First Year Seminar 191HFA03 - FYS-Star-Crossed Lovers/Apapt

In this course we will study one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, Romeo and Juliet, through its film, musical, performance, visual art, and novel adaptations. We will consider questions such as what is an adaptation? What counts as an "original" vs. an adaptation? What is Shakespeare's role in our contemporary context? How can we learn more about Romeo and Juliet by studying how it has been represented and retold in new contexts and through new genres? How do adaptations or retellings critique and/or reaffirm norms and power structures? Through the course, we will think about Romeo and Juliet and its adaptations alongside questions of race, gender, sexuality, nationality, class, colonialism, violence, genre, and translation. Students will work together to produce their own adaptations of Shakespeare, and learn what it is like to be a humanities student at UMass Amherst!

First year students only - (Freshmen or Sophomore status) First year (Fr or Soph)