The next meeting of the Early Modern Underground will be on Fri., Oct. 16, at 3pm in Lytle Hall 206 (Kutztown University). I’ll try to make sure we have at least some munchies if not actual food to eat.
Meetings are (roughly) every other week, but I’ll try to keep updates posted here so you know for sure.
If anybody is interested in coming from somewhere besides Kutztown and you need directions, let me know.
By the way, being particularly vulnerable to geek memes, I’m interested in having an online collaborative reading and discussion of something early modern. I’m open to whether it would be an early modern play or a good critical piece (though probably not an entire book due to time constraints). Any other takers?
Hi Jennifer,
I’d be interested in doing this. I think collaborative discussion would be interesting and quite a useful approach to either criticism or a play. I’m starting my first assignment teaching gender studies after graduating October 1st (M.A. in English), and would love to get involved in something of this sort. And, of course, your blog is wonderful this far — I’m thoroughly enjoying how thorough you are in your approach to these pieces, and of course your attention to non-Shakespearean text.
How about ‘Tis Pity?
Thanks, Laurelai! I bopped over to your blog to check it out, naturally, and have now added it to my reader with much delight. (Frost fairs are an interest of mine too, though I haven’t had the time to do much with them.)
Congratulations on your new teaching gig and your freshly-minted M.A.! What level’s your gender studies class?
What do you think of michael5000′s suggestion of ‘Tis Pity? I read it once many years ago (i.e., I need to refresh my memory), and folks who showed up at EMU yesterday thought it would be a good choice. It’s also pretty available for a non-Shakespearean play.
@michael5000, when I just started typing “‘Tis Pity” in Amazon’s search box, their helpful “search suggestion” suggested “‘Tis Pity She’s a Whole.” I thought it was wrong in a very interesting way….
Jen,
Thanks for the kudos on the M.A., the gig, and of course the blog. They are much appreciated! The courses are 200 level honors courses, so I’m excited to see what my students can do with this stuff
I think ‘Tis Pity would be a wonderful choice – I need to refresh a bit too, but I think the play is just accessible enough to warrant a dynamic reading that would generate interest and discussion. If you’d like, you can either comment or email me (laurelai@live.com) and we can work out the when/how details.
@ Michael5000 – great suggestion! I’ve added Renaissance Man to my reader – I came across it a few weeks ago, but lost it when I turned my back and my pup decided to take a crack at the internet. It seems her taste in blogs is not quite in line with my own…
Let’s keep the logistical discussion here too so that anybody who wants to put their two cents in can.
The main question has to be how much time we need to give ourselves to read it. At this point in the semester (not to mention having relatives visiting this coming week), two weeks would be the bare minimum; a month would be more comfortable, but then I’m getting pretty close to the crunch at the end of the semester. (I don’t mean to sound egocentric; I’m just thinking that most other academics and students will be on a similar timeline.) So… how does three weeks sound? We could kick off discussion the week of Nov. 8.
(I’m surprising myself by sounding somewhat decisive here! In order not to shock those who know me — or put off those who don’t — I should probably quickly add that I’m still flexible if this timeline doesn’t work for other people.)
The other logistical question would be how to handle the discussion itself. While I’ve seen the comment/reply format work impressively sometimes, I’d also be perfectly fine with giving serious commenters (present company included) the power to post comments here too, which probably works better for longer points or for developing discussions on different points.
What do you think? (Any lurkers who are interested in joining in can speak up too.)
P.S. I hope you keep us posted on how your classes go!
Logistically, I’m easy.
@Laurelai: Thanks! I’ll put you in my reader too!
As far as I know, this works for me. And if it doesn’t, I can make it work…though I haven’t read it in quite a while, I’m a sucker for ‘Tis Pity. Thank both of you for the adds!
I think the comment/reply would work well, especially for purposes of not duplicating any commentary as well as giving other readers a chance to comment – and hopefully ask questions!
Till then, happy posting!