David's Learning Outcomes

Long, boring wall of text after the jump.

The Story Of David's Paper

The idea for my paper began when I was reading through The Merchant of Venice for the first time. When I   came across Shylock's monologue in 3.1, I was floored. At this point, it's widely known that Antionio is going to default on his loan to Shylock, and Shylock is fiercely defending his right to a pound of Antiono's flesh--the agreed-upon penalty for defaulting. Someone asks Shylock why he wants the pound of flesh in the first place, and Shylock responds:

Shylock and the Shoah: "The Merchant of Venice" on the Nazi-era and Postwar German Stage

I am finally done with this paper, and I am quite proud of it. That hasn't happened for some time.

I've posted it on Google Docs. Enjoy!

Not a Submission: Need some Last-Second Feedback

I'm finished with the first draft of my paper, including a new, much better thesis. I'm gonna come back to it in a little bit--but I'm concerned about my conclusion. I just want to make sure that it doesn't come across as racist, etc. If you could please read it and post a comment, I'd be much obliged.

Where to from here?

After getting some feedback on my rough draft, I think I have a slightly better idea where to go from here.

Comments on Nyssa's Paper

Nyssa, I though you did a great job with your paper. I only have one or two things to say. I couldn't find a good image to go with them, though (I already used Thumbs and Ammo, and I promised myself I'd stop using so many animated gifs), so I think I might not post an image this time.

Paul's Draft: Great Stuff. Needs Some Work.

Paul has been writing on a topic close to my heart, and I've been following his paper somewhat closely. Frankly, I wasn't sure he could pull it off--but he did, and did it well.

Great argument, Paul!
Thumbs and Ammo.

However, I felt that his paper suffered from some organizational issues, which I will detail below the jump.

Rough, rough draft.

I still need a conclusion, and I need some SERIOUS editing, but here's a rough draft of my paper.

Whoops.

I somehow missed the schedule for this week: I knew what we needed to do, but not when we needed to do it by.

I will post my draft sometime tonight. If I could have you guys read and comment on it when I do, that would be wonderful.

Another Stab at My Thesis

I decided to tweak my thesis, and decided to make another video to help me refine my ideas. I'd appreciate it if you watched this and gave me some quick feedback.

(I just noticed that the last couple seconds are cut off. That's supposed to be "applied to our plays today")

Social Proof Report, Pt. 1

On Monday, I asked Professor Burton what he thought about me adjusting my topic to focus more on Nazi-era and postwar production of Merchant of Venice, and he thought it was a good idea. I think this will help focus my paper, and make it a little easier for me to talk about my research.

Unfortunately, this new approach has made things a little difficult on the social end of things, and it took me a while to figure out how to respond. No one I know has studied German theater history. I also can't really post on Good Reads, because my topic is a little too focused for that site.

Nevertheless, I've made a few stabs.

David's Rather Uninteresting Annotated Bibliography.

A puppy learning to roll over.
(incidentally, about a third of my CC searches
return My Little Pony results. Anyone
else have the same problem?)
Via.

This will be another one of those uninteresting wall-of-text posts. So, I'm just gonna drop it all under the break. Here's a puppy to keep things interesting.

Lame, I guess?

Crash and Burn.
Creative Commons License (finally found one!) 

Just a quick update: I just got an email from the conference I submitted to, and they said that my topic doesn't fit closely enough for them to work it into their conference.

On one hand, I'm kinda let down; on the other, I'm relieved. I've been stressed about this paper recently, and it feels good to know that, at this point, I'm not going to have to read it in front of hundreds of intellectuals that do this kinda thing for a living. On the other hand, I would have loved to go to the conference, and it would have been a huge boost to my career (especially since I'm still an undergrad).

Overall, though, this has been a positive experience. Having to think about how to fit my paper to the conference has helped me develop my idea further, and given me a more clear direction to move in. Also, the conference organizers (Fred and Monika) were very kind, and I'm thinking about asking them if I can resubmit a proposal for my reworked paper topic, which lines more closely with their conference. I see now how having to submit our papers is an important part of writing them: it helps us ensure that we have good topics, and that we're doing a good job.

In any case, it's time to follow the advice of a very wise man:

From Disney's The Rescuers.
Screencap found via Google Images. 

