THE END: The Story of My Paper

I started the research unit very enthusiastic about this digital/social approach to writing. I had heard reports from some students from last semester's class of their topics and research and was really excited to try my own. I already knew I wanted to do something with Shakespeare and games because I had been digging into the idea of games scholarship of any and all kinds the semester before. Games have always been a huge part of my life, even if I haven't always acknowledged it (no one you know owned a wider array of trading card games as I did--I promise), and I wanted all that time I spent playing games to amount to something interesting and intellectual. Ironically, however, I've played many, many more board and card games in my life than video games--my parents never allowed any video game console into my house until the winter I left for college, so the move to video games was a strange one for me. I figured, though, that in a way gave me an advantage because I could look at games more objectively and intellectually. I could more legitimately answer the question "Can video games be art?" because I hadn't already answered it for myself. I started looking around and found some interesting resources on Shakespeare possibly being a game designer were he alive today, and that helped narrow things down to just four possible paper topics.

The paper I ended up writing was, of course, really a mash-up of all four ideas. (Good thing I had ten pages.) I was pleasantly surprised to find out that other people were actually interested in this topic, and that there was plenty of material from Shakespeare's text itself to support such claims. As I kept looking, I found discussions actually happening about a topic I thought was extremely specific, which was very encouraging. The class really got involved in my paper, too, as I kept getting a lot of good responses on my posts, even when I was just musing. All of this really got me going, so by the time we had to do annotated bibliographies and find possible audiences, I already had tons of info--enough that I could easily pass some of it over to Britton in hopes that he could treat some stuff I didn't have time for but really interested me. By the time I did my first rough draft, my mind was racing all over the place because I had found so much information and so much interest.

That's when my paper took a difficult turn. I realized I was getting too much to say and too many angles on the topic that my paper just wouldn't be cohesive unless I cut. I went back to the primary text because I knew if I stuck close to The Tempest I could keep it tight. When I went back to do research again, I focused a lot more on specific arguments I had rather than general information on video games, art, and Shakespeare like I was doing before. The stuff I found in that round of research actually made up the bulk of my final paper because, thanks to the suggestions of others and some great feedback from author and game philosopher Chris Bateman (twice), I tightened up my paper significantly to be a discussion of the legitimacy of video games in our culture compared to the fight for legitimacy for English drama in Shakespeare's own day, which made for a good first full draft.

In discussions with Dr. Burton late in the game, I found out about the RMMLA conference and, luckily, they had a panel planned for this year's conference about games and new media that instantly became my number one choice for publishing. I got into contact with the panel chair and got enthusiastic responses from her because she was having a hard time getting the panel off the ground, so I was quickly accepted, though with the chance that I might not get to present because the panel might get canceled.

After getting accepted, though, I had to really make sure the paper turned out well, so after a final interview with Professor Burton I made some pretty big organizational changes and brought back a couple elements from my first draft and kicked out some from the full draft and finally submitted my finished paper. I'm still not sure what's going to happen, but I've been so inspired that I'm seriously considering starting a blog about the intersection of the humanities and video games, which I very well might do after this semester ends and I have some free time this summer. It's been a great ride--and it's not over yet.

Learning Came-outs

1. Gain Shakespeare Literacy 

I definitely came out of this class with a greater knowledge of Shakespeare, especially in several different reincarnations of his texts. Perhaps most importantly, I read plays I had never read/heard/seen before--specifically The Winter's Tale and King Lear, expanding my Shakespeare vocabulary and working knowledge significantly. I also understood more deeply plays I had experienced before, especially Henry V. After reading and seeing Henry V in London last summer, I thought I had a good understanding of the play, but after watching Kenneth Branagh's version, seeing the Children's Theater adaptation, and writing on the play myself, I saw much further into the play, especially the role and power of rhetoric both within and outside the play, as the play itself is an interesting work of rhetoric. I realized in London that the best way to experience Shakespeare was in performance, and so I was grateful that we got to watch several live and filmed performances, as well as read about and listen to others (listening wasn't required, I know, but I took advantage of the opportunity to try out a couple audio versions of the plays).

Specifically for my research project, I learned about Shakespeare's legacy in video games and Shakespeare's legacy in the debate of what "art" is. It was especially interesting to learn how society's views of Shakespeare have changed so drastically over the years, and how that has changed both the levels and types of performances his plays have been given. Shakespeare's legacy is perhaps the greatest of any artist not just because his own work was of such high quality, but because he has been the springboard for the work of others' of all ranges thanks to the original quality of his own work. 

All of this information has been buried deeper into my memory than it otherwise would have because I experienced/gained it all with other people--whether it was my wife, classmates, or random internet personalities, I will remember what I learned about Shakespeare much longer than what I learned in other classes this semester because so much of the information has specific people attached to it.

