English 162W-3
TTh 4:15-6:05pm
160 B-35
Office hours: T 1:00-2:00pm, W 2:30-3:30, & by appt.
Jessica Beckman
beckman1@stanford.edu
Office: 460-306
The Sea and the Stage: Renaissance Pirates, Wenches, and Infidels
Short Description: “I am not what I am,” Iago tells us in the opening act of
Shakespeare’s Othello (1.1.67). Taking the villain at his word, this course investigates
how identity is constructed and transformed in English Renaissance drama. Using the
Mediterranean Sea as our landscape, we will dive into texts whose protagonists and
antiheroes attempt to reinvent themselves (and undo others) against cultural expectations
about religion, ethnicity, and gender. This course will focus on a slow reading of Othello,
alongside provocative and adventurous works by Shakespeare’s contemporaries
Marlowe, Massinger, and Heywood. Students will explore how the historical conditions
of navigation, cultural exchange, and piracy formed a backdrop onto which English
dramatists projected their concerns about “turning” from one identity to another. Along
the way we will be challenged to consider how these historicized issues of gender, class,
and East-meets-West continue to be relevant to our own rapidly globalizing time.
Primary Texts
1. Shakespeare, William. Othello: Texts and Contexts. Ed. Kim Hall. New York:
Bedford / St. Martin's Press, 2006.
2. Marlowe, Christopher. The Jew of Malta: with Related Texts. Ed. Stephen J.
Lynch. Indianapolis: Hacket Publishing Co, 2006.
3. Philip Massinger, “The Renegado.” Three Turk Plays from Early Modern
England. Ed. Daniel Vitkus. New York: Columbia UP, 2000.
4. Heywood, Thomas. The Fair Maid of the West Parts 1 and 2. Ed. Robert K.
Turner. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P (Regents Renaissance Drama), 1968.
These texts are available at the Stanford bookstore. I require these editions for two
reasons: 1) most of them have supplementary material that may aid your paper research;
2) these editions make the plays more accessible to modern readers by explaining
references, pointing out textual variations, and defining words that are no longer in
circulation.
All secondary scholarly texts will be available on Coursework.
Major Assignments
 Close reading papers: two short critical papers (2-3 pages) that examine a
meaningful detail, word, object, or passage in Shakespeare’s Othello (first paper)
and Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta (second paper). The purpose of this assignment
is threefold: 1) to encourage close and slow reading of the text; 2) to develop
close-reading skills that make meaning from textual patterns, contradictions,
parallels, and repetitions; 3) to demonstrate—using textual evidence—how the
play engages with a major question of cultural or personal identity we have been
discussing in class.

Primary source paper: a short critical paper (3-5 pages) that uses a cultural artifact
to illuminate or contextualize one of the primary literary texts. Students may
investigate historical documents that are mentioned in the scholarship we have
been reading, or explore digital and archival resources such as:
 The Holinshed Project
 Early English Books Online
 An entry from Hakluyt’s Principle Navigations
 Stanford Special Collections
 William Shakespeare in Quarto (British Library website)
 Ryhiner Map Collection (University of Bern)
 Race in Early Modern England: A Documentary Companion by
Jonathan Burton and Ania Loomba

Final paper: a mid-size analytical essay (12-15 pages) that answers, with the help
of scholarly and historical sources, a question raised by the student about one of
the assigned literary texts. Students are encouraged to develop their final paper
topic out of an observation recorded in the close-reading or primary source
papers, and class time will be devoted to turning these initial observations into
appropriately sized research questions.
Films:
The course screens films that offer modernized views of our historical texts and
questions. If a student is unable to attend class on the screening days, he or she is
responsible for checking out the film from Green Library course reserves and viewing it
in time for class discussion. The films are:
1. Othello (1952), directed by Orson Welles
2. Captain Phillips (2013), directed by Paul Greengrass
Learning Goals
Skills: The assignments in this course will strengthen three major skills: 1) close textual
analysis; 2) the exploration primary sources and cultural artifacts in literary criticism; 3)
the careful incorporation of scholarly and historical material into an argument about a
literary text. The course will focus on developing research questions out of smaller
observations made earlier in the quarter, and making transparent the process that literary
scholars undertake to move from texts to questions to critical arguments.
Content: Students should begin to understand the Renaissance Mediterranean in its
historical context by engaging with cultural artifacts alongside literary texts. At the same
time, major course questions will challenge students to understand the Renaissance as an
era not unlike our own, in which increased social and global mobility resulted in cultural
confrontations and challenged expectations of class, gender, religion, and race.
Attendance and Participation:
Because the class is small and participatory in nature, attendance is essential. Your ability
to complete in-class writing assignments is integral to your participation grade. If you
must miss a class for religious holidays, medical reasons, or valid University-related
activities (such as varsity athletic competitions), you must let the instructor know as far in
advance as possible to arrange the make-up of any missed work. In the event of a sudden
illness or family emergency, contact the instructor as soon as possible to notify her of the
situation. It is always the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor of absences and
to inquire promptly about opportunities to make up missed work.
