Alas, our course isn't just a vacation, it's an actual credit-bearing college class. As such, there are two kinds of assignments:
Daily activities: for a couple of our visits I ask you to see some specific things and be able to discuss them a little after. All of these can be found if you click the links for specific days on the itinerary pages.
Formal assignments: these are due when we return. I'll schedule one meeting, and we'll get together to debrief. You'll show your scrapbook and turn in your review.
1. Play review. Choose one of our plays and write a review. It should be 1-3 pages, single spaced. Basically, you're going to describe what you liked and didn't like, but I would like you to also:
- describe the setting (time and place)
- describe the stage setup (scenery, props, atmosphere)
- describe the costumes
- describe one particular moment you thought was particularly effective (funny, sad, moving, frightening, surprising, etc.), and why (how it was staged, or the way the lines were delivered, or the language of the script, etc.).
2. Visual scrapbook.
- Put together a presentation (PowerPoint, Google slides, Prezi). You should have at least 5 slides (but let's keep it to 10 minutes, tops). These can be pictures you took on the trip, or images you found on the web or in other places. Please include:
- one thing you learned about Shakespeare
- one thing you learned about English history
- one thing you learned about contemporary English culture
- one thing that shows England's sense of itself in the world (as multicultural, or a colonial power, or nationalist, or self-critical, etc.)
And that's it. On the day we meet, you'll take us through your slides and present a little perspective on your trip.