2. Analyze Shakespeare Critically 

I really enjoyed the opportunity not only to discuss Shakespeare's work from the text in class, but also analyze how his work has been adapted to stage, screen, and otherwise (I don't know what medium Sleep No More is supposed to be). I think because we discuss movies so often in our culture anyway, we were a lot more prepared as a class to discuss film adaptations of Shakespeare together than just the text itself, so I feel I learned a lot more from the films not just because they offered their own interpretation, but because discussion of those films was so easy in class. Walking the shelves of the library was (sadly) a new way for me to understand the history of Shakespeare. Just seeing the progression of books and scholarship of Shakespeare and watching the trends of the older books to the newer books was itself a study in contextual analysis as I could see the physical books and journals and feel the influence of that time period of the piece itself. It helped me look at Shakespeare from a broad range of cultures all at once, which invited all kinds of different theories quite naturally into my analyses. I really appreciated Prof. Burton's emphasis on a broad range of sources and people to discuss Shakespeare with because it helped me break into so many different interpretations so quickly, which gave me a freedom to really interpret Shakespeare how I wanted and felt was most important based on what had already been said.

3. Engage Shakespeare Creatively 

While we didn't do much traditional creative work with Shakespeare, I personally feel like my final paper on Shakespeare and video games displays some of the most creative thought of my college career, as far as creative means novel, innovative, and valuable to others. Also, the original sonnet I wrote--and especially the video I made to go with it--was the most satisfying traditionally creative pursuit of my semester, so this class really helped me win on both fronts, even if creativity wasn't a main emphasis. I think the reason for this is because I told more people about my ideas and solicited more help with my work in this class than any other class or project I've ever worked on, and as I worked with others my projects just kept getting better. 

4. Share Shakespeare Meaningfully 

Similar to what I said about creativity above, I feel like my projects for this class have been some of the most meaningful of my college career, again thanks in large part to my increased sharing and invitation for input. Because I felt free to go out on such a limb with my paper (let's be honest, how many professors would have really supported a paper on Shakespeare and video games? Sure, many might have said it was a good idea, but I don't think too many would have actually considered it appropriate, especially for an undergrad), I was naturally forced to dig more meaningfully into Shakespeare's work because the meaning was no longer obvious. The meaning of Shakespeare has already been so well mapped out again and again in the past in relation to so many subjects that I feel most students can just kind of skirt their way around the real meat of Shakespeare and what he means to our culture. By tackling a relatively original connection to Shakespeare, I had to ask a lot of old questions in new ways and really try and pull out my own answers--questions like "What is art?" and "What constitutes a profound experience?" So many people agree that Shakespeare already answered these questions that we almost forget to think about the questions and just gloss over them as old news. Taking Shakespeare into new realms allows us to re-ask those questions with a whole new vigor, and allowed me to rediscover much of the great meaning of Shakespeare for myself.

Additionally, not only did this happen once or twice as I worked on two formal projects, but kept happening as I kept having to write more and more and search for more new people to share my ideas with. I literally searched the whole spectrum of human intelligence to find answers to my questions--everything from the great Bard's words and highly-respected, peer-reviewed academic articles all the way down to the lowest comments on the dumbest blogs of the video game industry. Studying Shakespeare in class and online simultaneously felt something like it must have felt to see Shakespeare in the original Globe--with groundlings and royalty alike watching on in awe at one man's words.

5. Gain Digital Literacy 

I can quite honestly say my online world has shifted thanks to this class. Because the internet was validated for me as a source of legitimate information (as long as its wielded correctly), I dug deeper into the internet for answers to intellectual questions than ever before. I joined at least two new social networks for this class (Disqus and Reddit) and found several, several others to read and respond to regularly. I also actually started using my Twitter account, which I had only sort of used before for my job. Rather than see the internet as a place to escape life or wander around, the internet to me now is a place to really connect with real, good, intelligent people in ways that would never be possible before. I know better than ever how to mine the internet for great information, and also how to collect, store, and organize that information for future use and even new, creative material to be given back to the community in the form of Tweets, posts, and comments. It helps that I was looking for better ways to use the internet already, so when I was given the opportunity, I really tried to run with it, and I'm very grateful now.

All in all, I learned far above what I learn in the average class in this class, but not so much because of more material to cover or a more insistent professor, but because of wider information resources and more freedom to explore and connect with others on important questions.

Final Exam: A Shakespeare "salon"

My students will be gathering for a final exam event to sum up their learning of Shakespeare this term. They will be put into groups of three and will come ready to ask and answer questions related to each of the learning outcomes for the course. They will have a prompt to assist them in recalling the categories of conversation required, and this will also serve as a place where they can record insights made by the two other peers with whom they are speaking during this salon.

In the spirit of Renaissance "sprezzatura," the goal is not to take turns giving a "what I learned" speech. Rather, the goal is to work into the conversation, as naturally as possible, the learning outcomes and other required conversation items listed below.

There will be four salon sessions during the final, each with a different combination of students, and based around each of the following questions (drawn mostly from the learning outcomes):