Class Description
The course starts with the premise that Shakespeare is for everyone, or that there is something for everyone in Shakespeare’s plays. As such, the course provides an invitation for newcomers to appreciate the works of the Bard, and for seasoned Shakespeareans to look at the canon through fresh eyes. We will thus engage Shakespeare from various cultural standpoints and enter to the text from its margins: from the margins of the societies that shaped the text, from the margins of the plays, and from the perspective of the marginal characters that suddenly find themselves at the center of the plot.
This will allow us to explore the themes of otherness, power and dominance, race and colonialism, and sexism and patriarchy. Our conversation will focus on three plays: The Tempest, Othello, and The Merchant of Venice.
All virtual classes are recorded and made available to participants registered in the class. These recordings are password-protected and available for up to two weeks after the class ends.
Ahmed Dardir (PhD in Middle East Studies from Columbia University) is the co-founder of the Institute for De-Colonising Theory (IDCtheory), visiting fellow at the Cairo Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CILAS), and has taught courses on political theory, revolutions, colonialism, dramatizing the archive, and literature.
Interested but prefer in-person classes? Check out our other class running this term, "Shakespeare's Sanctuary City"!
What to Expect
Format: Virtual
Class Capacity: 18
Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged
Materials List
Required
- William Shakespeare, The Tempest. (Any Edition)
- William Shakespeare, Othello. (Any Edition)
- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice. (Any Edition)
Recommended
- José Enrique Rodó, Ariel. Texas University Press, 1988. ISBN: 0292703961
- Roberto Fernandez Retmar, Caliban and Other Essays. University of Minnesota Press, 1989. ISBN: 0816617430
- Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks. Grove Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780802143006
- Jean Paul Sartre, Anti-Semite and Jew: An Exploration of the Etiology of Hate. Schocken, 1995, ISBN: 9781586638504.
- Other Instructor-Distributed Materials
Optional Assignment
- Look through the Newberry catalog for materials that can be useful in imagining Shakespeare's world. The material can be directly related to Shakespeare, or more broadly to Shakespeare's time, English history and literature, or history of performances and performing arts. Written material, images, and sound clips are all acceptable forms.
A Brief Syllabus
- The Language, the Poetry, and the Globe
- Prospero's Utopia, Caliban’s, Ariel’s. And Miranda’s Dystopia
- Othello
- Anti-Semitism, Anti-Racism, or Just Show Business: Shylock’s Legitimate Anger
- Your Shakespeare
Cost and Registration
5 Sessions, $255 ($229.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($255), Community Supported ($235), and Sponsor ($275). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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