ENGL W3337 - The History Plays

Institution:

Columbia University in the City of New York

Subject:

Description:

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor. (Seminar). On the London stage of the 1590s, a new theatrical genre emerged: the English history play. Often experimental in form, history plays addressed subjects such as the formation of national identity, the problems of anachronism and nostalgia in representing the past, and the causes of political change. Although the political dimensions of the history play have long been acknowledged, more recent work has considered how this genre engages with issues of embodiment that have been central to early modern scholarship on gender, sexuality, status, and affect. In this seminar, we will read the history plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries with particular attention to the relationship between embodied experience (including that of women, commoners, servants, and criminals) and political agency. We will explore the connections between emotional turmoil and political insight, the significance of everyday life to national history, and the formation of cross-status intimacies between commoners and nobility. Application Instructions: E-mail Professor DiGangi (mmd4@columbia.edu) by noon on Wednesday, November 16th, with the subject heading, "Shakespeare seminar." In your message, include basic information: your name, school, major, year of study, and relevant courses taken, along with a brief statement about why you are interested in taking the course.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.columbia.edu

Phone Number:

(212) 854-1754

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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