Through close textual analysis and performance engagements involving three sonnets and three diverse plays, Global Shakespeare brings students into deeper consideration and application of the language, social context and production of Shakespeare’s peerless writing. In this course, we forge links between Shakespeare’s plays and relevant, current theories in contemporary literary criticism, including postcolonial perspectives, gender identities, human health, environmental issues, and social inequalities.

In addition to textual analysis, our study of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet and The Tempest includes theatre performance principles and experiences. We also explore adaptations of Shakespeare in other artistic forms (e.g. dance, costume, opera, visual art, film and music). Through this process, we consider the psychosocial, political and cultural factors that continually influence the act of interpretation.

The learning activities in Global Shakespeare require each student’s commitment to:

• reading plays and academic articles carefully, in their entirety, prior to class,
• participating actively in discussions and interactive engagements in class (i.e. designing, debating, acting),
• viewing and analyzing theatre and film adaptations from around the world,
• writing essays on Shakespeare’s plays, with the proper inclusion of textual references, citations from academic articles, and concepts from critical theory in relation to these literary works.

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Global Shakespeare will meet for two hours on Saturday mornings from 6 Sep to 29 Nov, 2025. As an optional, additional commitment, students may participate in a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Contributions may be on stage or backstage and will require approximately two additional hours per week outside of class on Saturday afternoons and occasional weekday afternoons. This production of Hamlet will culminate in a live performance in early December 2025. 

The learning outcomes for Global Shakespeare include:

• understanding the rhythmic and dramatic structures within Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays,
• analysing Shakespeare’s figurative language and inventive vocabulary,
• increasing knowledge of the social contexts in which the plays were written, performed, and subsequently interpreted and produced
• incorporating existing literary criticism, and appropriate textual references, into articulate essays,
• bringing Shakespeare’s work to life in a creative manner (e.g. costume, set design, performance). 

1. Critique of Shakespearean Sonnets (in class, small group) 10%
In collaboration, students will analyse one of Shakespeare’s sonnets, creating an outline of key interpretative insights. Each team will submit one document of approximately 500 words, with citations.  

2. Theatre Production Exercise & Critical Explanation on A Midsummer Night’s Dream  (outside class, small group) 25%

Working in teams, students will interpret a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (different scenes for each team) in the form of either:
(1) short film, (2) costume design, or (3) set design. Each team will also submit an explanation of their interpretation. The word range is 900-1100, not including Bibliography.

3. Short Essay on Hamlet (in class, individual) 25%
Students will compose a handwritten short essay on a question provided by Dr. Murray. Students will not have their notes for this writing task, but will have a scene from Hamlet as a reference. There is no specific word minimum or maximum, but students will write for approximately 45 minutes.

4. Critical Essay on The Tempest (outside class, individual) 25%
Students will compose a carefully-researched, accurately-cited essay on from a choice of questions provided by Dr. Murray. The word range is approximately 1200-1400, not including Bibliography.

5. Participation (in class, individual) 15%
Students’ final mark will be influenced by timely attendance and active participation in class discussions and activities. This mark is calculated throughout the semester

In Global Shakespeare, we work with the Folger editions of Shakespeare’s works as our primary sources, as these editions are available online for free (without notation) at: https://www.folger.edu. You may purchase the Folger notated digital edition of each play or a hard copy of the plays. Although you may read other editions to help in understanding the plays, please do not rely on other editions as primary texts, as there are significant variations between editions. The required secondary sources (i.e. academic research articles) will be provided for free via Moodle, but each students will also undertake additional individual research.

Primary sources:

• Shakespeare, William. Hamlet from The Folger Shakespeare. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine, editors. Washington DC: Folger Shakespeare Library, 2004.

   https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/hamlet/

• Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream from The Folger Shakespeare. Ed Barbara Mowat, Paul Werstine. Washington DC: Folger Shakespeare Library, 2009.

https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/a-midsummer-nights-dream/read/

• Shakespeare, William. The Tempest from The Folger Shakespeare. Ed Barbara Mowat, Paul Werstine. Washington DC: Folger Shakespeare Library, 2015.

https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/the-tempest/read/

Secondary sources (partial list):

• Marshall, Cynthia. The Shattering of the Self: Violence, Subjectivity and Early Modern Texts. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
• Halpern, Richard. “Eclipse of Action: ‘Hamlet’ and the Political Economy of Playing.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 59, no. 4, 2008, pp. 450–82. https://doi.org/10.1353/shq.0.0046
• Warley, Christopher. Reading Class through Shakespeare, Donne, and Milton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

• Loomba, Ania. Shakespeare, Race and Colonialism. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Gray, David. “’Command these elements to silence’: Ecocriticism and The Tempest.” Literature Compass, vol. 17, 2020, e12566, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/lic3.12566