AJ25051 Shakespeare and American Literature

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2015
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. Jeffrey Alan Smith, M.A., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Thursday 9:10–10:45 J21
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 18 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/18, only registered: 0/18, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/18
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course will examine the “cultural reception” of Shakespeare in America, as well as some of Shakespeare’s best-known plays, alongside significant American literary works (and some “popular” works) that are “Shakespearean” in character or that reflect Shakespeare’s influence. Students who successfully complete the course will be better able to analyze works of the imagination and will increase their ability to understand and explain Shakespeare, American literature and culture, and artistic influences and how they operate.
Syllabus
  • WEEK 1 (1 October): INTRODUCTION: SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICA
  • WEEK 2 (15 October): THE TEMPEST
  • READ (as posted): Shakespeare in America, Forward & Introduction; Tsuneyama, "The Americanization of Shakespeare"; Twain, excerpts from "Is Shakespeare Dead?" and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Shakespeare, The Tempest
  • WEEK 3 (22 October): THE TEMPEST AND AMERICAN ROMANCE
  • READ (as posted): Pocahontas: The Historical Record; Barnes, The Forest Princess (sections indicated); Cooke, My Lady Pokahontas (chapters indicated); Mackaye, Caliban by the Yellow Sands (posted excerpts)
  • VIEW: Forbidden Planet
  • WEEK 4 (12 November): KING LEAR AND AMERICAN TRAGEDY
  • READ: Shakespeare, King Lear; Melville, Moby-Dick (posted chapters); Smiley, A Thousand Acres (posted excerpts); Addams, "A Modern Lear"
  • VIEW: Long Day's Journey Into Night; A Thousand Acres; Moby-Dick (recommended)
  • WEEK 5 (26 November): SHAKESPEARE IN PRODUCTION: A CASE STUDY
  • READ: Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • VIEW: Get Over It; Were the World Mine
  • WEEK 6 (10 December): Exam, first sitting
Literature
    required literature
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. The tempest. Edited by Virginia Mason Vaughan - Alden T. Vaughan. Reprinted. London: Thomson Learning, 2001, xx, 366. ISBN 1903436087. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. King Lear. Edited by R. A. Foakes. [S.l.]: Thomas Nelson, 1997, xvii, 437. ISBN 017443460X. info
  • O'NEILL, Eugene Gladstone. Long day's journey into night (Obsaž.) : Three american plays. info
  • MELVILLE, Herman. Moby Dick or The White Whale. New York: Signet Classic, 543 s. info
  • LEVINE, Lawrence W. and William E. MASSEY. Highbrow/lowbrow : the emergency of cultural hierarchy in America : the William E. Massey Sr. lectures in the history of civilization, 1986. 1st Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988, xii, 306 s. ISBN 0-674-39076-8. info
  • Books: Bristol, Shakespeare's America / America’s Shakespeare; Sturgess, Shakespeare & American Nation; Folger Library, Shakespeare in American Life; Barnes, The Forest Princess (play); Films: Thousand Acres, Yiddish King Lear, Forbidden Planet
    recommended literature
  • SMILEY, Jane. A thousand acres. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1992, 371 s. ISBN 0-449-90748-1. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, readings, film viewings, class discussion
Assessment methods
Final exam, 100%. Re-sit would be a written essay.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
http://tinyurl.com/KAAShakespeare
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2013.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2015/AJ25051