First Year Seminar 191HFA22 - FYS- Shakesqueer

This seminar will explore questions of queerness within the Shakespearian comedy, Twelfth Night. We will consider constructions of queerness during the Renaissance to inform discussions of how "queer" comes to be defined both in the past and the present. Furthermore, this class will consider the ethics of ascribing queerness to Twelfth Night - is it appropriate for readers to map out modern ideas of queerness onto characters like Viola, Olivia, Orsino, and Sebastian, when that might not be what Shakespeare intended? Is it problematic to speculate on Shakespeare's own identity? What is gained from reading queerness in Twelfth Night, and what, if anything, is lost?

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