Dear SEP Families,
As you may remember from the initial description of Disguises and Dopplegangers, this course was designed to be part theater class and part literature class. We read the classic Spanish Golden Age play Life is a Dream. This is a difficult text that continues to supply plenty of riddles for even the most seasoned researcher. Some major themes of the text are fate, dreams, reality, what constitutes the “truth”, how to identify this truth, and to what extent we can trust our conclusions.
Students quickly became engaged with the story of the text and identified with characters early on in the session, which helped them analyze character development. They were passionate about arguing the injustices or unfair situations in which the characters found themselves and were highly engaged in creative endeavors to rewrite or reimagine the possibilities of the storyline. Students struggled more with identifying broader themes and needed guidance to make their way through the more complicated aspects of the text.
Some of the thematic discussions we returned to frequently were nature vs nurture, dreams vs reality, truth vs lies, and free will vs destiny. The difficulty of these themes may have contributed to the desire on the part of some of the students to direct the conversation to off-topic subjects when they became uncomfortable or unsure of their answers. When given detailed guidance and reassurance, however, students were adequately able to approach the more philosophical aspects of the text.
In regards to the theater aspect of the class, there was an uneven balance of interest in the theater games and exercises. Some students were enthusiastic about these exercises while others would have preferred to stand on the sidelines. Students were, in general, unenthusiastic about acting out the play on stage and preferred to read while seated and to discuss aspects of the play in their seats. This may be due to inexperience in the theater, shyness, or the difficult language of the play. The atmosphere of the class, overall, was extremely friendly and students were generally supportive of one another. I hope that even if some of the material may have been challenging for some of them, that it will provide them with food for thought for the future.
As you may remember from the initial description of Disguises and Dopplegangers, this course was designed to be part theater class and part literature class. We read the classic Spanish Golden Age play Life is a Dream. This is a difficult text that continues to supply plenty of riddles for even the most seasoned researcher. Some major themes of the text are fate, dreams, reality, what constitutes the “truth”, how to identify this truth, and to what extent we can trust our conclusions.
Students quickly became engaged with the story of the text and identified with characters early on in the session, which helped them analyze character development. They were passionate about arguing the injustices or unfair situations in which the characters found themselves and were highly engaged in creative endeavors to rewrite or reimagine the possibilities of the storyline. Students struggled more with identifying broader themes and needed guidance to make their way through the more complicated aspects of the text.
Some of the thematic discussions we returned to frequently were nature vs nurture, dreams vs reality, truth vs lies, and free will vs destiny. The difficulty of these themes may have contributed to the desire on the part of some of the students to direct the conversation to off-topic subjects when they became uncomfortable or unsure of their answers. When given detailed guidance and reassurance, however, students were adequately able to approach the more philosophical aspects of the text.
In regards to the theater aspect of the class, there was an uneven balance of interest in the theater games and exercises. Some students were enthusiastic about these exercises while others would have preferred to stand on the sidelines. Students were, in general, unenthusiastic about acting out the play on stage and preferred to read while seated and to discuss aspects of the play in their seats. This may be due to inexperience in the theater, shyness, or the difficult language of the play. The atmosphere of the class, overall, was extremely friendly and students were generally supportive of one another. I hope that even if some of the material may have been challenging for some of them, that it will provide them with food for thought for the future.
Resources for Continued Learning
Books
Videos
Websites
Places to Visit
Thank you for being a part of SEP Session 3!
- Cohen, Walter. Drama of a Nation: Public Theater in Renaissance England and Spain. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985. Print.
- Fothergill-Payne, Louise, and Peter Fothergill-Payne. Prologue to Performance: Spanish Classical Theater Today. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, [MC1] 1991. Print.
- Stoll, Anita K, and Dawn L. Smith. The Perception of Women in Spanish Theater of the Golden Age. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1990. Print
- Scholz, Williams G, and Charles D. Gunnoe. Paracelsian Moments: Science, Medicine & Astrology in Early Modern Europe. Kirksville, Mo: Truman State University Press, 2002. Print.
- Quinlan-McGrath, Mary. Influences: Art, Optics, and Astrology in the Italian Renaissance. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2013. Print.
- De, Armas F. A. The Prince in the Tower: Perceptions of La Vida Es Sueño. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1993. Print.
- Bayliss, Robert E. The Discourse of Courtly Love in Seventeenth-Century Spanish Theater. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 2008. Print.
- Cristaudo, Wayne. A Philosophical History of Love. New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Publishers, 2012. Print.
- De, Armas F. A, David M. Gitlitz, and José A. Madrigal. Critical Perspectives on Calderón De La Barca. Lincoln, Neb: Society of Spanish and Spanish-American Studies, 1981. Print.
- Iserloh, Erwin, Joseph Glazik, Hubert Jedin, and Hubert Jedin. Reformation and Counter Reformation. New York: Seabury Press, 1980. Print.
- Patterson, Benton R. With the Heart of a King: Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain, and the Fight for a Nation's Soul and Crown. New York: St. Martins Press, 2007. Print.
- O'Connell, Marvin R. The Counter Reformation: 1559-1610, 1974. Print.
- McKendrick, Melveena. Woman and Society in the Spanish Drama of the Golden Age: A Study of the Mujer Varonil. London: Cambridge University Press, 1974. Print.
- Halberstam, Judith. Female Masculinity. Durham: Duke University Press, 1998. Print.
Videos
- Life’s a Dream Full Stage Production, free on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m7i0qgyOFM
- (for fun-indulge your teacher who grew up in the 80s and 90s J) Tina Turner: What’s Love Got to Do With it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGpFcHTxjZs
- Pamela Meyers Ted Talk: Lie Detector http://www.ted.com/speakers/pamela_meyer
Websites
- Association for Hispanic Classical Theater website: http://www.wordpress.comedias.org/
- Yale Open Courses: European Civilization 1648-1945: http://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-202
- Rutgers University Open Course: Soul Beliefs: Causes and Consequences: part 1 of 3 https://www.coursera.org/learn/soulbeliefs
- Duke University Open Course: Think Again! How to Reason and Argue: https://www.coursera.org/course/thinkagain
- Examples of One Minute Plays: http://oneminuteplays.tumblr.com/
Places to Visit
- American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA: http://www.stahome.org/american-shakespeare-center
Thank you for being a part of SEP Session 3!
