by Akari Godsey
[Image: The Shakesqueer students rehearsing their parts for the showcase performance.]
As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night—these are just some of Shakespeare’s plays being studied in one of this semester’s English classes on Sexuality, Gender, and Literature. This particular class is Shakesqueer, which focuses on Shakespeare’s works that explore gender and sexuality; it is taught by William Wolfgang, Ph.D.
Along with the works mentioned above and The Sonnets by Shakespeare, the course also covers works by Christopher Marlowe, including Edward II. The course is a broad stroke of exploration into works that might otherwise be seen as boring. Professor Wolfgang also employs a style of teaching called ‘History on your feet’ in which students are encouraged to engage in a hands-on approach to the course material. This includes acting out a script in front of the class or interacting with props used in plays. This is an inspired way to keep students engaged.
Later this semester, as a final showcase and pilot experience, the Shakesqueer course is partnering with other arts and fine arts courses to put on a multimodal showcase. This includes art, theatre, dance, and poetry alongside theatrical adaptations of scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream from the Shakesqueer students. The adaptations will also include visual art and sonnets. When asked how this showcase affects the English department, Prof. Wolfgang explained, “Anytime we can get together and share literature in a space, we can get together and celebrate the works together.”
Having spoken to a student in the course who is doing a sonnet in the showcase, I have learned that this class is both fun and beneficial for English majors and minors in their overall academic journey. Students enjoy getting to read more of Shakespeare’s works and getting the opportunity to view these works through a queer lens since Shakespeare himself was arguably flexible with how he interacted with gender and sexuality. The showcase itself also proves to be a learning experience in and of itself. While preparing and rehearsing for this showcase, the student I interviewed said this in regard to preparation for the showcase: “I am learning a lot as I prepare for the showcase. I am learning much about how theaters perform Shakespeare. There are all types of people playing different roles because gender and sexuality aren’t really seen in the traditional sense. For example, there are women playing traditionally men’s roles and vice versa.” This course and by extension the showcase allow students to look at works in ways that they usually wouldn’t in a traditional English class. They can learn how older works like Shakespeare connect with modern readers and audiences.
As of writing this, the Shakesqueer course has begun rehearsals for their parts in the showcase during class and further rehearsals are being held as needed. The showcase itself is Monday, December 9th, 2024, at the Philip A. Zaffere Library. Shakesqueer and classes like it allow students to push past the curriculum of traditional English courses. This course and others like it approach the English major and minor in a way that draws students in and keeps them engaged with the material in unconventional ways that keep students engaged and excited.