Shakespeare’s Othello
The Moor
In this course, we'll read William Shakespeare’s Othello and discuss the play from a variety of perspectives. The goal of the course is not to cover everything that has been written on Othello. Rather, it is to find a single point of entry to help us think about the play as a whole. Our entry point is storytelling.
We'll look at the ways in which Shakespeare's characters tell stories within the play––about themselves, to themselves, and to each other. We'll consider, too, how actors, directors, composers, and other artists tell stories through Othello in performance. By focusing on storytelling, we can see how the play grapples with larger issues including power, identity, and the boundary between fact and fiction.
From lectures filmed on-location in Venice and conversations with artists, academics, and librarians at Harvard, students will have unprecedented access to a range of resources for "unlocking" Shakespeare's classic play.
What you'll learn
- Develop a critical stance on Othello and its protagonist, the “Moor of Venice,” through the central motif of storytelling.
- Use primary sources, including sixteenth-century accounts of Africa and nineteenth- and twentieth-century performance artifacts, to evaluate the play in multiple historical contexts.
- Looking at adaptations of the play from the nineteenth century to the present, evaluate Othello as a platform for conversations about race, gender, class, and nationality.
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| Rating | 5.0★ based on 1 ratings |
|---|---|
| Length | 4 weeks |
| Effort | 4 weeks, 5–7 hours per week |
| Starts | On Demand (Start anytime) |
| Cost | $99 |
| From | HarvardX, Harvard University via edX |
| Instructors | Stephen Greenblatt, Bailey Sincox |
| Download Videos | On all desktop and mobile devices |
| Language | English |
| Subjects | Humanities |
| Tags | Humanities History Literature |
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What people are saying
wellesley or adelaide moocs
Good course, but if you’re looking for a scene-by-scene explanation of the play, you might be better off with the Wellesley or Adelaide moocs.
keith hamilton cobb
It’s terrific – I still have goosebumps from the interview with Keith Hamilton Cobb – but I’m not sure how much I would have gotten out of it had it been my first encounter with Othello.
might be better
my first encounter
opera and drama
Here, what shines are the analyses of different retellings of the play, in opera and drama, as well as some performance history.
some performance history
sure how much
good course
better off
different retellings
goosebumps from
gotten out
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| Rating | 5.0★ based on 1 ratings |
|---|---|
| Length | 4 weeks |
| Effort | 4 weeks, 5–7 hours per week |
| Starts | On Demand (Start anytime) |
| Cost | $99 |
| From | HarvardX, Harvard University via edX |
| Instructors | Stephen Greenblatt, Bailey Sincox |
| Download Videos | On all desktop and mobile devices |
| Language | English |
| Subjects | Humanities |
| Tags | Humanities History Literature |
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