Overview
This unit aims to introduce students to the study of Shakespeare in a contemporary context and to provide them with opportunities to explore different ways in which the Bard can and has been read/watched. The works of Shakespeare do not produce universal truths so much as generate culturally determined possibilities, both of the time of writing and of reading. Students will explore recent filmic renderings of Shakespeare's plays as generative instances of these possibilities. Students will also explore issues raised by the films/plays including those associated with comedy, tragedy, race, gender, class, notions of divine being, war, authority, ambition, death, subjectivity, identity and (post) colonialism.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Nil
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2017
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student feedback.
Lecturer keeps the lessons interesting. Good variety of films. The course had a lively selection of varied interpretations of Shakespeare's plays and generally the questions were well considered. It assisted me in rediscovering Shakespeare. Overall was a interesting class.
Continue with unit.
Feedback from Student feedback.
John explained everything very well and gives fantastic feedback in a short time frame.
Continue with unit.
Feedback from Student feedback.
The aspect of the course I enjoyed the most was the feedback given on my assignments from my lecturer. Unfortunately my other course's lecturer gave no helpful feedback whatsoever, so it was great to have some helpful feedback on this course - especially considering this was my first uni term ever.
The assessment sheet is updated each time the course is run.
Feedback from Student feedback.
The word limit [movie journal] hardly gave any ability to do justice to the question in relation to the original play, never mind actually explore the altered structure, style of the cinematographic interpretation.
Point taken. Movie journal parameters will be reviewed for the next iteration of the unit.
Feedback from Student feedback.
Due to my location as a distance ed student (regional VIC) I found it extremely hard sometimes to access books and readings. Many of the books I wanted and needed to read were only available in QLD libraries and I could not rent them for long enough. This lack of access made it very frustrating to get my work done sometimes.
Where possible, linked URLs are provided. Key readings are also provided as CROs.
- articulate the ways in which Shakespeare in film generate interpretative possibilities relative to the times of writing, reading, performance and/or filmic production; and,
- analyse and evaluate issues raised by the plays/films, including comedy, tragedy, race, gender, class, notions of divine being, war, authority, ambition, death, subjectivity, identity and (post) colonialism.
Nil
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |
---|---|---|
1 | 2 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||
2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||
3 - Written Assessment - 40% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |
---|---|---|
1 | 2 | |
1 - Communication | ||
2 - Problem Solving | ||
3 - Critical Thinking | ||
4 - Information Literacy | ||
5 - Team Work | ||
6 - Information Technology Competence | ||
7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||
8 - Ethical practice | ||
9 - Social Innovation | ||
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures |
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
3 - Written Assessment - 40% |
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
Readings will be provided in Moodle.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.priest@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction: Shakespeare in love
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William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet
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Much ado about nothing
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Othello
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The taming of the shrew
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A midsummer night's dream
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Hamlet
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Macbeth
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Richard III
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Henry V
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King Lear
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The Tempest
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You are required to watch the 12 films set for the unit, which are usually available to rent through streaming services such as iTunes, online video services or in hard copy from your local library.
1 Written Assessment
Word length: no less than 1200 words:
Answer one (1) of the following
- One of the major themes in Romeo and Juliet concerns the is the role of fate. For example, Romeo makes statements like: "I fear, too early: for my mind misgives, Some consequence yet hanging in the stars" (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 113); and "I am fortune's fool" (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 139). Are Romeo and Juliet prisoners of fate (or other supernatural forces outside of their control)? Or do they have some responsibility and control over their own destiny? Use examples from the play/film to support your view.
- In Much ado about nothing, Claudio wrongs Hero by accusing her of infidelity, and unwittingly becomes part of Don John's plot against Don Pedro. He uses words like honour and virtue to slander her reputation. Contrasted to this tragedy is the comic relation between Benedick and Beatrice: he is arrogant and chauvinistic; she is feisty and guileless. Between the two plots, the question to be resolved hangs in the balance: what is the 'much ado' about? Explore possible answers to this 'question' and consider its significance using examples from the play/film.
