Othello Resources

Resources:

• As you make your way through Othello, feel free to consult a few online summaries from the British Library , Cummings Study Guides, or even Spark Notes.
• Check out Terry A. Gray's outstanding web resource, Mr. Shakespeare and the Internet.

Reading Questions:

• What "languages of difference" do the other characters use when describing or interacting with Othello? How does Othello respond? How does he represent himself?
  
• The play opens in Venice, Italy. Given what you know about Venice in the 15th and 16th centuries, why might this be a significant choice?
  
• What are your impressions of Desdemona? Does she strike you as independent or "feminist"? In what ways is she caught in the oppressive cycle of her cultural moment?
  

There's still time...

...to see Twelfth Night through Notre Dame's Shakespeare Festival. The show runs until Aug. 30.

Welcome to the new & improved HUST blog

First of all--welcome to your senior year! I've caught glimpses of your blog posts about summer adventures and am eager to hear more about them.

You'll have the chance to bring your bloggin' into the 17th and 18th centuries this semester, both in Colloquium and in Cultural History. Raully Donahue will be joining the ranks of HUST bloggers and sharing this forum, posting his own thoughts/reflections/announcements from the historian's POV. The idea is that we can increase the overlap between the literature and history sides of the Restoration and Enlightenment. Of course, you're encouraged to do the same on your blogs.

See you in class.

Colloquium III

For those who are curious or who'd like to get a head start ordering/finding/reading books, I've begun posting information about our fall Colloquium III course on the wiki. Feel free to go check it out, and let me know if you have any questions.

Summer Film Series @ ND: 8/13-8/15

I just received a brochure in the mail the other day reminding me of the 2009 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival. The mainstage production will be Twelfth Night, which runs the last two weeks of August. Also worth mentioning, though, is the film series they are running at the same time. If you'd like an excuse to watch some good films that will, among other things, prep you for Colloquium III (they all treat some aspect of 16th- and 17th-century England), go check out Twelfth Night (with Ben Kingsley and Helena Bonham Carter), Stage Beauty (with Claire Danes and Billy Crudup) or Shakespeare in Love (with Joseph Fiennes...think Luther....and Gwyneth Paltrow).

Career options - free online seminar

Starting and Building a Career in the Nonprofit World

Tuesday, April 21, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time

http://philanthropy.com/live/2009/04/career/chat.php3

College students preparing to graduate this spring are facing extraordinary uncertainty about their career prospects. Not only is the job market tight, but they also confront increased competition from experienced nonprofit workers who have been laid off and businesspeople who want to change careers.

So what can new graduates do to land their first professional job? How can they stand out in a crowd of more experienced applicants? What should a college senior be doing now to prepare for a future career in the nonprofit world? And how can people who have been working for a few years for charities and foundations make the most of their opportunities?

Join us on Tuesday, April 21, as we explore these questions and others.

Related Articles

• Rethinking Nonprofit Jobs (11/13/2008)
• A Handbook on How to Start a Nonprofit Career (9/4/2008)

Digi-topia?

Here's a thought: Does the internet and the many online spaces/forums it provides (I'm thinking especially of SecondLife) offer utopic domains....digi-topias?? Is the internet a true commonwealth? Perhaps more of a capitalist/commonwealth hybrid (especially given how much money changes hands...or digi-hands...online)?

Food for thought for tomorrow's discussion on Thomas More.