ENG445/001:
William Shakespeare
Instructor: Dr. Derrick Higginbotham
Time: Wednesdays and Fridays, 1.30 – 2.45pm
Location: Sakamaki B102
Email: deh2@hawaii.edu
Office Hours: TBD
Location: KUY 618
Course Description
Shakespeare’s cultural impact on early modern theater is undeniable and that impact continues to be felt in England, America, and across the globe because his works are often staged and adapted. What made his plays so meaningful in the early modern of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries? Why do playwrights, theater groups, and musicians continue to respond to his work, adapting and transforming it? What connects the past and present in these texts?
This class will try to answer these questions by pairing one of Shakespeare’s plays with a modern artist’s adaptation or response. We will specifically read Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet with James Ijames Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation, Fat Ham (2021); his Titus Andronicus with the performance artist, Taylor Mac’s response, Gary: A Sequel (2021); his The Tempest with Mohegan writer, Madeline Sayet’s dramatic piece, Where We Belong (2024); and his Measure for Measure with a video of a recent Royal Shakespeare Company Production. Finally, we will read the ‘Dark Lady’ sonnets and then listen to the local composer, Michael-Thomas Foumai’s musical adaptation of some of these poems in his orchestral piece, Lady Dark (2012). As a part of this class, both Foumai and the playwright Hali‘ōpua Baker—who is writing an indigenous adaptation of Measure for Measure—will visit our class to talk about adaptation as an artistic and political practice.
In this class, we will think critically about intertextuality and generate theories of adaptation to help us analyze these texts. We also will read some key secondary work on adaptation theory. To enrich our discussions, we will examine all these texts using insights from queer/trans studies, critical race theories, as well as ecocriticism. Our chief goal will be to think critically about Shakespeare’s works in the past, present, and into the future.
This course will be face-to-face, and can cover both the historical breadth category of pre-1700 and the single-author category.
Book List:
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor, eds. Arden Shakespeare: 2016.
Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus. Jonathan Bate, ed. Arden Shakespeare, 2018.
Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure. A. R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson, eds. Arden Shakespeare, 2020.
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Alden T. Vaughan and Virgina Mason Vaughan, eds. Arden Shakespeare, 2011.
Ijames, James. Fat Ham. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2023.
Mac, Taylor. Gary: A Sequel. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2021.
Sayet, Madeline. Where We Belong. New York: Dramatist Play Service, 2024.
I will provide the sonnets as a PDF.
Student Learning Outcomes:
In this course, students will:
- Practice reading literary texts critically and appreciate how genre shapes content
- Present information orally in an organized manner appropriate for intended a) audience and b) purpose
- Grasp the history of the theatre in early modern England and its importance as a cultural and political institution
- Improve their understanding of adaptation and adaptation theory
- Sharpen their argumentative writing skills
- Better their skills at presenting ideas via a social media format
- Improve skills in incorporating and documenting secondary scholarship when crafting an argumentative essay
- Develop their digital literacy skills via assignments
Methods of Assessment:
Final Paper (2000 words) 35%
Theater and History Assignment (750 words) 15%
Theater and Adaptation Assignment (750 words) 15%
Vertical Video Assignment (Group work) 10%
Participation 10%
Final Exam (1000 words) 15%
Postscript: Do note that small adjustments might happen to this course in terms of content or method of assessment, but this outline represents–barring minor changes–the detail of this course for fall 2026.