How did Shakespeare become a global phenomenon? How have his works historically been enmeshed in colonial projects, empire-building, political 'soft power', and the imposition and exploitation of racial stereotypes and biases? How has Shakespeare more recently been used to promote cultural diplomacy, international collaboration, the circulation of post-colonial discourses, and the proliferation of critical race studies? And how did Shakespeare's plays themselves provide the origin-points for their later appropriation in socio-cultural figurations of race, religion, ethnicity and cross-national diplomatic exchanges?
This module takes you on a global journey through the worlds and races conjured by Shakespeare in his works, as well as the 'Shakespeares' created in and owned by numerous countries into the modern age. The first part of the module will explore Shakespeare's representation of differing nations and ethnicities in some of his best-loved plays, throwing a spot-light on the delineation of national spaces, the peoples who inhabit them, the stories told about them, and the prejudices these narratives both reflected and fuelled. The second part will focus on how practitioners, directors and adapters from a varied range of countries and rich cultural traditions have appropriated, re-interpreted and fashioned their own unique Shakespeares, sometimes as responses to colonial pressures and injustices, and at other times as reactions to war, civil unrest, political oppression, and crises of national identity in tumultuous periods. Join us as we visit Shakespeare's own worlds and the worlds that have made their own Shakespeares.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Evaluate themes such as race, ethnicity, religion, and histories of prejudice in Shakespeare's works, and the uses of Shakespeare in such areas as adaptation studies, colonial and post-colonial discourses, cultural diplomacy, critical race studies, and the expression of national identities.
Cultivate critical close-reading skills of Shakespeare's works which facilitate the analysis of the racially-inflected and ethnically-codified language and imagery of those works.
Implement performance analysis skills which facilitate a greater understanding of adaptations and cross-cultural appropriations of Shakespeare's works across a range of countries and cultures, with a sensitivity towards the social, political, aesthetic and historical contexts which informed these.
Demonstrate use of relevant primary and secondary historical-contextual sources from numerous archives, resources and institutions germane to themes such as race, travel, exploration, colonial and post-colonial histories, cultural diplomacy, and international adaptations of Shakespeare's works.
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
Assessment:
2,000-word essay (50%) 2,000-word essay (50%)
Reassessment:
Failed component only 2,000-word essay (50%) 2,000-word essay (50%)
