Shakespearean drama is concerned—one could say obsessed—with identity and its transformation.  Sometimes the metamorphosis is a happy one, as when female characters crossdress as men, escape their harsh fathers, and find lovers of their choice.  Sometimes the change is tragic, as when King Lear self-destructs before out eyes.  Characters constantly ask, “Who am I?” and assert “I am not what I am.”  We will focus on how identity is created out of, and often threatened by, such social rubrics as gender, rank, nationality, race/ethnicity, and sexuality in the four dramatic genres in which Shakespeare wrote.  Placing Shakespeare’s plays within their original time and place—the competitive theatrical marketplace of turn of the century London—we will focus on reading for character, theme, and dramatic structure.  Assignments will include an in-class midterm and final exam; several 2-page response papers to prepare you to participate in lecture and discussion; and a staging design to be shared with your discussion section.  Lively engagement in both discussion section and lecture are presumed.  This course fulfills the pre-1600 requirement for English concentrators.