Full credit for participation will not be granted solely on the grounds of good attendance,
but must include active and regular participation in the discussions, writing exercises, and
workshops taking place in the classroom.
Deadlines and Late Papers:
Legitimate requests for extensions will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and should
be submitted at least 48 hours before the assignment’s deadline. Late papers will be
penalized 1/3 of a letter grade per day. For example, a strong paper that is submitted on
time may receive the grade of an A-. The same paper, submitted a day late in draft and
one day late in final form would receive a B.
Grades:
In determining your course grade, assignments will be weighted as follows:
First Close Reading Paper/Participation
Second Close Reading Paper
Primary Source Paper
Annotated Bibliography
Final Paper
15%
15%
20%
10%
40%
We’ll discuss evaluation criteria and your personal writing goals throughout the quarter.
Below, however, are general grading guidelines that apply across assignments:
A range: The submitted work is outstanding in form and content. It is original, or
it expands in a new way on ideas presented in the course. The evidence presented
in support of the claims is carefully chosen and fully considered. The analysis or
interpretation is not only unified and coherent, but also complex and nuanced.
B range: The submitted work meets the requirements for the assignment, is clear
and coherent and presents evidence in support of its points. It shows
comprehension of the material and manifests critical thinking about the issues
raised in the course. It does not demonstrate the complexity, the insight, or the
integrated structure of A-range work.
C range: The submitted work has some, but not all of the basic components
required; for example, it may offer an argument but it presents no evidence to
support the argument; or it may repeat concepts presented in seminars without
demonstrating understanding or expanding on them.
D range or below: The submitted work lacks more than one of the basic required
components.
Students with Disabilities:
Students with Documented Disabilities: Students who may need an academic
accommodation based on the impact of a disability must initiate the request with the
Office of Accessible Education (OAE). Professional staff will evaluate the request with
required documentation, recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an
Accommodation Letter for faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is
made. Students should contact the OAE as soon as possible since timely notice is needed
to coordinate accommodations. The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk (phone: 7231066, URL: http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/oae).
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism:
Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with and following the University’s
Honor Code (http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/communitystandards/policy/honor-code).
Violations of the Honor Code, even when unintentional, constitute serious offenses that
are subject to action by the Stanford Office of Community Standards. Violations of the
Honor Code include but are not limited to receiving or giving unpermitted aid in class
work, unpermitted collaboration, representing someone else’s work as your own, and
plagiarism. The Office of Community Standards defines plagiarism as “the use, without
giving reasonable and appropriate credit to or acknowledging the author or source, of
another person's original work, whether such work is made up of code, formulas, ideas,
language, research, strategies, writing or other form(s).” If you are not sure about whether
something constitutes plagiarism, consult your instructor. See also for detailed examples:
Lunsford, Andrea. Easy Writer. 3rd ed. Bedford: St. Martins Press, 2006. 187, 190-192.
Weekly Syllabus
Week 1
January 6 (T):
January 8 (Th):
Week 2
January 13 (T):
January 15 (Th):
Week 3
January 20 (T):
January 22 (Th):
Week 4
January 27 (T):
January 29 (Th):
Week 5
February 3 (T):
February 5 (Th):
Week 6
February 10 (T):
February 12 (Th):
Week 7
February 17 (T):
February 19 (Th):
Week 8
February 24 (T):
February 26 (Th):
Week 9
March 3 (T):
March 5 (Th):
Introduction
Othello
Othello: Ania Loomba, “Othello and the Racial Question”
(Coursework)
Othello: Edward Said, selections from Orientalism (Coursework)
Film: Othello, directed by and starring Orson Welles (1952)
~ Close Reading Paper Due ~
Responding to Shakespeare, Welles, Said, and Loomba
The Jew of Malta
The Jew of Malta: read Stephen Greenblatt, “Introduction” and
“Marlowe and the Will to Absolute Play”, from Renaissance SelfFashioning (Coursework)
The Jew of Malta: Machiavelli, selections from The Prince.
~ Close Reading Paper Due ~
Responding to Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Greenblatt
The Renegado
The Renegado: Richard Hakluyt, brief selections from Principle
Navigations (Coursework)
Film: “Captain Phillips” directed by Paul Greengrass (2014)
Responding to Shakespeare, Massinger, and Greengrass
~ Primary Source Paper Due ~
The Fair Maid of the West
The Fair Maid of the West
~ Annotated Bibliography Due ~
Final Paper Discussions
Final Paper workshops: Barbara Fuchs, “Faithless Empires:
Pirates, Renegadoes, and the English Nation” (Coursework)
Week 10
March 10 (T):
March 12 (Th):
Final Paper workshops
Final Paper workshops
FINAL PAPER DUE: March 18, 2015 by 5:00pm (via email beckman1@stanford.edu)