ENGLISH 299
Spring Quarter, 2011
Instructor:
Phone:
Mailbox:
Email:
Office Hours:
Office:
Webpage:
Class time:
Room:
Credits:
T. Sean Rody
(206) 546-6983
FOSS Building 5374
srody@shoreline.edu
9-9:20 M-F; 11:30-12:20 MW and by Appointment
1500 Building #1525
http://www.shoreline.edu/seanrody
Arranged
1525
3
COURSE DESCRIPTION: “In-depth survey of seven Shakespeare plays, which may
include The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, Hamlet,
Macbeth, Richard III, and Henry V.”
PREREQUISITES: English 101 or equivalent with instructor’s permission.
REQUIRED BOOKS: Copies of all listed plays.
COURSE ADAPTATIONS: If you need course adaptations or accommodations
because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me,
or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please
inform me as soon as possible.
PLAGIARISM: To borrow other’s ideas and words without proper acknowledgment
is a form of dishonesty known as "plagiarism." To avoid plagiarism you must cite all
quotations, summaries and phrases as well as any facts or ideas which are not
considered common knowledge. If I find a student has plagiarized, I will refer the
matter to the Dean for Humanities, and the student will receive no credit for that
assignment and have no opportunity to receive credit for that assignment.
GRADING:
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Within the first week you may arrange for Pass/No Credit grade otherwise
grade from this class will be numerical.
Anything not turned in on time will not be accepted without a prior
arrangement or a documented emergency.
Your Final Grade will be calculated using this breakdown:
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Essays 75 % (25% each)
Final Examination 25%
The resulting percentage will then be converted using the following scale:
89 3.4
79 2.4
69 1.4
88 3.3
78 2.3
68 1.3
87 3.2
77 2.2
67 1.2
86 3.1
76 2.1
66 1.1
95-100 4.0
85 3.0
75 2.0
65 1.0
94 3.9
84 2.9
74 1.9
64 0.9
93 3.8
83 2.8
73 1.8
63 0.8
92 3.7
82 2.7
72 1.7
62 0.7
91 3.6
81 2.6
71 1.6
61> 0.0
90 3.5
80 2.5
70 1.5
Tentative Schedule
Weeks
Play
Additional Critical
Reading
Assignment
“Critical Literary
Approaches to
Shakespeare”
April 11th -22nd
April 25th - May 6th
Taming of the Shrew
Taming of the Shrew
Handout
Essay
May 9th - 20th
Macbeth
Macbeth Handout
Essay
May 23rd – June 3rd
Henry IV Part 2
Henry IV Handout
Essay
June 6th- 10th
Final Exam
Essay Assignment for all three plays:
The "meaning" of a Shakespearean play can be elusive. His plays have multiple meanings
and work on different levels. Your assignment is to explain meaning in one (or more) of
the plays we have read. The meaning you explain—also called interpretation—should be
plausible and reasonable. To make it plausible and reasonable you will have to put
together an essay that persuades based on evidence supported by the elements of the play.
Be sure not to try to do too much. Use only one (or at the most two) critical approaches.
Depth is better than breadth in literary analysis.
Be sure to consider the following things:
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facts within the plays
language
the elements of a story (plot, point of view, characters, setting, themes,
symbolism, tone and style)
Shakespeare's background, experience, etc.
culture and history of Shakespeare's England
the critical approaches taken to literature (Formalist, Biographical, Historical,
Psychological, Mythological, Sociological, Gender, Reader-Response,
Deconstructionist, Cultural)
your own background, experience, history, and culture
Requirements:
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Typed
3-5 double-spaced pages
Standard, reasonable margins and fonts
Name, class, quarter clearly stated
Cite sources using Modern Language Association (MLA) standards or guidelines
for quoting Shakespeare's plays (see webpage).
Turned in on time
Essay will be evaluated based on the following concepts:
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Completion of requirements
Thoughtfulness (see above)
Standard writing criteria (focus, detail, organization, and clarity)