Last year we joined worldwide celebrations of William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday. We have kept up the mood and this year we are again inviting you to…
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Shakespearean Sessions n order to keep on studying the transitional English Renaissance, this second edition of the course will find us delving into the tempest of the Bard’s language.
Though being an extensively charted territory, it still proves mystifying to his
readers. That is why every fortnightly Saturday we will meet in Caballito and discuss some of his other major texts in about an hour and a half –from 3 to 4.30 pm. As in the previous meetings, you will be provided with specialised and prestigious bibliography. We will also watch some videos and films in the midst of a pleasant and encouraging atmosphere with warm tea and some delicacies.
What will we read?
First session on March 14th
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onnets: Shakespeare cannot escape Shakespeare. Aren’t the “fair youth”, the “fair lady” and the “rival poet” actually
characters in a play? Don’t the sonnets’ reflections upon
poetry resemble stage directions? And the persona of these poems, doesn’t it echo the voice of a theatre director? In this
session we’ll explore how the bard’s dramatic language breathes into his lyrical production because “this gives life to thee”.
Second session on March 28th
O
thello… Who is the real main character of this play? Iago’s
powerful rhetoric undermines the Moor’s status. What the
tragedy stages is, in fact, a struggle between different
conceptions of language. This time we’ll study the leading discursive
tension that emerges out of these contending forces… “Beware, my [friends] of (…) the green-ey’d monster…”
Third session on April 11th
H
enry V: Old mythologies of power have their exits and new ones make their entrances in the theatre of politics. Can language stage a monarchical system at the same time it sets revolutionary
principles of government? Worse, can an irresponsible drunkard be in charge of this transition? In this meeting we’ll analyse how this play
helps Queen Elizabeth by recreating an event that happens much before her time: “Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more!�.
Fourth session on April 25th
T
welfth Night, or What You Will: A character in disguise, love at first sight and a romantic “happy” ending give place to an
archetypal comedy. In this session we will reflect on those ingredients that make this Shakespearean delicacy particularly
appetizing. As one of its characters states: “If music [or language] be the food of love, play on…”
Fifth session on May 9th
T
he Winter’s Tale: Winter is coming with, on the surface, a typically Shakespearean romance: a whimsical fit of jealousy triggers off a
tragedy which has a happy ending and whose victim is responsible for
such denouement... But is this character real? She actually claims: “My life stands in the level of your dreams”. In this session we’ll listen to her tale as well as the other contending narratives this play beautifully crafts.
And if all this seems too much, “there is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so”, says Hamlet, a most experienced thinker…
How will you profit from these sessions? You’ll acquire a deeper and a broader insight into the problem of language in the Renaissance by means of enriching exchanges of ideas in a welcoming atmosphere; You’ll count on our guidance to understand the Bard’s concerns on the word in his context... and in ours; You’ll be given tools and strategies to understand and tackle his sometimes feared texts; You’ll receive a virtual folder with the sonnets and the plays to be discussed; You’ll be equipped with critical bibliography; You’ll be offered suggestions to develop your Shakesperean insights in films; You’ll be given assessment if interested in harbouring your own reading hypothesis; You’ll get a little present at the end of the course.
What do you need to be part of these sessions? A good command of English; Genuine interest –though not necessarily expertise– in literature; Bravery –to keep on approaching such distant texts– coupled with willingness to enjoy Shakespeare’s language and have a wonderful time!
Who will be your tutors?
C
ecilia Lasa is a Teacher of English graduated from IES en Lenguas Vivas “Juan R. Fernández”. She has specialised in literature by means of a two-year postgraduate course –adscripción– at such an institute as well as through a graduate course –adscripción– at Universidad de Buenos Aires with a research project that consists in an annotated translation of Sir Thomas More, an apocryphal history play partially attributed to William Shakespeare. She has also specialised in Reading, Writing and Education at Facultad
Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales –FLACSO–. She is currently writing her dissertation paper for her Master’s Degree in Literatures in Foreign Languages and Comparative Literatures. She is working as a Teacher of English Literature in secondary schools, ISP “Dr. Joaquín V. González” and
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ENS en Lenguas Vivas “Sofía E. B. de Spangenberg” and Universidad de Buenos Aires. arina Menán is a Teacher of English graduated from IES en Lenguas Vivas “Juan R. Fernández”. She also holds a degree in Language and Literature from Universidad de Buenos Aires, where she has specialised in literature by means of a two-year graduate course –adscripción– with a research project on an annotated translation of The Changeling, a Renaissance revenge tragedy by Thomas Middleton. In 2011 she was granted a scholarship to attend the Globe Cultural Seminar in London by the
English Speaking Union. She is currently taking the second and last year of the Specialisation in Reading, Writing and Education at Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales –FLACSO–. She is working as a Teacher of English Literature in secondary schools, IS “Daguerre” and Universidad del Museo Social Argentino. Both Carina and Cecilia have embarked upon the Higher Education Specialisation in Writing and Literature offered by the National Ministry of Education. Together and individually, they have written and read research papers at national and international conferences both on the Renaissance, in general, and on the Bard's production, in particular. Last year, in the context of the celebrations of William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, they lectured on Hamlet; Macbeth; Othello;
Sir Thomas More; Thomas, Lord Cromwell; Henry VIII; Richard III and Titus Andronicus.
Payment Each session costs $ 200. If the five sessions are paid in advance, you’ll have a 15% discount. If you and two more friends enroll together, the full amount for the course is $800 each.
Contact For enrollment –preferably, before March 10th– and further information, contact us at cecilia_ev_lasa@hotmail.com and cmenan@hotmail.com.
May Shakespeare be with you!