Hamlet Conundrums

Course Organization

 

 

Course Discussion:  There are 10 topics related to Hamlet for consideration in this course.  The topics correspond to the menu items on the left side of the course web site - - http://elsinore.ucsc.edu.  The list is as follows:

 

Enter Ghost

Oh Vengeance!

Poison in Jest

Women in Hamlet
Hamlet on the Couch

On Melancholy

Does Hamlet Delay?

Dr. Freud’s Hamlet

Two Legal Issues

Ophelia’s Burial

Fortinbras’ Claim

On Good and Evil

 

You may undertake the topics at your own pace. However it is recommended that you study the issues at the rate of one per week with the exception of the two legal issues (Ophelia’s Burial and Fortinbras’ Claim) that will be grouped together into one week’s discussion.

 

There is also a reading list of secondary readings that should accompany each week’s topic. These readings are available at the Bay Tree Bookstore - most of them in a two-volume reader. It is strongly recommended that you purchase these books.

William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Bedford/ Saint Martin's Press

John Dover Wilson, What Happens in Hamlet, Cambridge University Press
Harold Bloom, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Riverhead Books

A.C, Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy, Penguin Group (USA)
A Course Reader, Volumes 1 and 2
Hamlet Clips, an optional CD-ROM of the web site clips

 

You are asked to fully explore the class web site for the particular topic each week, as well as to do the reading. 

 

Quizzes: There is an online quiz required for each topic .Ê You are given two chances to complete the quiz.  It is recommended that you make notes of the questions you cannot answer on the first try (or are only guessing at the reply), and then seek out the correct answers in the reading or on the elsinore web site before you take the quick quiz a second time.  In effect, you can consider the quizzes as a treasure hunt for information. These quizzes will be taken into consideration in determining your grade for the Hamlet class.

 

You will be asked to enter your name and your student ID Number.

 

Course Paper or Projects:  You are required to write a course paper on a topic given on the elsinore.ucsc.edu site. (Click on "assignments" in the menu bar.)  This paper will count for half of your final grade in the class, and I urge you to start early in preparing it. The paper is due before 4:00 PM on July 28th, and late papers will not be accepted. Please bring your paper to the Erik Pearson's box in the Theater Arts Department Mail Room (J-115 Theater Arts Complex) on or before the due date. Do not submit papers by e-mail, and do not leave them at some location other Erik's box. If you have any questions about your paper, or you would like to discuss it with Erik Pearson, please contact him by e-mail at elsinore@ucsc.edu. Erik will also lead an informational meetings about the course papers during the week of July 3rd. You are expected to attend this meetings or to speak to Erik directly about your paper.

 

The Hamlet Forum:  All students in the Hamlet course are required to make at least one contribution per topic in the Hamlet forum. Use this space to share your insights, reactions, impressions, or idle thoughts about the reading materials and website pages for that particular topic. It is hoped that the forum will serve as an informal and quick way to share thoughts that pass through your mind. Your contributions to the forum will be taken into account as part of your grade for the course. Please note that we will evaluate your thinking, not your writing, when grading your participation in the forum. This means that I will not be looking at spelling or syntax, but rather at the quality of your ideas. Important: Remember to log into the forum each time you want to make an entry.

 

It is important that you go to the forum and register during the first week of the course. To do this, click on the "Hamlet Forum" item on the menu, and on the item labeled "register" at the top right corner of the forum page. After the agreements page, there is a place for you to enter your name (please give your first and last names) and the password you will use for the forum and to give your email address. It is essential that you include your present email address from the beginning of the quarter. You need only enter the registration information at the top of the page. Leave the profile information and the preferences sections of this page as they are. This will be the primary way we will communicate with you during the quarter, so please make sure your email address is current. Since you will be evaluated on your contributions to the forum, it is essential that you use your own name.

 

Evaluation:  Grading (for those of you who opt for it) and evaluations will be done on the following basis:  Half the grade will be based on your course paper.  The other half will be based on your 9 quizzes and on your participation in the Hamlet Forum. 

 

Elsinore:  Technical stuff.  Using the class web site will probably require a little tweaking of your web browser.  It is recommended that you use a current version of your web browser; either Internet Explorer (v.5.0 or better) or Netscape Navigator (v.6) or one of the flavors of Mozilla.  You will need to have two plug-ins installed in your browser.  They are Flash and QuickTime.  If you don’t have these installed, you will be guided through the process of installing them at the time they are needed. 

 

If you have a broadband connection to the internet available, it is recommended that you take advantage of it.  The film clips included in the site will stream much better at the broadband setting. If you do not have a fast connection, there is a CD-ROM available at the Bay Tree Bookstore which contains the video clips included in the website. Please use it in tandem with the site.

 

Contact info: Erik Pearson

email: elsinore@ucsc.edu

 

Please contact Erik Pearson if you are interested in or have enrolled in this course - an email will do. We just need to make sure we have the email address you actually use.