Shakespeare on Page, Stage and Screen (FNDS 1201)
What has made the plays of Shakespeare so relevant to a well-rounded education in universities around the world? How do Shakespeare’s plays transcend his period making him, in Ben Jonson’s words, “not of an age, but for all time”?
From comic books to live performance, ‘Slings and Arrows’ to Kenneth Branagh, this course explores how Shakespeare’s plays are performed, adapted, and sampled in contemporary culture and the cultural significance of Shakespeare today. We shall discuss the literary, stage and film traditions of Shakespeare’s plays as well as the wholesale borrowings from, echoes and parodies of them in popular culture, such as ‘Dr. Who’, graphic novels like ‘Kill Shakespeare’, or TV commercials for products such as Levis jeans and H&M. This course challenges students to consider how the medium of the artistic work (e.g. film, play, TV commercial) impacts interpretation and how we re-make Shakespeare in contemporary culture. Students will have the creative opportunity to ‘re-make’ Shakespeare themselves as part of this course.
Note: the course includes a field trip to a live performance at the Stratford Festival, Canada, and/or one in Michigan.
This course covers topics in the disciplines of English Literature, Screen Studies, Creative Writing, Theater Studies, Arts.
Who should take this course?
Anyone interested in Shakespeare, theater, film, comic books, popular culture, or creative writing. No need to use Cliff notes – previous study of Shakespeare’s work is not required.
More about this course
Course number: FNDS 1201
Number of Credits: 4
Search UM-Dearborn Class Schedule to find out more.
Dearborn Discovery Core requirements met: Critical and Creative Thinking
Meet your faculty member: J. Caitlin Finlayson, Professor of English
One of the benefits of taking a Foundations course is gaining a faculty mentor that can support you throughout your college career. Get to know Caitlin Finlayson, faculty member for Shakespeare on Page, Stage and Screen.
Prof. Finlayson teaches Shakespeare, Renaissance Literature and theater studies in the English discipline. She is a Shakespeare fanatic, loving everything from wobbly headed dolls to YouTube parodies. She has a passion for teaching theater and publishes articles on the adaptation of Shakespeare on stage and in comic books. She recently held a fellowship at the Folger Shakespeare Library in which she explored Shakespeare’s illustrative history from 18th century etchings to contemporary graphic novels. She looks forward to our class field trip to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival to see a live performance and meet a few of the actors.
Have questions about this course? Email Dr. Finlayson at [email protected].