COURSE OBJECTIVES: The aim of this course will be to undertake an interdisciplinary exploration of Shakespeare's English history plays (along with selected other Elizabethan staged histories and selections from the chronicle histories upon which they drew) in order to understand the works not only as theatre and literature, but also for the insight they provide into Elizabethan attitudes toward history, ideas of kingship and proper monarchic rule, and perceptions of social and gender relations in historic context. By closely examining the chosen texts, students will explore the way Elizabethans saw the English past, the relationship of contemporary politics to that past, how Shakespeare understood his own audiences and aims, and such issues as the level of historical awareness among the full range of people that constituted Shakespeare's audience. By considering as well the uses to which Shakespeare's histories have been put since Elizabethan times, the role of Shakespeare's history cycle in shaping English national identity will also be illuminated.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Basic reading for the course will be Shakespeare's English history plays--King John, Richard II, Henry IV (in two parts), Henry V, Henry VI (in three parts), Richard III, and Henry VIII (all are included in the edition chosen as class textbook, the two-volume Everyman edition)--along with Christopher Marlowe's Edward II (the New Mermaid edition will be used for class) and Michael Drayton's Peirs Gaveston (Xeroxed copies will be supplied). These will be periodically supplemented by readings (on reserve in the library or through handouts) from contemporaneous nondramatic sources, including the Chronicles of Stow, Hall, and Holinshed, among Shakespeare's sources for English political history, and the multiply authored Mirror of Magistrates, a useful guide to the period's conception of political authority and perspectives on history. In addition, Peter Saccio's Shakespeare's English Kings: History, Chronicle, and Drama will be required. Saccio's text provides a useful guide and source for background information on Shakespeare's histories.

The course will operate in seminar style, with class discussions focusing on issues of interpretation in individual plays and themes developing through the whole sequence of plays. Class participation will constitute a major part of the grade for both undergraduates and graduate students. Therefore, while we will not be taking daily attendance, routine attendance in class and regular participation are expected of all students. After a week treating introductory material and historical background, the course will cover a play each week of the semester. Because the main format will be discussion, it is critical that students read the material in advance. To that end, and to help students think about the issues in individual plays, informal responses (a page or so in length) are required on the first day of discussion of each play; students should turn in two copies, one for each instructor. These informal responses allow students to explore ideas without pressure of a grade. Students can use the short papers to explore questions of how an individual play treats its historical material; how the literary form and choices Shakespeare makes fit the argument he is promoting; basic "why" questions about the choices and selections made in a play; and issues or language that students do not understand. Where possible, the instructors will provide study questions which can act as a starting point for students' own questions and observations.

Undergraduates will in addition be expected to write two short papers (3-5 pages) and one longer paper (7-10 pages) through the course of the semester (deadlines given in the course calendar), treating themes of their own choosing connected with the history plays. Undergraduate papers will be expected to employ both the primary material of the plays themselves and other supplementary materials dealt with in class; they may also find it useful to examine some secondary sources. Undergraduates will also give brief (4-5 minute) presentations of their longer projects. In determining the final grade for undergraduates, each of the major elements of the course--participation (including the presentations); the one-page papers; the two shorter papers (considered together); and the longer paper--will count for 25% of the grade.

Graduate students, in addition to the informal response papers, will be expected to complete an article-length (20-page minimum) scholarly paper on a subject of their own choosing, subject to instructors' approval, and they will be expected to make a class presentation based on their research. Midway through the semester, they will turn in a preliminary proposal, including both basic argument and provisional bibliography; the papers will be due during the final week of classes. Graduate papers should include in their research not only the plays and other primary source materials relevant to understanding them, but also a significant range of secondary scholarship on the subject that interests them. Graduate students' grades will be determined by counting their class participation and one-page papers as 25% of the grade, and the major project as 50% of the grade (40% for the paper, 10% for the presentation.

Students who are having difficulties with either the reading or writing demands of the class should avail themselves of assistance from departmental tutors or from the English Department's Writing Center (Morgan 257). Students having trouble with the material should also meet with the professor during scheduled office hours (or by appointment).

Students with disabilities who want to request accommodations must contact the Office for Students with Disabilities, located in MO 150 or contact them by telephone at (785) 231-1010 ext. 1629. This office has the responsibility to assist students and advise faculty regarding reasonable accommodations (including in-class notetakers, test readers and/or scribes, adaptive computer technology, and brailled materials). In addition, students may voluntarily identify themselves to the instructor to discuss accommodations.

Tentative Course Calendar

January 17: Introduction: History as Literature, Literature as History
January 22: Selections from Mirror of Magistrates (handout)
January 24: Selections from King James I and Holinshed (handouts)
January 29: Edward II
January 31: Edward II continued; beginning of Jarman's film, Edward II
February 5: Jarman concluded; Peirs Gaveston (handout)
February 7: Peirs Gaveston continued
February 12: King John
February 14: King John
February 19: Richard II
February 21: Richard II. First undergraduate paper due.
February 26: 1 Henry IV.
February 28: 1 Henry IV.
March 5: 2 Henry IV.
March 7: 2 Henry IV.
March 12: Henry V.
March 14: Henry V; screening of excerpts of Olivier's and Branagh's film versions of Henry V.
March 17-25: Spring Break
March 26: 1 Henry VI. Second undergraduate paper due. Graduate proposals and preliminary bibliographies due.
March 28: 1 Henry VI.
April 2: 2 Henry VI.
April 4: 2 Henry VI.
April 9: 3 Henry VI.
April 11: 3 Henry VI. First graduate presentations.
April 16: Richard III. Remaining graduate presentations.
April 18: Richard III. Begin Loncraine's film Richard III.
April 23: Conclude screening Loncraine's Richard III. Henry VIII.
April 25: Henry VIII.
April 30: Connections and conclusions.
May 2: Undergraduate presentations.