TEXTS: The Riverside Shakespeare (2^nd edition--available at Shaman Drum Bookshop)

SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS

9/7 Introduction

9/12 A Midsummer Night's Dream, Acts I & II

9/14 A Midsummer Night's Dream, Acts III & IV

9/19 A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act V

9/21 Twelfth Night, Acts I & II

9/26 Twelfth Night, Acts III & IV

9/28 Twelfth Night, Act V

10/3 Merchant of Venice, Acts I & II ESSAY #1 DUE: 5-6 PAGES

10/5 Merchant of Venice, Acts III & IV

10/10 Merchant of Venice, Act V

10/12 Measure for Measure, Acts I & II

10/17 Measure for Measure, Acts III & IV

10/19 Measure for Measure, Act V

10/24 Exam on plays read to date

10/26 Titus Andronicus, Acts I & II

10/31 Titus Andronicus, Acts III & IV

11/2 Titus Andronicus, Act V

11/7 Hamlet, Acts I & II

11/9 Hamlet, Acts III & IV

11/14 Hamlet, Act V

11/16 Othello, Acts I & II

11/21 Othello, Acts III & IV ESSAY #2 DUE: 5-6 PAGES

11/23 THANKSGIVING BREAK

11/28 Othello, Act V

11/30 The Winter’s Tale, Acts I & II

12/5 The Winter’s Tale, Acts III & IV

12/7 The Winter’s Tale, Act V

12/12 Exam on plays read since previous exam

General Policies: The format of this course will be primarily lecture, punctuated by discussion as much as time and class size allow. Attendance is mandatory and will influence your final grade; attendance and participation in discussion sections will also influence your grade.

Be sure to read the entire play before the first day of class devoted to it; there will be very simple quizzes on content each day we begin a new play, and these will count as 10% of your final grade. For qualified absences on quiz days (such as illness or unavoidable problems), you may make up a maximum of 2 quizzes by composing a 1-2 page (typed) plot summary; these will be due no later than the next lecture session after your absence. You do not have the right to skip a quiz for which you are present.

On subsequent days, review and reread closely the acts we will be concentrating on for that session. Be sure to bring your text to class with you for each lecture and discussion section. You will also be responsible for the introductions to the plays assigned and to information conveyed in the footnotes to the Riverside Shakespeare.

As already noted above, quizzes will count for 10% of your final grade; the two essays and two exams will be equally weighted and will together make up the remaining 90% of the final grade (that is, each of these will count for 22.5%).

Policy on Plagiarism: All written work should, of course, be your own or properly attributed to other sources. Please note this carefully. It is my policy that any instance of plagiarism will be treated as a serious violation of trust; use of published or unpublished work without proper attribution can potentially produce an "F" for the entire term, and such cases will also be forwarded to the College committee for disciplinary action. Such action could have serious consequences for your future--that is to say, any actions of the committee (which can include expulsion) are also recorded on your permanent record. I spell this out in such draconian terms in the hope that each and every one of you will realize that, whatever the time pressures, crises of whatever sort, etc., the temptation to misrepresent someone else's work as your own is not a solution you, in your own best interests, should contemplate. If there is a problem or crisis, see me and/or your GSI about it before it gets out of hand.