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.

Learning Outcomes in Reflection

 

1. Gain Shakespeare Literacy 

a. Breadth (knowledge of a range of Shakespeare's works):

Throughout the class, I was exposed to four of Shakespeare’s plays that I had never personally read.  To a certain degree, I wish we had stuck more closely to his works and been exposed to more, but it was a great experience to become more familiar with King Lear, Taming of the Shrew, Henry V, and The Winter’s Tale.  Beyond the reading of the plays, interacting with my classmates and reading through their papers, I became more familiar with a broad range of Shakespeare’s plays and on top of that, varying analyses of these.

b. Depth (more thorough knowledge of a single work):

The majority of the class I spent analyzing Shakespeare’s Othello, a play I had previously read in high school, but never in the way that I did during this course.  In the effort to find my own analysis of the work, I was introduced again to the play in an entirely new way and became more familiar with it than I ever could have in High School.

c. Performance (stage and screen):

I had the opportunity to watch film versions of Taming of the Shrew, Henry V, and King Lear.  On top of that, I went and saw the children’s stage version of Henry V.  These productions illustrated to me the true nature of Shakespeare and the way in which it should be produced.  Shakespeare is first and foremost a playwright, and his works have been perpetuated because they can be reproduced and adapted in a myriad of ways.

d. Legacy (history, scholarship, popular culture):

I wrote papers on The Winter’s Tale and on Othello.  This experience introduced me to the background histories of these plays, the staggering amount of scholarship, and the way in which these particular plays have been adapted into pop culture.  Shakespeare has a remarkable presence and his influence has leached into today’s society just as much as he did during his own time.  Movie adaptations baring his plot themes and characters have introduced the masses to Shakespeare’s mastery often without them even realizing it.  His wide range of plays has developed into a remarkable standard for today’s authors to achieve.  He applies to the scholarly just as much as to pop culture as I have come to realize more and more throughout this course.

2. Analyze Shakespeare Critically 

The final research paper that took up a majority of this class has become a remarkable learning experience in terms of familiarity with Shakespeare.  There is so much room for analysis and the perpetuation of his works is better realized in the amount of time I spent researching, a time period that could have carried on and I still would have been discovering new things, new ways of looking at his works.  Studying Othello, helped open up that world to me and the potential there is in studying and analyzing Shakespeare’s works critically.  Even with all the scholarship already accomplished, spanning decades, there is still room for my own analysis.

3. Engage Shakespeare Creatively

At the beginning of the semester, we were assigned a sonnet, mirroring the pattern of Shakespeare.  The assignment, to be honest, terrified me, because I am no poet.  In the process of writing that sonnet, however feeble it was, I spent the time to read many of Shakespeare’s sonnets and watch readings of them on YouTube.  I was thoroughly introduced to the pattern of those sonnets the sheer prowess with which Shakespeare wrote them.

4. Share Shakespeare Meaningfully 

My roommates and I often discuss the things we are researching in our classes.  My roommate Paige in particular is a psychology major and discussing Shakespeare with her is always an interesting journey through the literature.  She especially inspired and helped me through my final paper.  Blogging about my research and the assignments on Digital Dialogue to share our insights on the literature tended toward tedium, but as we got deeper into the course appreciated them nonetheless.  I was able to build off the insights of others and it helped with beneficial discussions during class time that really introduced me to Shakespeare’s work better than anything else could have.

5. Gain Digital Literacy 

This, for me, was probably the most difficult part of the course, but it did help me along with the research process and introduced me to information that I never could have approached.  I learned a lot about blogging and social media and how reaching out to other people can really aid in how we read and interpret Shakespeare, especially in today’s society where technology plays such a big role.