Mukherjee 1
English 822 (Shakespeare in the Movies)—Course Policy and Syllabus
Section1 Tuttleman Room 103
Spring 2017
Meeting times: MWF 12-12:50p.m.
Credit Hours: 3
Dr. Srimati Mukherjee
Office: Anderson 1114
Phone: (215)204-1734
E-mail:
Office hours: MW 2:45 p.m.-3:45 p.m. and F 1-2 p.m. (this hour generally by appointment)
Please allow about a day for responses to e-mail messages and two to four days for responses to phone messages
I will be assisted in class and grading this semester by Elizabeth Kim. Her email is
Professor Kim will hold office hours on MWF from 1:30-2:30 p.m. and also by appointment.
This course is open to all students who meet the academic requirements for participation. Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
Statement on Academic Freedom: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) which can be accessed through the following link: <
Texts:
The following films are on reserve for the semester in Paley Library Media Services. Please review as necessary.
Welles, Orson, dir. Macbeth (1948)
Fiennes, Ralph, dir. Coriolanus (2011)
Branagh, Kenneth, dir. Hamlet (1996)
Bhardwaj, Vishal, dir. Haider (2014)
Radford, Michael, dir. The Merchant of Venice (2004)
Giles, David, dir. Henry IV Parts I and II (1979)
Kurosawa, Akira, dir. Ran (1985)
Elliott, Michael, dir. King Lear (1983)
Selected speeches from the Shakespearean plays. Students can access these online or fromprint versions of the plays.
Course Description:
This course fulfills your General Education Arts requirement.
We will watch several full-length films based on plays by William Shakespeare. These include cinematic adaptations of his history plays, tragedies, and comedies. Some of the films are classics, such as Kurosawa’sRanand Welles’ version of Macbeth; and others, such as Bhardwaj’s Haider, are centered in more contemporary political contexts. I have also tried to internationalize the course texts as far as that is possible, including cinematic adaptations of Shakespeare by directors from various countries.
My lectures and our discussions will focus on historical contexts; how cinematic strategies and sets convey key themes from the plays; range of Shakespearean actors and representations of character; changing times and directorial treatment of hierarchy and marginalization. Your thoughts on other aspects of the films and plays are always welcome.
You will be asked to locate, read, analyze, and offer commentary on selected speeches from each of the plays whose cinematic versions we watch. Please bring hard copies of these speeches to class on the relevant days. Temple’s Paley Library also has a substantial research resource for this course accessible via You are encouraged to use this resource.
Course Requirements:
You will have to write two papers, each a minimum of 500 words. Clearly, the papers should show use of material from the primary sources to support your argument(s).
Both papers, in their final version submitted, shouldalso show careful integration of at least one researched secondary source. Ideally, these should be scholarly critical commentary on the texts you are addressing in your essays. Please locate, read, and think about these sources well ahead of the paper submission deadline. Biographical sources on the author/directors may be used in addition to critical sources and only as relevant to the development of your thesis. Please use researched sources to support and enhance your own argument and not as a foundation for your paper(s). However, careful development of connections between your own claims and those of critics used will clearly help your grade. The papers should be typed, double-spaced, and follow the MLA style of documentation and bibliography. The required submission dates are specified on your syllabus.Late papers are not acceptable without an official excuse (medical, court order etc).
Please avoid plagiarism in all written work. Plagiarism could result in a grade of F for the course and more serious consequences such as suspension. (Please see below for a more detailed section on plagiarism).
You will also take two in-class quizzes on days specified on your syllabus. Basically, the quizzes help us gauge if you are abreast of the film viewings and readings and are familiar with key characters, issues, plot development, and directorial endeavors in the texts under consideration. Thus, it is important for you to be present in class regularly and review texts and notes thoroughly prior to taking the two quizzes.You must be present on the days assigned for the two quizzes; they cannot be rescheduled.
On May 8th, the day specified by the University, you will have your in-class final examination. This will include two identification answers and one essay answer. I will explain the format in greater detail about a week prior to the examination. Once again, you will need to review texts carefully for this; have a comprehensive grasp of issues, themes, and other elements addressed in the course; and bring your analytical abilities into play. Your performance on this will help us understand your cumulative learning experience this semester. You will not pass the course if you are absent for this exercise on May 8th. This examination cannot be rescheduled.
Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism and Violating the Rules of an Assignment:
[Excerpted from the Temple University Statement on Academic Honesty for Students in Undergraduate Courses]
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person's labor: another person's ideas, words, or assistance.
In general, all sources must be identified as clearly, accurately, and thoroughly as possible. When in doubt about whether to identify a source, either cite the source or consult your instructor.