EDIT: I asked them if I could resubmit, and they said they'd already finalized the program. Oh well, back to the drawing board...

"Thou call'dst me a dog": Flexibility in the text

Small changes, big difference.
From Cracked.

I just went back and read through the original text again, and the thing that impressed me most was the flexibility of the text.

I've been looking up several interpretations of the text, most notably Anthony Heald's interpretation of the text, as well as (a summary of) the Nazi-edited script. In both cases, minor changes can drastically change the play.

"Have I submitted a revised final draft to the publication I've identified?": CHECK

Alternate Title: Oh My Gosh What Have I Done?

While puttering around for a publication venue this morning, I found a call for papers for the 8th International Conference for the Tudor Symposium, to be held this summer in England. Their topic was about the appropriation and adaption of Tudor literature in different cultures, something that lines up with my topic nicely. I checked the deadline, and, lo and behold, the deadline for submitting proposals is today! So, I typed up a quick proposal and sent it off.

Then, I sat back in my chair and stared at the screen. It took a few seconds for it to sink in: Oh my gosh, I though, I've just submitted my paper to an international conference. In ENGLAND. What have I done?

In Which I Discover The Insufficiency Of My Sources

So, I sat down to write my paper, and realized that all the wonderful research I had wasn't actually all that helpful. I have four major sources: an article and a chapter from a book about Nazi Germany, the script to a 17th century German adaptation of the script with some attached commentary, and an article that gives a broad overview of many post-war productions. If I want to write a ten-page paper on this topic, I need to get more information.

Either way, I've managed to throw together three-and-a-half pages. This consists of an introduction, two pages about the Nazis, and one page of poorly-developed, poorly-supported ideas. Hit the jump to keep reading.

Shakespeare in Germany: David's Pitch Video

(Holy cow, I look like a bad bluescreen monster...)

Here's my "pitch" video for my paper. Making this video really helped me to articulate and refine my ideas, and now I think I have something like an introduction/thesis.

(also, the casual pose is due to layout constraints of my apartment. I considered finding a pipe and donning a suit jacket, but I thought that might have been a little much)

Returning the Favor: Disability in Shakespeare

A few days ago, Nyssa very generously did some research to help me with my topic. This week has been a little busy for me, and I haven't gotten a chance to go back and look at the articles for me just yet, but even her summaries of the articles she found helped me out. I thought I should return the favor. She's already been very thorough in her research, so I though I'd approach it from a different angle.  

"To Be Or Not To Be": Special Performance This Weekend

To Be Or Not To Be: that is, literally, the question.
Sample illustration from the Kickstarter page.

So, you may have heard of "To Be Or Not To Be," a highly successful Kickstarter project by Ryan North, of Dinosaur Comics fame. It's a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure retelling of Hamlet, in which you can choose to follow the adventures of King Hamlet (he dies on the first page!) Hamlet himself, or Ophelia. It's written in modern English, and is a rather sarcastic take on the play. The few samples that have been posted seem pretty funny, and have a lot of fun with the play in specific, and with the Choose-Your-Own genre as a whole.

Why is this relevant? Well, there's going to be an actual play of "To Be Or Not To Be" performed this weekend--and it's going to be broadcast over the web! Like the book, it will be Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, and both the live and the internet audiences will be able to participate. If it's anything like the samples, it promises to be fun, and most importantly, FREE.

This is also a great opportunity to look at how Shakespeare is being reinterpreted, especially in the context of new media. If you're interested, check it out! It will be broadcast live from Korea, this Saturday starting at 7 PM. Check out the website for details!

David's Wonderfully Captivating Illustrated Annotated Bibliography

Working Thesis:

"Examining how Shylock has been adapted and appropriated by various cultures provides vital insights into the cultures themselves."

Social Graph

Shylock, the (not) Jew,
from the online video game Maobingi.
Source.

• Jonelle: my stepmom. She was an English major in college, and loves to hear me talk about my occasionally out-there ideas. She will be a good person to bounce my paper off of.

• Stephanie: an online friend of mine. She was the one that suggested I take a look at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's production of Merchant of Venice, and mentioned some specific production choices. Given her interest in the topic, I think she could be an excellent resource.

• Nyssa: from class. Nyssa and I have been interested in each other's projects almost since the beginning. Since we're classmates, I can get feedback about how well I'm fulfilling the requirements for the project.