Making Progress with Othello

Response to the initial draft

One thing that was consistent in several comments on my draft was that I would do well to get input from students who are currently studying Shakespeare. I am thinking about how I will do that, but I am going to try and solicit help from my younger sister and her friends who are in high school. Several people commented on my social proof aspect, and I am going to continue to work that in. Dr. Burton suggested that I look more into if any research has been done (for example, the Ophelia Syndrome). I have narrowed my research problem down to be looking at the extent that the study of Shakespeare deals with adolescent psychology. I am really excited to see where this goes.

I was talking to one of my friends today and bouncing my ideas off her. We started talking and she asked me (in a very surprised way), "Wait, you're a Shakespeare enthusiast?"and then we just started talking. Even though she didn't give me specific ideas, it was fun to see her get excited about my topic. I expected her to be less than interested than she was. Before today I definitely felt more comfortable sharing my ideas with people in the class, because I knew that it was safe. Everyone else was doing the same thing, and so I wasn't hesitant to seek feedback. But talking to Karen gave me a new sense of excitement. If someone who isn't interested in Shakespeare thought my ideas were interesting, I bet other people will too!



Video

Revised Annotated Bibliography

Social Graph

• I have had a great deal of success working with my old high school teacher Dianne Madsen. What started as a casual facebook message has led to a reunion of my old Shakespeare class, and I have received helpful feedback from both my teacher and my classmates. 
• I was also talking to my friend Karen and she seemed very interested in my topic. I want to use her as a sounding board for other ideas, and possibly ask her to read my draft later on down the line.
• I haven't talked to him very much yet, but my brother Steven is one of the smartest people I know. He is a good resource because we talk often, and also because he recently graduated from high school, and so he could provide me with a unique perspective about how Shakespeare is being taught in the public school, because he was just there. My sister Abbey who is still in high school, will also be a good resource because she is currently in the public schools.
• Also, my grandpa is a clinical psychologist, and so once I get more research done I'm planning on talking to him and using him either as a resource, or to help me find more resources.

New Media

• I found some useful information on TeacherTube (including an Othello rap!). Many of the videos were amateur and so I don't know that I would show them in my classroom, but they offered good ideas on how to simplify the themes. One video had a great "web" showing how the characters were connected.
• I also used Google Blog Search to find several blogs that are about Shakespeare. Blogging Shakespeare was especially useful because the blog had several links on the side that led to other blogs. There was also a teaching section of the blog, which is something that I will continue to look at as I move into my teaching career.
• One of the blogs I found was Shakespeare Geek Blog and I was excited to see the volume of information that was there.

Social Networks

• I have found a few other resources that I think will be helpful. One of them is a site maintained by The Higher Education Academy as part of the English Subject Centre that focuses on helping teachers teach Shakespeare.
• I found an online forum called TeacherFocus. There are not as many posts as I would like about Shakespeare, but there are many that will help me when I am thinking about teaching English on a more general level. One post that I read gave me an idea of a book to read, that I am going to try and find in our library.
• I know that many people are using it, but Facebook has really been helpful as I have been trying to gather information and get ideas. I have been able to reconnect with teachers and old classmates as well as friends who I am learning have an interest in Shakespeare.

Venues for Sharing

• I found a website advertising an Undergraduate Shakespeare Conference. Their theme last year was about using Shakespeare to teach in an unconventional manner, and my paper goes along with that. I e-mailed the information account and they were fairly quick in responding. They forwarded my inquiry to the conference organizers and I am still waiting to hear back.
• I have been looking for venues in the psychology area of my research, but they are more focused on psychology research, and not applications. I am still looking. :)

Traditional Sources

• Hogan, Robert, Gordon J. Curphy, and Joyce Hogan. "What we Know about Leadership: Effectiveness and Personality."American Psychologist 49.6 (1994): 493-504. Print.
  When I started to read this article, it reminded me of Iago, and how he gets people to do what he wants. This article talks about how leadership is getting people to put aside their own wants for something "bigger," which is what Iago does, even if it is not for a good cause.
• Jacoby, Larry L., and Colleen M. Kelley. "A Process-Dissociation Framework for Investigating Unconscious Influences: Freudian Slips, Projective Tests, Subliminal Perception, and Signal Detection Theory." Current Directions in Psychological Science 1.6 (1992): 174-9. Print.
  This is a pretty general essay about Freudian slips and provides a few ideas on how they happen. Since part of my thesis revolves around that idea, this article is a good match.
• Martin, Jack. "Self Research in Educational Psychology: A Cautionary Tale of Positive Psychology in Action.(Psychological Research)." The Journal of Psychology 2006: 307. Print.
  Since this is about Educational Psychology, it has been a helpful article. This focuses on positive psychology, which isn't exactly what I'm writing about, but it is still helpful.