggie O'Farrell, Jeanette Winterson, and Ali Smith.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module students will be able to:
• Demonstrate a strong knowledge of Shakespeare's drama in relation to its historical context
• Understand the global scale of Shakespeare's cultural and literary legacy
• Identify the characteristics and innovations of Shakespeare's drama
• Critically evaluate the appropriations of and responses to Shakespeare's work

Indicative Module Content:

The indicative primary texts for 2020-21 are as follows:
1. Shakespeare, Cymbeline
2. Shakespeare, Hamlet
3. Maggie O'Farrel, Hamnet
3. Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra
4. Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale
7. Jeanette Winterson, The Gap in Time
8. Ali Smith, Summer

Key topics that will be addressed include:

Shakespeare's Cultural Legacy
Shakespeare and the Canon
Shakespeare's and Contemporary Politics
Shakespeare and the Early Modern Text
Shakespeare and History
Shakespeare's Sources
Staging Shakespeare
The Future of Shakespeare Studies

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

226
Total

250
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures
Groupwork and peer learning 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Examination: End of semester examination worth 70% of the overall marks for the module. 2 hour End of Trimester Exam Yes Graded No

70
Continuous Assessment: Two short in-semester exercises (play/book/film reviews), together worth 30% Varies over the Trimester n/a Graded No

30

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

1) Group feedback on continuous assessment during the trimester. 2) Peer-led review preparation for the essay.

Name Role
Professor Danielle Clarke Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Naomi McAreavey Lecturer / Co-Lecturer