Universität Wien

123047 PS PS Literary Studies (2025W)

Poststructuralism and Shakespeare's Rome

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 08.10. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 15.10. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 22.10. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 29.10. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 05.11. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 12.11. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 19.11. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 26.11. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 03.12. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 10.12. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 17.12. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 07.01. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 14.01. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 21.01. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Wednesday 28.01. 08:15 - 09:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This proseminar focuses on the interpretation of William Shakespeare’s works through a post-structuralist lens. We will discuss the enduring image of Shakespeare’s Rome through two of his plays set in the ‘eternal city’ as well as one of his poems. Finally, we will read a more recent short story by Jorge Luis Borges that illustrates what Shakespeare can mean to us today.

To guide our reading we will enlist the assistance of post-structuralist writers like Roland Barthes, Jacques Lacan, and Julia Kristeva. Their ideas about language, meaning, and subjectivity has had a considerable impact on Shakespeare criticism, and in this proseminar we will find examples in the primary sources.

Assessment and permitted materials

Regular attendance (no more than two absences), preparation of texts and active participation in class – 25%
Presentation – 15%
Short written assignments – 10%
Seminar paper – 50%

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Students must fulfil all course requirements (each with at least 50%) and to score at least 60 points altogether to pass this course.

Participation (25 points)
Presentation (15 points)
Short assignments (10 points)
Seminar paper, 3500 words (50 points)

Grading scale:
1: 100-91p
2: 90-81p
3: 80-71p
4: 70-60p
5: 59-0p

Examination topics

Everything covered in the seminar.

Reading list

Primary:
William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra
William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece
Jorge Luis Borges, Shakespeare’s Memory

Secondary:
Catherine Belsey, Post-structuralism: A Very Short Introduction
Jacques Lacan, “The Mirror Stage”
Jacques Lacan, “Agency of the Letter in the Unconscious”
Jean-François Lyotard, “Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism?”
Julia Kristeva, “On Abjection”
Sigmund Freud, “The Uncanny”
Roland Barthes, “Death of the Author”

Association in the course directory

Studium: BA 612; BEd 046 / 407
Code/Modul: BA10.1; BEd 08a.1, BEd 08b.2
Lehrinhalt: 12-3041

Last modified: We 08.10.2025 10:26