Some Contemporary Shakespearean Afterlives

2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. In conjunction with an exhibition at the University Art Museum, this course will largely focus on Shakespeare’s “afterlives” since WWII. Although his reputation rests on his work, Shakespeare was invented in the 18th century as something beyond a “mere” playwright. We’ll take a brief look at the start of this phenomenon with the 1623 Folio and David Garrick’s Stratford Jubilee in 1769, then study some recent manifestations in theater, film, fiction, dance, television, comic books, actor autobiographies, and Shakespearean institutions and festivals from many nations and cultures.

Sample reading list:
Stoppard and Norman, Shakespeare in Love
Akira Kurosawa, Throne of Blood
Vishal Bhardwaj, Omkara
Neil Gaiman et. al., The Sandman: Midsummer Night’s Dream
Angela Carter, Wise Children
Christopher Wheeldon (choreographer), The Winter’s Tale
See instructor for complete list

Reading/Writing assignments:
150-250 pages or a film. Papers & Blackboard discussion.

Other information:
Keep Sunday, September 25th open for a production of Lolita Chakrabarti’s RED VELVET, about Ira Aldridge, the first black actor to play Othello (in 1826).

Faculty

Sections

S01

Thursdays, 1:30 - 4:20 p.m.

Instructor(s)

Michael Cadden