- Alvin Kernan argues that in Othello, each of Iago's dupings is the explanatory image of the other: 'he plays on and teases to life some hitherto controlled and concealed dark passion in his victim' (Kernan, A 1963, 'Introduction', Othello, Signet, New York, p. xxv.). Explore examples of this idea in the play/film and discuss its significance for our understanding of the themes of the play/film.
(Note: Students must not use the play chosen here for the Essay).
Week 4 Friday (4 Aug 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 6 Friday (25 Aug 2017)
This assignment assessed based on your ability to:
- Develop a coherent argument in relation to the essay question;
- Analyse the direct evidence from the films/texts and supporting evidence from secondary sources (no less than 3 secondary sources);
- Acknowledge all sources correctly using the Harvard (author-date) style; and,
- Edit your answer carefully (e.g. expression, spelling and grammar).
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
- articulate the ways in which Shakespeare in film generate interpretative possibilities relative to the times of writing, reading, performance and/or filmic production; and,
- analyse and evaluate issues raised by the plays/films, including comedy, tragedy, race, gender, class, notions of divine being, war, authority, ambition, death, subjectivity, identity and (post) colonialism.
2 Written Assessment
Word length: no less than 2000 words; no more than 2500 words.
Answer ONE of the following (note: in answering this question, students should not use texts to be discussed in the Short Paper).
Question 1
Choose two film versions of one of Shakespeare’s plays and explore the three contexts they represent (i.e. the original play, the first version, and the second version). How are these contexts coded and re-coded within the various versions?
Question 2
Gender and sexuality are areas where many of Shakespeare’s plays seem ambivalent, sometimes transgressively so. Choose at least 2 filmic renderings of Shakespeare's plays and explore either or both of these issues.
Question 3
‘The study of Shakespeare seems caught between the idea that his works transcend the cultural signs which date them, and the notion that these cultural signs are imprisoned in the context which produced them.’ Discuss with reference to at least 2 filmic renderings of Shakespeare's plays.
Week 8 Friday (8 Sept 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 10 Friday (22 Sept 2017)
This assignment assessed based on your ability to:
- Engage intelligently with issues raised by the films;
- Analyse the direct evidence from the films/texts and supporting evidence from secondary sources (no less than 5 secondary sources);
- Acknowledge all sources correctly using the Harvard (author-date) style; and,
- Edit your answer carefully (e.g. expression, spelling and grammar).
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
- articulate the ways in which Shakespeare in film generate interpretative possibilities relative to the times of writing, reading, performance and/or filmic production; and,
- analyse and evaluate issues raised by the plays/films, including comedy, tragedy, race, gender, class, notions of divine being, war, authority, ambition, death, subjectivity, identity and (post) colonialism.
3 Written Assessment
Word length: no less than 3500 words; no more than 6,000 words
Students are expected to keep a movie journal during the term. This will require watching the films each week and making entries in the journal. For each week, the journal MUST address the question identified as a ‘Journal Question’ on the Moodle website. Students are encouraged to post their weekly entries on the relevant Moodle discussion forum. Students who are able to provide evidence in their journal that they have posted their own journal entries and responded to the journal entries of other students will be entitled to bonus marks. The Movie Journal should be submitted on the due date as a word document through the Moodle online submission system (See Moodle website for guidelines on Keeping a Movie Journal).
Week 12 Friday (6 Oct 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Movie Journals will be assessed and returned to students as soon as practicable after the end of term.
This assignment will be assessed according to the extent to which entries in the journal demonstrate your ability to:
- Analyse and evaluate issues raised by the plays/films;
- Think critically and articulate your findings in readable prose using evidence from the plays/films and from secondary sources;
- Acknowledge all sources correctly using the Harvard (author-date) style; and,
- Edit your answer carefully (e.g. expression, spelling and grammar).
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
- articulate the ways in which Shakespeare in film generate interpretative possibilities relative to the times of writing, reading, performance and/or filmic production; and,
- analyse and evaluate issues raised by the plays/films, including comedy, tragedy, race, gender, class, notions of divine being, war, authority, ambition, death, subjectivity, identity and (post) colonialism.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.