Race, Gender, and Class in Renaissance Drama
3
3 there moments when the claim is either reversed or undermined; finally, have you understood the argument. While reading you will also want to pay special attention to how language is used and to make note of any sections that are unclear to you. Always remember to circle and look up any unfamiliar vocabulary.
Assignments:
Writing assignments are due on the due date. The assignments for this course are as follows:
2 close reading papers (3pp)
: The aim of this paper is to close read a portion of one of our primary texts. Close reading is a tool that literary scholars use to analyze and interpret a text. The way a passage is composed, the choice of words used by an author, certain images and figurative language, are all codes that help us decipher a text and arrive at meaning. You will receive a handout explaining how to close read more fully, and we will do a close reading in class, so that you gain familiarity with this necessary skill.
10 minute presentation:
You will be responsible for leading discussion one time during the semester. You will format your discussion using one of the following “sign-posts”: textual analysis (choose a passage and analyze it for / with the class), out on a limb interpretation (grounding your interpretation in the text, see how far you can push your analytical skills, or overall interpretation (offer some conclusions you’ve come to about the text or your topic). You will end your presentation by considering some questions that you have about the text that you haven’t yet been able to answer. The presentation will be 10 minutes long, so please use your time wisely. You should also post your questions in the Forum of our Sakai site, so that students can access them before your presentation.
Blog posts:
You will be required to write a blog post every other week on either a literary or theoretical work that we will have read. Blogs require a different kind of writing: informal perhaps, but content rich. Blogs are also the place for you to be able to articulate interpretations of reactions and don’t require the use of outside evidence. This is the space for you to work out your opinions and reactions to our readings. They are also public to your peers in the course, so write with that audience in mind. Successful blog posts are at least 300 words in length.
Historical project:
For this assignment, you will explore an issue that arises in one of the plays, cross-dressing in
The Roaring Girl
, for example, and look for primary documents from the 16
th
and 17
th
centuries, either on EEBO or in Special Collections at Honnold Mudd Library. Looking at these documents in tandem with the play, write a short (4-5pp) essay in which you introduce your source, explain its arguments, and show how those are challenged or reinforced in the play. This assignment will expose you to some of the characteristics of early modern printed materials as well as show how literary cultural production might be rooted in the moment of its creation. More specific instruction and format will follow.
Final research paper (7pp):
This is a collaborative group writing assignment. Choosing one of the dramatic texts, groups will write their own introduction to the text using the theoretical readings as interpretive lenses. More information about this assignment will be circulated closer to the due date.
Grading:
Your course grade will be determined as follows: