Learning Outcomes Revisited

Dr. Burton asked that we provide a summary of our work this semester in connection with the expected course outcomes that were discussed at the beginning of the semester. Here it is.

1. Gain “Shakespeare Literacy.”
   Objective: Demonstrate mastery over fundamental information about Shakespeare’s works, life, and legacy.
• Breadth: This is the area that I feel I fulfilled least this semester. The course required reading some texts that I hadn't before (Love's Labour's Lost, ) so I did expand the breadth of my own Shakespeare Literacy to some extent. But I have to admit that these additional texts were not my focus so I read through them quickly or incompletely and feel like I probably did not fully appreciate them.
• Depth: I focused on The Tempest this semester. I had already read the play before the class but my inclusion of Jungian theory in the study of The Tempest added greatly to my knowledge of the play.
• Performance: I did not fully meet all of the requirements for this learning objective. I did find BYU's performance of Love's Labour's Lost an interesting experience. I had a hard time embracing the change in setting that BYU's adaption used but I particularly enjoyed a couple of the actor's performances. I feel like watching that play introduced me to some ideas about the complicated process of adaption that I had not considered.
• Legacy: I felt like I did learn a lot in this regard, mostly through my own research and discussing my brother's research with him. My research focused on the relevancy of Shakespeare's works in contemporary film and Josh's research focused on Shakespeare's adaptation of works that preceded him.
2. Analyze Shakespeare Critically
   Objective: Interpret Shakespeare’s works critically in their written form, in performance (stage or screen) and in digitally mediated transformations. This includes:
• Textual analysis: My research on archetypes in The Tempest helped me understand how Shakespeare utilized specific formal elements to produce powerful works. I looked specifically and imagery and setting in the play and how the play contains significant archetypal imagery that still resonates with us today.
• Contextual analysis: As noted above in the section on Legacy, I felt like I learned a great deal this semester regarding context. I hadn't considered Shakespeare as an adapter of previous works and that linked directly to my own research on Shakespeare and his relevance in contemporary society.
• Application of literary theories: I focused on the application of C.G Jung's theory to Shakespeare and specifically The Tempest. I found this approach very worthwhile.
• Analysis of digital mediations: Our primary focus this semester was Shakespeare and digital mediums. Our final project dealt with the adaptation of academic works to more digitally appropriate mediums and all of our examples focused on Shakespeare.
3. Engage Shakespeare Creatively
• Performance: In addition to watching Shakespeare adaptions on stage and screen, I also had the chance to create some small projects that may be considered performances. Our 90 second trailers aren't necessarily creative in the same way these other works are but I did feel that creating the 90 second trailer in the TED format did require some level of performance.
• Individual creative work: Josh and I worked together on this project. In addition to finding and bringing together various creative projects by other people we also did some of our own. My favorite was our short xtranormal video in which two characters engage in a discussion on Shakespeare.
• Collaborative creative project: As a class we worked on creating 90 second trailers that could be displayed along with our other larger works all in one Prezi presentation.
4. Share Shakespeare Meaningfully This includes engaging in the following:
• Formal Writing: I really enjoyed the research I did for my paper this semester. My final draft can be accessed here.
• Informal Writing:  While I don't think that I completed 100% of the blog post assignments, I did do a good job of consistently posting about my experience throughout the semester. It was beneficial to have to take the time to write about what I was learning consistently rather than just at the end of the semester.
• Connecting: In addition to my work with Josh I ended up collaborating quite a bit with Ellie. I also feel that as a class we did a good job of sharing our work with each other and I know that I personally received some helpful feedback from other students.
5. Gain Digital Literacy
   Students use their study of Shakespeare as a way of understanding and developing fluency in 21st century learning skills and computer-mediated modes of communication. Those skills are grouped under the following categories.
1. Consume - I spent more time exploring online than I ever have in any other semester. I enjoyed many of the links that classmates found and thought it was really beneficial to better understand additional resources.
2. Create - We created a lot this semester. The best representation of this is our final project that essentially brought all of this little projects together: http://digitalacademia.blogspot.com/
3. Connect - I connected quite a bit with students within our class. I also connected with Dr. Lundquist about my research paper and her help was extremely important to my paper. I had a hard time connecting with those outside of our campus, however. My Tweethis did not yield any meaningful results. I did make a really meaningful connection with a professor at Northwestern University regarding my Video Essay project but because I didn't end up incorporating the video essay directly into my final project for the class, that connection ended up being less relevant to the class.