English 222:
 
Looking @ Queen Elizabeth
         

required texts:

Elizabeth (1998) dvd
Elizabeth, The Golden Age (2007) dvd
Elizabeth, Alison Weir
The Elizabeth Icon, Walker
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) dvd
The Virgin Queen (1955) dvd
Anne of the Thousand Days  dvd
Mary, Queen of Scots  dvd
Elizabeth I (2005)  dvd
Elizabeth I, The Virgin Queen (2007)

 
       

eeeElizabeth Tudor is a marker for the English Renaissance, historically and visually.  By looking at popular representations of her image – primarily in film – we can evaluate cultural responses to both the Renaissance and one of history’s most powerful women. eee

ppp We will read a biography, look at earlier examples of powerful women in Europe, follow the changing significances of Elizabeth's image through 400 years of English history, and critique a number of film images of the queen, from Bette Davis's to Glenda Jackson's to Helen Mirren's, with special attention to the two Cate Blanchette films.     ppp

ddddd

kkkkkkkkk

ffffff
       
8/25 prequels: Bodaccia, Maude, Eleanor of Aquitaine; the House of Tudor Gloriana

9/1 labor day

9/8 Weir biography

9/15 Weir biography

9/22 Weir biography

9/29 portraits and Westminster Abbey in English history, The Elizabeth Icon, Walker
       Elizabeth in the 17th and 18th centuries, The Elizabeth Icon, Walker

10/6 Elizabeth in the 19th and 20th centuries, The Elizabeth Icon, Walker

10/13 fall break

10/20 golden age of Hollywood: The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)

10/27 camp and history: The Virgin Queen (1955)

11/3 relatively speaking: Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Mary Queen of Scots (1972)

11/10 Cate the Great: Elizabeth (1998)

11/17 Helen Mirren’s Elizabeth, part I and part II(2005)

11/25 Elizabeth, The Virgin Queen (Anne-Marie Duff) part I and part II (2007)

12/1 more Cate: Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

12/8 Elizabeth redux

GRADES:
20% paper
30% film presentation (5% peer)
15% group posting on myCourses
10% class participation
25% final exam


FILM PRESENTATION: You will be in one of 8 groups. Each group will post its findings on myCourses and present a film to the class, evaluating it on two criteria: historical accuracy and aesthetic impact. All presentations will run 60 – 90 minutes. I will evaluate your presentations as follows:
30% effective presentation of historical material
20% use of reviews and features from print media; production history
20% involving the class in discussion
20% using clips effectively
10% uniform participation of all members of the group
An additional 5% of your presentation grade will come from peer evaluations.
Note: If a member of the group isn’t contributing, I will pull that person and she/he will have to write a second paper, instead. I can’t do this, however, if the group fails to let me know what’s going on. Be honest.
For the myCourses posting, much the same criteria will apply, allowing for the different format. You will set up your film’s wiki-page to cover all of the material in your presentation, with particular emphasis on historical accuracy and attention to writing. HALF of this score comes from peer evaluation.
PAPER: 5-6 pages (1500-1800 words) on some aspect of Elizabeth in pop culture. You may write on your film, but you don’t have to.
EXAM: essay questions
PARTICIATION: being there and talking – one class = one week

ALL ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE COMPLETED TO RECEIVE A PASSING GRADE.