Course Content (Omschrijving van de cursus)
Student: Can I read Shakespeare’s Hamlet? The one with the famous “To be or not to be?” speech?
Teacher: Of course! We actually call that kind of speech a soliloquy. You may also choose another tragedy to read, such as Macbeth or King Lear.
Student: Can I also read more recent plays written by female authors?
Teacher: Definitely. For this course choose several well-known and lesser known plays and short stories to read, analyse, reflect on, and enjoy. You will study and learn to work with tools that can be used to analyse these works. The focus is on materials and terminology that can be used in secondary education.
Course Objectives (Doelen)
- You acquire knowledge of and insight into 9-10 plays
- You acquire knowledge of and insight into 8-10 short stories
- You are able to use literary terms applicable to the plays and stories read
Format (Werkvormen)
Introductory lesson in which the content and structure of the course will be explained; presentations; discussion, and mostly self-study.
Assessment (Toetsing)
Group presentation in which a selected play is compared to an adaptation, for example, a film or a play performed in a theatre (this should be sufficient, no part of the final grade) and a 60-minute oral exam, in which the student matches quotations to the correct works, after which a discussion is held regarding themes, setting, narrator, characters and plot, among other things, for a grade. The oral exam may take place on another day than Friday.
Literature (Literatuur)
- Students receive a number of sources during the course covering relevant terminology
- Students select ten plays from a mandatory list, as well as some ten short stories that must meet criteria distributed during the course; no particular short story is mandatory.
- The short stories on the list must be diverse in all respects regarding gender, socio-cultural background, country of origin, style, and themes, and have the potential to be read in secondary schools.
- The final list as selected by the student must be approved by the teacher.
Schedule (Rooster)
Two sessions; at the start and halfway through the course. Sessions will take place on Fridays, time TBD. First session: January 8, 2027.