ENGL 797 (M1) - Special Studies in Literature

SpcStdy/Women Behaving Badly

Manchester   Liberal Arts :: English
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Online Course Delivery Method: Scheduled meeting time, Online (no campus visits), EUNH
Credits: 4.0
Term: Spring 2021 - UNHM Credit (15 weeks) (02/01/2021 - 05/11/2021)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
Class Size:   9  
CRN: 56481
A) Old English Literature, B) Medieval Literature, C) 16th Century, D) 17th Century, E) 18th Century, f) English Romantic Period, G) Victorian Period, H) 20th Century, I) Drama, J) Novel, K) Poetry, L) Non-fiction, M) American Literature, N) A Literary Problem, O) Literature of the Renaissance, R) Race and Racial Theories. The precise topics and methods of each section vary. Barring duplication of subject, may be repeated for credit. For details, see the course descriptions available in the English department.
Section Comments: Cross listed with HUMA 730/ENGL 800
Department Approval Required. Contact Academic Department for permission then register through Webcat.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.
Cross listed with : HUMA 730.M1
Only listed campus in section: Durham, Manchester
Classes not allowed in section: Freshman
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Instructors: STAFF

Times & Locations

Start Date End Date Days Time Location
2/1/2021 5/11/2021 M 9:01am - 11:50am ONLINE
Additional Course Details: 

Women who behave badly in early drama take murderous revenge on their betrayers; manipulate their husbands; defy the wishes of their families; and deceive their communities. They also strive to choose their own paths in life, by whatever means they can, sometimes cutting truly frightening figures, sometimes showing admirable strength and fortitude.

Reading and viewing a variety of tragedies and comedies, including Euripides's Medea, Shakespeare's Macbeth, Aristophanes's Lysistrata and Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, we will scrutinize these women's actions and place them in their historical and social contexts. By examining women's roles in Ancient Greece, Roman Italy, and Renaissance and Restoration England, we will gain a sense of how these female characters' behaviors on the stage aligned with expectations in society at the time. What did it mean to society and to audiences of drama for a woman to choose her own marriage partner, or for her to reject the duties of a wife and daughter? And how do these women's dramatic actions help us understand our own actions more fully?

This course fulfills the pre-1800 requirement and the Capstone requirements for the Literary Studies major; it fulfills and upper-division course for Humanities; and it will fulfill the Capstone requirement for English Teaching. It is Writing Intensive. All majors are welcome.

Booklist

Please use the specific editions listed below: Euripides, Medea, trans. Rex Warner. New York: Dover Thrift Edition, 1993. ISBN 0486275485 or 978-0486275482 Aristophanes, Lysistrata, ed. Thomas Crofts. New York: Dover Thrift Edition, 1994. ISBN 0486282252 or 978-0486282251 Middleton, Thomas, and William Rowley, The Changeling, ed. Michael Neill. London: A & C Black, 2006. ISBN 0713668849 or 978-0713668841 Shakespeare, William, Othello, ed. Kim Hall. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's (Texts and Contexts Series), 2007. ISBN 0312398980 or 978-0312398989 Shakespeare, William, Macbeth, ed. William C. Carroll. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's (Texts and Contexts Series), 1999. ISBN 0312144547 or 978-0312144548 Shakespeare, William, The Taming of the Shrew, ed. Frances E. Dolan. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's (Texts and Contexts Series), 1996. ISBN 0312108362 or 978-0312108366 Shakespeare, William, Twelfth Night, ed. Bruce R. Smith. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's (Texts and Contexts Series), 2001. ISBN 0312202199 or 978-0312202194 Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, The Rivals, ed. Kathy Casey. New York: Dover Thrift Edition, 1998. ISBN 0486404331 or 978-0486404332 Sophocles, Antigone. New York: Dover Thrift Edition, 1994. ISBN 0486278042 or 978-0486278049 Webster, John. The Duchess of Malfi. Ed. Brian Gibbons. London: A & C Black, 2003. ISBN 0713667915 or 978-0713667912