ENG212 Engelskspråkleg litteratur og kultur
ENG252 Bacheloroppgåve i engelskspråkleg litteratur og
kultur
Spring 2006
Alternative I: Making Shakespeare: Text, Image, Performance
(Stuart Sillars)
The plays of Shakespeare may appear to be one of the most constant elements of
English literature and culture, but in practice they are far from stable or continuous.
The texts themselves are edited from a number of sources that often conflict in detail;
their interpretation by critics, artists and composers has revealed a great range of
readings; and performance on the stage in adapted form and in film has always
reflected the taste of the period and the individual performer or director.
Looking in detail at four plays, this course will examine the processes involved in all
these stages, and their place within academic criticism. It will begin with a series of
discussions of the processes involved by which the Shakespearean text is constructed
and produced. The next stage will be a discussion of the problems of textual editing,
exploring some of the principles that have guided them, and the effects that the
process has on reading and performance. The course will then consider the importance
of visual criticism – painting, illustrated editions and photography – in the critical
experience of the plays. Issues of performance will then be explored in the light of
these earlier forces.
The major part of the course will consist of an exploration of these forces at work in
key plays of Shakespeare, considering textual issues, paintings and illustrations,
critical readings and performances. Extensive use will be made of film and video
versions.
The plays for detailed consideration will be:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Richard III
Othello
The Tempest
Students will be expected to contribute by
 introducing the discussion in at least one seminar
 preparing key texts as directed
 playing a full part in the seminar discussion
 attending screenings of films of the plays under discussion, at times to be
arranged after discussion.
Assessment will follow the order prescribed for this level of course. Those taking the
course at Master’s level will be expected to complete an extensive body of critical
reading and take a separate exam.
Making Shakespeare: Text, Image, Performance
A Primary texts
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Ed Harold Brooks Arden Shakespeare
OR Ed R. A. Foakes, new Cambridge Shakespeare,
Cambridge University Press
OR Ed Peter Holland, Oxford Shakespeare
Richard III
Othello
Ed Antony Hammond, Arden Shakespeare
OR Ed Janis Lull, New Cambridge Shakespeare
OR Ed John Jowett, Oxford Shakespeare
Ed E.A.G. Honigmana, Arden Shakespeare
OR Ed Norman Saunders, New Cambridge Shakespeare
The Tempest Ed Vaughan and Vaughan, Arden Shakespeare
OR Ed Sherman, Norton
OR Ed David Lindley, New Cambridge Shakespeare
I suggest that you buy each play in a different edition, so that comparative discussions
can take place. Please DO NOT buy cheaper, single volumes of the Collected Works
– they are textually unreliable, contain no notes or introductions, and are not suitable
for serious study. If you want a collected edition, I’d suggest The Norton
Shakespeare.
B Critical texts
Palfrey, Simon
Doing Shakespeare Arden Shakespeare/ Thomson Learning
Boyce, Charles
The Wordsworth Dictionary of Shakespeare Wordsworth
Editions
De Grazia, M and Wells, S, ed The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare
Wells, S and Stanton, S, ed
The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage
Jackson, R, ed
The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film
Sillars, Stuart
Painting Shakespeare: The Artist as Critic, 1720-1820
(This is very expensive, and I don’t expect you to buy it – the library should have it!)
C For 300 level, the following are also required
Kastan, David Scott
The Blackwell Companion to Shakespeare
NB Despite the similarity of title, this is NOT the same as the Cambridge one: it has
longer essays with different concerns, and the title is quite misleading.
Kastan, David Scott
Vickers, Brian
Starks, L and Lehmann, C. ed
Shakespeare after Theory
Appropriating Shakespeare
The Reel Shakespeare: Alternative Cinema
And Theory
Alternative II: Reading Across Cultures: Excursions into Recent
American Writings
(Øyunn Hestetun)
The United States is often referred to as a Nation of Immigrants. Yet when we look
into the complex history behind the American multicultural society of today, the
picture is complicated, for instance, by the history of colonization and expansionism,
and by the infamous institution of slavery. In this course we will study texts by
writers representing immigrant groups alongside texts by Native American and
African American writers.
While the texts on the syllabus have gained critical acclaim for their literary qualities,
an important focus for this course will be to examine them with attention to how they,
on the one hand, are cultural representations, produced by culture, and on the other
hand, how narrative, in its own way, represents a cultural act. Considering the literary
text as a site of cross-cultural mediation will enable us to focus on ethical and
political implications of reading and interpretation across cultural differences.
In the course of our study we will address questions such as the following: How are
personal and communal identities constructed in and through narrative? How are
individual and collective hi/stories constructed, conveyed, contested, and revised in
fictional – and autobiographical – narratives? What futures do these texts envision?
To what extent do they represent a mix of the conventions of Western literary genres
(such as the novel) and “Other” generic forms (such as legends, myths or
storytelling)? What interpretive strategies are called for in reading across cultures?
1. Required Reading: Primary Texts
Erdrich, Louise. Tracks (1988)
Hoffman, Eva. Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language (1989)
Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior (1975)
Momaday, N. Scott. House Made of Dawn. (1968)
Morrison, Toni. Beloved (1987)
Naylor, Gloria. The Women of Brewster Place (1982)
2. Required Reading: Criticism and Theory
Helena Grice, Candida Hepworth, Maria Lauret, and Martin Padget. Beginning
Ethnic American Literature. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2001.
A selection of articles and excerpts from books (to be specified in the course of
the semester).
Additional Required Reading for 300-Level Students (ENG307)
James, Edward P. The Known World (2003)
Mukherjee, Bharati. Jasmine (1989)
Welch, James. Fools Crow (1986)