Spring 2008
English 714: Studies in Shakespeare: Authority and the Family
Professor Michelle Dowd
T 6:30-9:20
MHRA 2206
Office: MHRA 3123
Office Hours: TR 11:00-12:30 and by appt.
Office Phone: 334-5384
mmdowd@uncg.edu
Course Description and Objectives:
In this seminar, we will focus on ten plays by Shakespeare that span the course of his dramatic career and that
engage with the problem of authority and the family in early modern England. To what extent is family
governance linked to theories of kingship in these plays? How does drama, as a performative medium,
expose and negotiate the problems of order within the state and the family? What forms of authority are
available for women, servants, and other subordinates either at court or at home? We will read these plays
within the context of Renaissance theatrical and social history in addition to considering some of the most
influential criticism on Shakespeare written in recent decades.
Student Learning Goals:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
 Demonstrate familiarity with plays written throughout Shakespeare’s career
 Analyze the various social, historical, and literary contexts in which these plays were written
 Critically evaluate secondary sources on Shakespearean drama
 Analyze the ways in which Shakespeare’s plays engage with the problem of state and familial
authority in early modern England
 Develop and hone critical writing skills, research methods, and the skills of oral communication
Required Texts:
The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. B. Evans. 2nd Ed. Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Other modern editions of the
plays (such as Norton, Oxford, Arden, and Penguin) are acceptable as long as they have sufficient
notes and introductory material. Check with me if you are unsure about your edition.
Secondary readings on e-reserve (ER) and online via Jackson Library (O)
Recommended Text:
The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. Ed. Russ McDonald. 2nd Ed. Bedford, 2001.
Course Requirements:
 Weekly discussion points and active participation
 Close reading paper
 Two oral presentations
 Final research paper or project, with a preliminary abstract and annotated bibliography
Schedule of Readings and Assignments:
Jan. 15:
Introduction
Jan. 22:
Susan Amussen, “Political Households and Domestic Politics: Family and Society in Early
Modern Thought” (ER)
Norman Jones, “The Politics of Renaissance England” (ER)
Russ McDonald, “Performances, Playhouses, and Players” (ER)
Studies in Shakespeare Syllabus, Spring 2008- 2
Steven Mullaney, “Civic Rites, City Sites: The Place of the Stage” (ER)
Jan. 29:
The Taming of the Shrew
Lynda Boose. “Scolding Brides and Bridling Scolds: Taming the Woman’s Unruly Member.”
Shakespeare Quarterly 42.2 (1991): 179-213. (O)
Natasha Korda, “Household Kates: Domesticating Commodities in The Taming of the Shrew,”
Shakespeare Quarterly 47.2 (1996): 110-131. (O)
Feb. 5:
Henry IV, Part I
David Scott Kastan, “‘The king hath many marching in his Coats,’ or, What Did You Do in
the War, Daddy?” (ER)
Stephen Greenblatt, “Invisible Bullets: Renaissance Authority and its Subversion, Henry IV
and Henry V” (ER)
Feb. 12:
Henry V
Jean E. Howard and Phyllis Rackin, “Henry V” (ER)
Norman Rabkin, “Rabbits, Ducks, and Henry V,” Shakespeare Quarterly 28.3 (1977): 279-296.
(O)
Feb. 19:
Measure for Measure
Jonathan Dollimore, “Transgression and Surveillance in Measure for Measure” (ER)
Leah Marcus, “London in Measure for Measure” (ER)
Feb. 26:
Macbeth
Rebecca W. Bushnell, “Tyranny and Effeminacy in Early Modern England” (ER)
Alan Sinfield, “Macbeth: History, Ideology, and Intellectuals” (ER)
CLOSE READING PAPERS DUE
Mar. 4:
Othello
Michael Neill, “‘Unproper Beds’: Race, Adultery, and the Hideous in Othello,” Shakespeare
Quarterly 40.4 (1989): 383-412. (O)
Lena Cowen Orlin, “Desdemona’s Disposition” (ER)
Mar. 11:
Spring Break. No class.
Mar. 18:
King Lear
Alexander Leggatt, “King Lear: We Have No Such Daughter” (ER)
Richard Strier, “Faithful Servants: Shakespeare’s Praise of Disobedience” (ER)
Mar. 25:
Antony and Cleopatra
Carol Cook, “The Fatal Cleopatra” (ER)
Katherine Eggert, “The Late Queen of Famous Memory: Nostalgic Form in Antony and
Cleopatra and The Winter’s Tale” (ER)
ABSTRACT AND ANOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
Apr. 1:
The Winter’s Tale
Janet Adelman, “Masculine Authority and the Maternal Body in The Winter’s Tale” (ER)
Mark Fortier, “Married with Children: The Winter’s Tale and Social History; or, Infanticide in
Earlier Seventeenth-Century England,” Modern Language Quarterly 57.4 (1996): 579-603. (O)
Apr. 8:
The Tempest
Studies in Shakespeare Syllabus, Spring 2008- 3
Paul Brown, “‘This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine’: The Tempest and the Discourse of
Colonialism” (ER)
David Scott Kastan, “‘The Duke of Milan and his Brave Son’: Old Histories and New in the
Tempest” (ER)
Apr. 15:
Seminar Presentations
Apr. 22:
Seminar Presentations
Apr. 29:
Dinner at Michelle Dowd’s house
Friday, May 2: SEMINAR PAPERS DUE by NOON
Grading:
Close Reading Paper:
Oral Presentations: (#1=10%, #2=5%)
Discussion Points and Class Participation:
Seminar Paper
15%
15%
20%
50%
Attendance and Participation: Consistent attendance and thoughtful class participation are essential to
your success in this course. I expect you to attend every class meeting, to arrive on time, and to participate
actively in our discussions. Unexcused absences will negatively affect your course grade. If you miss three
classes for any reason, you will be dropped from the course. In order to participate fully, you will need to
come to class prepared – that is, having read the material, having thought about it critically, and having
brought it with you. I expect you to come to class with ideas about our readings and prepared to share your
questions, confusions, difficulties, and speculations with the class. I will be looking for enthusiastic and
thoughtful discussion of this material. Since this is a graduate seminar, it is your role and responsibility to
produce active and informed discussion at every class meeting. If you do not contribute substantively to class
discussion each week, I will assume that you have not read the material. In cases of adverse weather, classes
will meet unless the Chancellor closes the University.
Weekly Discussion Points: Each week you will need to bring to class three written “discussion points” to
share with the class. These should consist of specific observations about the play assigned for that week that
you want to discuss more fully with your classmates. In addition, you need to choose one passage from that
week’s play that you wish to discuss or comment upon. This passage may tie into one of your discussion
points, or it may simply be a passage that you find fascinating or difficult. These comments will be handed in,
but will not receive formal grades; I will simply record that you have completed them. However, these
comments and passages will form the basis for our class discussions and, thus, will factor into your final
participation grade for the seminar.
Close Reading Paper: You will write one paper that presents a careful close-reading of a passage or scene
from one of the first 5 plays on our syllabus (The Taming of the Shrew, 1 Henry IV, Henry V, Measure for Measure
or Macbeth). You are free to choose the topic, but papers should demonstrate thoughtful attention to the
language and dramatic structure of the play and should articulate a convincing argument.
Oral Presentations: During the semester you will be responsible for two oral presentations. The first will
be a 20-30 minute presentation on one of the secondary readings on our syllabus. You will offer a critical
evaluation of your assigned essay to your peers, both analyzing the essay on its own terms and discussing how
it facilitates our understanding of the play in question. The second will be a presentation of your seminar
paper at the end of the semester, as scheduled on the syllabus. You will deliver a short (10 minute) version of
your essay or project to your classmates, who will then respond to your presentation with comments,
questions, and suggestions.
Studies in Shakespeare Syllabus, Spring 2008- 4
Seminar Paper or Project: For your final project, you may choose to do one of the following assignments.
If you are a Ph.D. student, I strongly suggest that you choose Option 1.
1. Write a 15-18 page seminar paper on a topic of your choice. The paper must make an argument that is
supported with textual evidence, and it must contribute to a larger scholarly conversation (which means that
you must use relevant secondary sources).
2. Create a six-week unit for either a high school or college course that is focused on Shakespearean drama
and organized around a specific theme of your choice. Your paper must include a syllabus, a course
description, a rationale for your text selection and organization, and a description of how you would teach the
materials you have selected. The course description, rationale, and discussion of pedagogy should draw on
recent scholarship on Shakespeare.
Whichever option you choose, you will also be responsible for producing an abstract and annotated
bibliography of your final project, due in class on March 25.
Academic Integrity: Plagiarism—copying or using another’s work without proper acknowledgement—is a
serious academic offense that will not be tolerated in this class. I expect every student to abide by the
principles of the Academic Integrity Policy, which appears in the Student Handbook. Students will need to
sign the Academic Integrity Pledge on all major work. When you use sources such as books, web pages,
articles, or primary documents in your writing, you must identify them to your reader. If you quote a source
directly, you must put the borrowed material in quotation marks and include a proper citation. If you take an
idea from another source but put it in your own words (i.e. paraphrase it), you must still give proper credit to
the source. Please use MLA style documentation to document any sources used in written work. If you
plagiarize, the work in question will receive an F (recorded numerically as a 0), you will be reported to the
Dean of Students, and you will risk failing the course. Repeated offenses can cause you to be expelled from
the University. If you are unsure about how to give credit to your sources or have any questions about what
constitutes an act of plagiarism, please ask me!
Technology:
E-mail: Email is the fastest way to contact me, and I will occasionally use e-mail to contact you. All
messages will be sent to UNCG email accounts, so you need to check your UNCG account regularly. You
are required to hand in paper copies of all written work; I will not accept assignments handed in via email or
computer disk.
Blackboard: I have set up a Blackboard website for the course where you can find copies of the syllabus,
assignments, announcements, and useful links. If you are absent, please check Blackboard for any updates or
assignments you may have missed.
Laptops and Cellphones: This is an interactive discussion class, and I expect your engaged attention and
participation. You may not use laptops in this class, except in documented cases of medical need.
Cellphones and other electronic equipment must be turned off at all times.