Explorations in Shakespeare

Office hours: Thurs: 5.00-5.30, Friday 8.30-9.00, (other days TBA) and by appointment

The following syllabus is subject to change. The definitive schedule and policies will be maintained on-line through my home page: http://www.dancetheatre.uncc.edu/ajhartle/

This course will devote the semester to the analysis of one of Shakespeare’s masterworks, considering the play as a textual and theatrical entity from which we will generate several kinds of analytical writing. The course was designed for senior Theatre and English majors who already have substantial college-level experience in the study and performance of Shakespeare.

This syllabus contains the policies and expectations I have established for the course, so you should read the entire syllabus carefully before continuing in this class. These policies and expectations are intended to create a productive learning atmosphere for all students. Unless you are prepared to abide by these policies and expectations, you risk losing the opportunity to participate further in the course.

Please do not expect the following rules to be bent or broken except in the most extraordinary and tragic of circumstances (in which category, temperamental cars, damaged or capricious computer equipment, belligerent room mates, non-life threatening ailments, over indulgence of any kind, or being busy or “stressed out” because of other classes/activities, do not qualify).

As a writing intensive course this class will satisfy the following requirements:

1. Writing should be considered an integral, on-going part of the course; thus, opportunities for writing must be frequent and occur throughout the course to improve students writing rather than being concentrated in part of the course.

2. Helping students learn to write and to improve their writing, in a manner appropriate to the subject or discipline, will be central to the course’s aim.

3. A substantial percentage of the course activity should be devoted to writing, including both out-of-class and in-class time (perhaps 20% or more).

4. A substantial and clearly understood part of the course grade will be based on writing performance, including the production of finished papers in clear, correct, well-organized prose, rather than a listing of items, the filling-in of a report form, or similar exercises.

5. There should be opportunity for individual attention, when needed, between instructor and student; thus, class size is an important consideration and should not exceed 25 students. The instructor must have opportunities to provide whatever individual instruction is necessary.

6. Responsibility for instruction, supervision, and evaluation rests with the instructor and should not be delegated.

7. Students should be given the opportunity to revise for a grade at least some of their writing assignments.

8. Faculty will provide students with a written explanation of their criteria for evaluating student writing*

*Specifics for individual assignments are listed below and will be expanded upon when assignment draws near. All papers should be composed of rigorous, specific, thesis-driven, analytical and argumentative prose (unless otherwise specified) following standard American usage for grammar, punctuation, word choice and spelling. Use MLA guidelines for all style issues including quotation and citation. Length parameters and research requirements will be specified for each paper and should be adhered to closely.

All have been ordered through the school book store in specific editions. If you wish to use a different edition you must show it to me first. All are different and many (esp. the cheaper, older editions, or complete works volumes based on very old editions which are usually 100 years old in order for the present publisher to sidestep copyright) are inadequate, inaccurate or unnecessarily difficult to use.

We will not be assigning class time to the discussion of every page of every book assigned. Much of what we don’t specifically deal with, however, will underlie the way we approach the plays throughout the semester and you should thus read them all and keep them to hand as references.

If you do not already have a college level writing handbook (such as the MLA or St. Martin’s Handbooks), you should be sure to have access to one: this will be your reference for grammar, punctuation, structure and citation, all of which should be modeled on MLA guidelines.

Be sure to HAVE READ any text assigned for class PRIOR to our meeting. Failure to stay up with the reading (and that means having read it thoughtfully, attentively and critically so that you have things to say about it) renders you present only in body and I will thus mark you absent. You cannot possibly grasp the material effectively if you rely on other people’s discussion of it in the classroom.

Hamlet: The Texts Of 1603 And 1623: Third Series (Arden Shakespeare) (Paperback)

Hamlet (Shakespeare in Performance) (Paperback)

Hamlet (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series) (Paperback)

The Spanish Tragedy (New Mermaids) (Paperback)

Attendance at all classes (including drafting/editing sessions) is mandatory. A class like this depends on active participation for its success. You are permitted two excused absences after which you will merely be considered absent regardless of the validity of your excuse unless the circumstances are extraordinary (e.g. a documented death in the family). You should thus save your absences for genuine emergencies. For each absence beyond the two allowed, you will lose one letter of your participation grade. You can fail the participation portion by any combination of absences, tardiness (see below) unpreparedness (see above), and failing to be actively engaged in class discussion and activities. Mere attendance is not enough to pass this portion of your grade.

For classes marked as drafting/editing sessions you should bring whatever you need to work productively on your writing (including a laptop computer if necessary). You will not be permitted to go elsewhere to write.

Tardiness is defined as not being present when class begins. You will be considered tardy if you arrive up to 10 minutes late unless a valid excuse has been submitted in advance of the class. Two tardies equal one absence. If you are more than 10 minutes late you will be considered absent.

