Dana's Learning Outcomes

1. Gain Shakespeare Literacy
I have now read, watched, and/or studied numerous Shakespeare plays, including Troilus and Cressida, Henry V, King Lear, The Winter's Tale, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and A Comedy of Errors. I feel like this breadth has given me a wider knowledge of Shakespeare's great range of emotion and writing ability. In addition, I have done a more in-depth study of Henry V and Troilus and Cressida as I spent a substantial amount of time researching the plays and criticism about those plays. I have studied Troilus and Cressida in depth for over a month now as I have worked on perfecting my paper about it. In addition to this textual knowledge, I have gained an insight into Shakespeare by watching performances on stage of Henry V and A Comedy of Errors, and watched versions of King Lear, Henry V, Hamlet, The Tempest, and As You Like It. In addition to all of this literacy I have gained of the actual plays, I have learned so much more about Shakespeare in popular culture. Who knew that people have discussion groups about him over the internet or Twitter? I also learned more about Shakespeare's life, birthplace, wife, and schooling--what shaped him as a person and perhaps influenced his writings--as I watched a movie about his life, read various pieces of scholarship that gave his background as I wrote my paper, and reflected upon my visit to Stratford-upon-Avon this past summer.

2. Analyze Shakespeare Critically
All of the responses we posted on Learning Suite and the blog, as well as the scholarship we did in our papers, was basically a continual analysis of Shakespeare. In my paper about Henry V, I looked at the language of the play to make my argument (e.g., the definitions of words, the puns on words, etc.). I also examined the theme of the overall play and drew upon my examination of the language to interpret the theme. In this post, I analyzed the stage version of Shakespeare's As You Like It, where I was able to interpret the set, tone, actor interaction, and viewer interaction of the play and explain how those elements might have affected how the play was interpreted. I have also analyzed the effects of Hamlet and Henry V on screen. This semester, I have really learned how to look at small details within a play on stage or on screen and understand what those small elements mean in relation to the whole play. In my paper on Troilus and Cressida, I looked at the contextual analysis (what sources Shakespeare drew upon for comedy and tragedy, what viewers at the time would have expected from a comedy or tragedy, what the "cultural" norms of a play were) in order to analyze the text as a whole and understand how genre played a role in interpreting the play. I have certainly realized the importance of both textual and contextual analysis as I have interpreted Shakespeare's works.

4. Share Shakespeare Meaningfully
I certainly participated in formal writing this semester. I spent the past month or so writing my paper about Troilus and Cressida. To do this, I went to the library to find scholarly sources (and checked out around 10 to 15 books), looked for various resources online, and wrote my paper in a formal and professional manner. I submitted the paper to the BYU English Symposium, Criterion, and the Scholars' Archive. In addition, I wrote another literary analysis paper about Henry V earlier in the semester. But I haven't limited my writing to formal outlets. I have also posted regularly on both Digital Dialog and the blog in order to analyze numerous plays and respond to others' ideas. In addition, I have discussed my paper with several students in the class and even discussed my paper with my roommates, family, and friends.

5. Gain Digital Literacy
I learned that scholarly work doesn't have to be limited to the classroom or to traditional forms of sharing! I have found ideas for my paper from Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Goodreads, blogs, and many other "nontraditional" sources that I had originally thought would never have any content about Shakespeare. I also posted my own scholarship on this blog and on YouTube, which were new mediums of scholarly publication that I had never delved into. I also tried to connect with friends on Facebook about Shakespeare, and even connected with an old professor of mine to discuss the genre of tragedy. She gave me help that influenced my paper and I was able to reconnect with her after several years (a double bonus of sharing scholarship on social media).

Reflection
This class has really boosted my understanding, not only of Shakespeare, but of how I can research and write in general. I really enjoyed the amount of time we were able to spend on the final paper. Most of the time, teachers give little time for students to produce a piece of work, but in this class we had about a month to produce a final draft. The blog held me accountable for my learning and spurned me to start my research process earlier. In this way, I was able to have a more solid idea when I actually started writing. The feedback I received from the students on the blog was also helpful because it turned me in the right direction for my final paper. Without this feedback, I wouldn't have been able to write as strong of a paper. Finally, I enjoyed making a video about my paper. This activity helped me narrow down my thesis. Not only did I learn more about how to write a paper, but I also learned the importance of seeing a Shakespeare work on the stage or on the silver screen. Of course reading a Shakespeare play is interesting, but watching the play really brings it to life. I like looking for all of the possible permutations that are available for each play. The focus of our class helped me understand Shakespeare as a living subject.