Academic work is intended to advance the skills, knowledge, and intellectual competence of students. It is important, therefore, that students not behave in such a way as to thwart these intentions. When students are given assignments in a class, the instructor will normally explain the rules under which the assignment is to be carried out. A student who does not understand the rules should ask the instructor for clarification.
Academic cheating is, in general terms, the thwarting or breaking of the general rules of academic work and/or the specific rules of individual courses. It includes falsifying data; submitting, without the instructor's approval, work in one course that was done for another; helping others to plagiarize or cheat from one's own or someone else's work; or actually doing the work of another person.
Penalties for Academic Dishonesty
The penalty for dishonesty can vary from a reprimand and receiving a failing grade for a particular assignment, to failure for the course, to suspension or expulsion from the University.
a. The language in your paper must be either your own or a direct quote from the original author.
b. Changing a few words or phrases from another writer’s work is not enough to make the writing “your own.” The writing is either your own or the other person’s; there are no in-betweens.
c. In text citation and an accurate bibliography acknowledge that the fact or opinion expressed comes from another writer. If the language comes from another writer, quotation marks are necessary in addition to a footnote (citation).
Grading:
Each paper will be worth 25% of your grade, a total of 50%. The final examination will be worth 20%. We will give equal emphasis to content, critical analysis, integration of primary and secondary sources, and organization on the one hand, and grammar, mechanics, and spelling on the other. Each of the two quizzes will be worth 10% of your grade, a total of 20%. Attendance, participation in class, and facilitating discussion will contribute to the remaining 10% of your grade.
Attendance Policy, Participation, and Conferences:
Although I will lecture frequently, there will be an emphasis on discussion and student input. Thus, regular attendance and class participation are strongly encouraged at all times. More than three absences (excused or unexcused) will result in an F.
Please avoid coming to class late; turn all cell phones off during the class period; and avoid personal conversations unrelated to textual discussions. Respect for peers should always be in evidence. We are all in the learning process together, and we need to do everything we can to facilitate this experience.
You can meet with me in a conference in my office hours at any point in the semester. However, please try to set up an appointment a few days prior to the meeting. Conferences with me are also scheduled at the end of the semester. Please see syllabus for dates. Times will be assigned.
Best wishes for a productive and peaceful semester.
English 822 Section 1—Syllabus
Shakespeare in the Movies
Dr. Srimati Mukherjee
Spring 2017
This syllabus is subject to slight changes.
January 18Introduction—explanation of course objectives and requirements
20 and 23 Film:Welles, Macbeth
25 and 27 Lecture and discussion: Accent; imagination and actions; Expressionism on the sets; Macbeth as Satanic and Welles’ representation of transformation
30Students speak on selected speeches
February1 and 3 Film: Fiennes, Coriolanus
6 and 8 Lecture and discussion: comparative analysis with Laurence Olivier’s stage version; role of women; the people
10and13 Film: Branagh, Hamlet
15 and 17 Lecture and discussion: Film sets;T.S. Eliot’s notion of “objective correlative” in Hamlet; representation of the incestuous; play within the play
20Students speak on selected speeches
22Quiz 1 (Attendance necessary and no make-ups); explanation of requirements for Paper 1
24 and 27 Film: Bhardwaj, Haider—contemporary Indian version of Hamlet in the context of Kashmir conflict of 1995
March 1Paper I due; open discussion of Haider
3 and6Film: Radford,The Merchant of Venice
8 and 10 Lecture and discussion:
Marginalization and oppression of Jews in Venice; Shylock’s grief as “other;” flesh, the carnivalesque, the erotic, and the grim; courtroom sequence—notions of “alien” and “citizen;” contrasting “ring” sequences cast in blue tones
20Students speak on selected speeches
22 and 24 Film: Giles, Henry IV Part I
27Quiz 2 (Attendance necessary and no make-ups)
29Lecture and discussion
31 and
April 3Film: Giles, Henry IV Part II
5Lecture and discussion
7Paper II due;
Film: Kurosawa, Ran
10 and 12 Continue Ran
14 and 17 Lecture and discussion: storyboarding and impact of Van Gogh; the Samurai sign-system and the space of the woman; gender ambiguity; influence of Noh, sound, and Gustav Mahler
Film to be watched out of class: Elliott, King Lear(available streaming Temple Paley Library Media Services)
19Film: King Lear--selected segments in class with commentary
21 Lecture and discussion: Comparative analysis—Ran and King Lear
24, 26, and 28 Conferences with professor (times to be assigned)
May 1Explanation of format for final examination
8Final examination: 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (in classroom). This examination cannot be rescheduled.