If your absences (including tardies and unpreparedness) totals 20% or more of the total class time for the semester, you will automatically fail the course. Since presence in class is vital to a course like this, even legitimate excuses can not compensate for your not being present.

I will conduct this class in an atmosphere of mutual respect. I encourage your active participation in class discussions. Each of us may have strongly differing opinions on the various topics of class discussions. The conflict of ideas is encouraged and welcome. The orderly questioning of the ideas of others, including mine, is similarly welcome. However, I will exercise my responsibility to manage the discussions so that ideas and argument can proceed in an orderly fashion. You should expect that if your conduct during class discussions seriously disrupts the atmosphere of mutual respect I expect in this class, you will not be permitted to participate further.

If I am late in arriving to class, you must wait a full 20 minutes after the start of class before you may leave without being counted absent, or you must follow any written instructions I may give you about my anticipated tardiness.

Students in this course seeking accommodations to disabilities must first consult with the Office of Disability Services and follow the instructions of that office for obtaining accommodations

All students are required to abide by the UNC Charlotte Sexual Harassment Policy (http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-61.html) and the policy on Responsible Use of University Computing and Electronic Communication Resources (http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-66.html). Sexual harassment, as defined in the UNC Charlotte Sexual Harassment Policy, is prohibited, even when carried out through computers or other electronic communications systems, including course-based chat rooms or message boards.

I will also make use of the e-mail lists provided through the university. It is imperative that you check this e-mail address regularly (at least once a day) in order to stay up to date with announcements, instructions etc. Failure to complete required work according to guidelines, deadlines etc. which were sent to you because you did not get the message in time will not be considered an adequate excuse. If you don’t use the e-mail address the school has on file for you, you need to start doing so.

As with regular checking of your e-mail account, you are responsible for communicating directly with me if you have problems or issues which cause you to be behind, delayed or in any way unprepared for class or related assignments. E-mail is the best way of reaching me. That said, e-mail can be temperamental, so you should always check back with me to ensure I received what you sent if you have not had some kind of receipt from me within 12 hours of sending. This is particularly important where late papers are concerned. You will not be given credit for papers you thought you had sent but which never reached me.

Because writing is integral to this course, you should assign plenty of time to all papers and plan ahead so that you do not get behind. This is particularly true of paper 6 which will require a good deal of work ahead of time. It is never too early to think what this research paper will centre on.

All papers should be turned in on the day specified on the syllabus. Unless there are extraordinary extenuating circumstances, late papers will be penalized at the rate of one entire letter grade per day of lateness. I will accept late papers up to 5 days late (that 5 days includes weekends, holidays, and the day the paper was due). Papers reduced to a failing grade which are turned in within those 5 days will receive an F like any other failing work, thus getting partial (but not passing) credit. Papers turned in after the late period is over will receive a zero.

Late papers should be e-mailed to me as Word attachments so I have a clear sense of exactly when they came in, with hard copies left in my Theatre dept mail box as soon after as is possible. See above (‘Communication’) for further details about electronic submissions.

All papers must be adequately documented according to MLA style, with parenthetical citation and full works cited page. If you are unsure how to do this, please review the MLA handbook or review an online guide to it such as that at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

This class contains both midterm and final exams which will consist of both short answers and essays. They will test your knowledge of the plays, their historical contexts and other matters raised in class. Anything discussed during a class may appear on the test and you should get into the habit of good note taking.

Paper 1: Analyze Q1’s “To be or not to be” speech in terms of its differences from the equivalent speech in F. (4 pages) Optionally revisable (turn in new and old versions together one week after receiving the original graded version).* 10%

Paper 2: on Spanish Tragedy. (4 pages) Write a thesis driven, analytical essay on the play, centering on a particular idea or issue which you can argue through close reference to the text. You might look at repeating images, political ideas, issues of plot or structure etc. Do not include external research, relying instead on your interaction with the play text. Do not summarize the plot except where essential to make a point. Optionally revisable (turn in new and old versions together one week after receiving the original graded version).* 10%

Paper 7: Final exam: in class essay on Hamlet in response to one of 4 general questions (open book). 15%

* Revisable papers will result in an average which will be recorded as the grade for the assignment. Note that it is possible for a revised grade to be lower than the original if the rewrite is done poorly.

Class Schedule: note that this schedule is subject to change and will be maintained “live” on my website

First day of classes	August 24
Labor Day - University Closed	September 7
Unsatisfactory grades due by 5:00pm	October 9
Student Recess - no classes	October 12-13
Last day to withdraw from a course with a 'W' grade (and retain other courses)	November 2
Deadline to withdraw from all courses with 'W' grade	November 23
Thanksgiving Break - no classes	November 25-28
University Closed	November 26-27
Last day of classes	December 9
Reading Day	December 10
Final Examinations	December 11-18
Grades due by noon	December 21