Unit #1: Time & Space
I think the use of language is a very important means by which this species, because of its biological nature, creates a kind of social space, to place itself in interactions with other people."
Noam Chomsky
The ultimate boundary of world literature is found in the interplay of works in a reader's mind, reshaped anew whenever a reader picks up one book in place of another, begins to read, and is drawn irresistibly into a new world."
David Damrosch
World history requires a broader expanse of space; just as crucially, it requires a longer stretch of time. The continuum of historical life does not grant the privilege of autonomy to any spatial locale; it does not grant that privilege of autonomy to any temporal segment."
Wai Chee Dimock
General Overview:
This area of exploration focuses on the idea that language is a social capacity and as such is intertwined with community, culture and history. It explores the variety of cultural contexts in which texts are produced and read across time and space as well as the ways texts themselves reflect or refract the world at large. Students will examine how cultural conditions can affect language and how these conditions are a product of language. Students will also consider the ways culture and identity influence reception.
Students will investigate ways in which texts may represent, and be understood from, a variety of cultural and historical perspectives. Through this exploration students will recognize the role of relationships among text, self and other, and the ways in which the local and the global connect. These relationships are complex and dynamic. The background of an author and the make-up of an audience are not necessarily clear or easily described. Texts are situated in specific contexts and deal with or represent social, political and cultural concerns particular to a given time and place. For example, a text written to address the concerns of an author in contemporary society can be set in ancient times. Cultures that are geographically separated can share mores or ideas, while people living in proximity can embrace disparate traditions. Students will consider the intricacies of communication within such a complex societal framework and the implications that language and text take on when produced and read in shifting contexts.
Study and work selection in this area should allow students to explore texts and issues from a variety of places, cultures and/or times. The culture, biography of an author, historical events or narratives of critical reception will be considered and may be researched, but the focus of study will be on the ideas and issues raised by the texts themselves and a consideration of whether these are best understood in relation to an informed consideration of context. In this area of exploration, students examine the ways in which a text may illuminate some aspect of the political or social environment, or the ways in which a more nuanced understanding of events may affect their understanding or interpretation of a text. The study of contexts does not imply a static, one-to-one relationship between a text and the world, but sees the former as a powerful “non-human actor” across time and space.
Students will investigate ways in which texts may represent, and be understood from, a variety of cultural and historical perspectives. Through this exploration students will recognize the role of relationships among text, self and other, and the ways in which the local and the global connect. These relationships are complex and dynamic. The background of an author and the make-up of an audience are not necessarily clear or easily described. Texts are situated in specific contexts and deal with or represent social, political and cultural concerns particular to a given time and place. For example, a text written to address the concerns of an author in contemporary society can be set in ancient times. Cultures that are geographically separated can share mores or ideas, while people living in proximity can embrace disparate traditions. Students will consider the intricacies of communication within such a complex societal framework and the implications that language and text take on when produced and read in shifting contexts.
Study and work selection in this area should allow students to explore texts and issues from a variety of places, cultures and/or times. The culture, biography of an author, historical events or narratives of critical reception will be considered and may be researched, but the focus of study will be on the ideas and issues raised by the texts themselves and a consideration of whether these are best understood in relation to an informed consideration of context. In this area of exploration, students examine the ways in which a text may illuminate some aspect of the political or social environment, or the ways in which a more nuanced understanding of events may affect their understanding or interpretation of a text. The study of contexts does not imply a static, one-to-one relationship between a text and the world, but sees the former as a powerful “non-human actor” across time and space.
Guiding Conceptual Questions:
1. How important is cultural or historical context to the production and reception of a text?
2. How do we approach texts from different times and cultures to our own?
3. To what extent do texts offer insight into another culture?
4. How does the meaning and impact of a text change over time?
5. How do texts reflect, represent or form a part of cultural practices?
6. How does language represent social distinctions and identities?
2. How do we approach texts from different times and cultures to our own?
3. To what extent do texts offer insight into another culture?
4. How does the meaning and impact of a text change over time?
5. How do texts reflect, represent or form a part of cultural practices?
6. How does language represent social distinctions and identities?
About the Book:
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Christopher Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself.
SEMESTER LONG PROJECT:
Part 1 (Time & Space): DUE
Part 2 (Readers, Writers, Texts): DUE
Part 3 (Intertextuality): DUE
Part 2 (Readers, Writers, Texts): DUE
Part 3 (Intertextuality): DUE
Week #1:
DAY 1: WORK BANK + MEMORIZATION PROJECT +
Memorization Project | |
File Size: | 30 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Command Terms | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
DAY 2: INDUCTION, SCENES 1-2 ANALYSIS
taming_intro__2_.pptx | |
File Size: | 27664 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Week #2: Act 1 Annotations + Analysis
Week #3: Act 2 Annotations + Analysis
GOOGLE SLIDE LINK FOR ACT 4:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YsF2H7PlT9Zqbym67RcR7D5vV5Sulh1Q_RqXsafPRoo/edit?usp=sharing