ENGL 800 (M1) - Studies in Literature

Stdy/Women Behaving Badly

Manchester   Liberal Arts :: English
Credits: 4.0
Term: Spring 2021 - UNHM Credit (15 weeks) (02/01/2021 - 05/11/2021)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
Class Size:   2  
CRN: 57160
Students in the MAT, MEd, and MST programs, as well as non-degree students, can register for graduate course work in English under this number. The precise topics and focus of each section vary. Topics include Old English Literature, Medieval Literature, 16th century, 17th century, 18th century, English Romantic Period, Victorian Period, 20th and 21st Century, Drama, Novel, Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, A Literary Problem, Literature of the Renaissance, Postcolonial Literature, 20th to 21st Century American Literature. Barring duplication of subject, may be repeated for credit. Note: Students in the MA and PhD programs in English may not take English 800 for credit toward their degrees. English 800 will only be offered on the Manchester campus.
Section Comments: Cross listed with ENGL 797/HUMA 730
Department Approval Required. Contact Academic Department for permission then register through Webcat.
Attributes: Scheduled meeting time, Online (no campus visits), EUNH
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?