ENG 105 - Shakespeare & Freedom (FYS) (1)

What good is Shakespeare in personal and political quests for freedom? What kinds of freedom do his plays dramatize? What are the complexities-moral, familial, political-that make Shakespearean freedom an exhilarating vehicle for self- and social sovereignty, a rallying cry for social change, as well as a profoundly tragic concept? In this seminar we will focus on a couple of plays, such as The Tempest and Coriolanus, whose dramatic action is propelled by quests for freedom. We will read them closely, and will also study their appropriations by progressive political movements, from anti-colonial resistance to youth movements in the new European democracies calling for the restoration of ethics to politics. Thus we will begin to explore a question vital for liberal education, what good are the arts in an era of seemingly insatiable consumer appetites?
(First Year Seminar (FYS))