Bozio // EN 362 Syllabus 1

ENGLISH 362.01
SHAKESPEARE AND THE NATURE OF EMBODIMENT
Dr. Andrew Bozio
MW 2:30-3:50 // PMH 304 abozio@skidmore.edu
Fall 2014 TTh 1:00-2:30 // PMH 318


COURSE DESCRIPTION

In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock uses his body to establish some commonality with the Christians
who persecute him: If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you
poison us, do we not die? Here, and throughout Shakespeares plays, embodiment is fundamentally
an ideological category. The way that characters experience and theorize their bodies allows them to
assert their sympathy with certain people and their superiority over others. In this course, we will
study Shakespeares figurations of embodiment, with particular emphasis on categories of race,
gender, sexuality, and ability, in order to understand the way that early modern drama navigated and
reshaped its cultural milieus. Our readings will include Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth
Night, As You Like It, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest, as well as several scholarly works
that will help us to think about the history and politics of early modern embodiment. Specifically, we
will learn about the theory of the four humors (in which depression is the result of too much black
bile), the development of anatomy and dissection, and conceptions of monstrosity. How does
history, and in particular the history of science, inform the way that we understand embodiment?
And how does culture draw upon that history to reimagine the politics of the body? In addressing
these and other questions, participants in this class will strengthen their ability to produce complex
arguments about literature. They will also develop their research skills in working with digital
archives (such as Early English Books Online and the Folger Digital Image Collection), in writing
two essays, and in presenting an analysis of a scholarly work to the class.

LEARNING GOALS

Through this course, you will learn to
study Shakespeares plays in relation to early modern culture
interpret the ways in which embodiment is culturally and historically constructed
read and analyze a work of literature independently
use criticism to develop your interpretation of a literary text
conduct research to support a sustained analytical paper
work with digital archives to find primary sources

TEXTS

The Norton Shakespeare, eds. Stephen Greenblatt et al (ISBN 978-0393929911)

GRADE DISTRIBUTION

Participation 20%
Presentation 20%
Bozio // EN 362 Syllabus 2
Paper One 30%
Paper Two 30%

COURSE POLICIES

Participation

Because this course is a collaborative effort, participation will be essential to your success. By
participation, I mean both active listening and thoughtful contributions to class discussion that show
your preparation for class, your willingness to engage your peers in conversation, and your ability to
be respectful. In other words, come to class ready to discuss the reading, with ideas to share or
questions to pose. It helps tremendously to take notes while you are preparing for class, using the
writing process to develop your thoughts about the material, and I would also encourage you to take
notes during class.

You are allowed two absences with no questions asked. For each subsequent absence, your final
grade will drop a third of a letter, and excessive absences may result in failure of the course.
Repeated lateness will also be construed as absence, so please come to class on time and stay for the
duration.

Digital Etiquette

You are encouraged to bring laptops and tablets to class, provided that they are used for referencing
the assigned material and/or for taking notes. To minimize distractions, I would encourage you to
turn off your WI-FI while in class. Failure to adhere to this policy may result in being counted as
absent for the day, and I reserve the right to ban laptops and tablets if they become a distraction to
you or to your classmates. Use of cellphones is not permitted.

Submission of Work

All written work should be presented professionally: typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New
Roman or Garamond, and with one-inch margins. Be sure to include your last name and the page
number in the footer.

Submit your essay by uploading it to Blackboard prior to the deadline (generally, Sunday nights at
8:00 pm). Late essays will lose a third of a letter grade each day until they are submitted; after a week,
however, I will no longer accept your work.

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism is the representation of anothers words or ideas as your own. It is not only counter to the
ethics of the academic culture in which you participate, but it is also detrimental to the goals of this
course, insofar as it does nothing to develop your own skills as a thinker and a writer. You must give
proper credit, according to your chosen citation guidelines, to all words or ideas that are not your
own. In cases of a serious violation of academic integrity, you will fail the assignment. Visit
http://www.skidmore.edu/advising/integrity/index.php for more information.

Bozio // EN 362 Syllabus 3
Accessibility

Anyone who anticipates difficulties with the content or the format of this course should arrange to
meet with me so we can create a workable plan for your success. Skidmore College also offers
several forms of academic and non-academic accommodation through the Office of Student
Academic Services. Visit http://www.skidmore.edu/accessibility/index.php for more information.

ASSIGNMENTS

Essays

For this course, you will write two essays of approximately seven pages in length. In your first essay,
present an argument about the nature, politics, or significance of embodiment in one of the plays
that we read in the first half of the course (Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and As
You Like It). You should use several scholarly works, including some that we have not discussed in
class, to develop your analysis. Similarly, in your second essay, present an argument about
embodiment in one of the plays that we read in the second half of the course. In addition to citing
scholarly works, you should use EEBO and/or the Folger Digital Image Collection to find primary
sources about embodiment in the early modern period; incorporate those findings into your analysis,
using the texts or images to develop your argument in the second essay.

Presentation

Throughout the semester, our class discussions will include brief presentations from each of you on
a scholarly work of your choice (either an article or a chapter of a book). Your presentation should
be five to ten minutes long, and it should give your classmates a basic understanding of the
argument (its topic, thesis, and major points) as well as a sense of its usefulness for the course (how
we could extend the argument to the plays that we have read, or what the limitations of the
argument are). If you would like, you can circulate a handout with major points and quotations.

SCHEDULE

Reading that are not available in the required text can be found on the course site
[EN362Fall2014.WordPress.com] or on Course Reserves.

Sept. 3 Introduction to the Course

8 Nancy G. Siraisi, Medieval and Early Renaissance Medicine, 78-114
Mary Floyd-Wilson, English Ethnicity and Race in Early Modern Drama, 1-19
10 Jonathan Sawday, The Body Emblazoned, 16-38
Katharine Park, The Rediscovery of the Clitoris: French Medicine and the Tribade,
1570-1620, 171-193

15 Richard III
17 Richard III

22 Richard III
Bozio // EN 362 Syllabus 4
Mark Thornton Burnett, Constructing Monsters in Shakespearean Drama and Early
Modern Culture, 65-94
24 The Merchant of Venice

29 The Merchant of Venice
Oct. 1 The Merchant of Venice
Laurie Shannon, The Accommodated Animal, 218-270

6 Twelfth Night
8 Twelfth Night

13 Twelfth Night
Stephen Greenblatt, Shakespearean Negotiations, 66-93
15 As You Like It

20 As You Like It
22 As You Like It
Judith Butler, Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in
Phenomenology and Feminist Theory, 519-531

Paper One Due on Sunday, October 26 at 8:00 pm

27 Library Session on EEBO and the Folger Digital Image Collection
29 Othello

Nov. 3 Othello
5 Othello
Lara Bovilsky, Barbarous Play: Race on the English Renaissance Stage, 37-65

10 King Lear
12 King Lear

17 King Lear
Valerie Traub, The Nature of Norms in Early Modern England: Anatomy,
Cartography, and King Lear, 42-81
19 Macbeth

24 Macbeth
26 Thanksgiving

Dec. 1 Macbeth
Mary Floyd-Wilson, English Epicures and Scottish Witches, 131-161
3 The Tempest

8 The Tempest
10 The Tempest
Jean E. Feerick, Strangers in Blood: Relocating Race in the Renaissance, 113-136

Paper Two Due on Sunday, December 14 at 8:00 pm