Shakespearean Sexualities

In Gender Trouble, Judith Butler posed the following questions: 'Does sex have a history' Does each sex have a different history, or histories? Is there a history of how the duality of sex was established, a genealogy that might expose the binary oppositions as a variable construction'' (1992, 7). Since then, numerous scholars have explored these questions, with many of them focusing on Shakespearean drama. Variously viewed as patriarchal, feminist, queer, or trans, Shakespeare's plays offer divergent views of sex, gender and sexuality in early modern England: this course will offer the opportunity to discuss these views with reference to selected dramas. While the course will examine the way in which gender roles were conceptualised/expressed during the Renaissance, it will also explore representations of sexuality. Bearing in mind that the identity categories of homosexuality/heterosexuality are nineteenth century inventions, students will be encouraged to examine the different ways in which eroticism was expressed in the early modern period. Although Shakespeare was, of course, writing in England, with the exception of The Merry Wives of Windsor, few of his plays are actually set there, so we will also students will consider how issues of race and/or nationality intersect with the construction of gender and sexuality in Shakespearean drama.   Credit Level: 10 Year taken: Year 4 Undergraduate