Imprimis: Links and Tidbits, 4 February 2011

This week brought us scholarship through Twitter, a new podcast from the ASC, enlightening research on Shakespeare's world, and the ongoing debate about the humanities in education.

• I had a blast during #AskShakespeare Day. This idea, cooked up by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, brought scholars from all over the world together to answer questions about Shakespeare posed on Twitter. It was so wonderful to see how many people out there cared enough to ask questions about Shakespeare, and I got to trade ideas with some great scholars. We did see the authorship question pop up a few times, and plenty of people wanted to ask scholars and practitioners what our favorite plays and characters are, but we also encountered a range of other questions, some with concrete answers, but many that invited speculation: What race was Othello, really? Why do people talk about Hamlet having an Oedipus complex? Did Shakespeare pursue his own publication? What's the most gruesome scene in an early modern play? (Votes went to the heart-on-a-knife in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore and the head-bashing in Tamburlaine -- both of which you'll be able to see at the Blackfriars next year!). What's the most underrated of Shakespeare's plays? How would the plays have been different if women had been allowed on the stage? The whole experiment was so entertaining and a real intellectual rush. I think we should do it once a month. Of course, I'm happy to answer questions any day of the year -- just ping @ASC_Cass.
  
• The first Actor-Scholar Council podcast is up and waiting for you to listen to it. Greg Phelps, Tyler Moss, Sarah Fallon, John Harrell, Chris Johnston, and Jeremiah Davis joined a panel of scholars to discuss The Comedy of Errors. We'll be recording the Council session on Look About You next week.
• If you're within easy traveling distance of Staunton, be sure to see Shannon Schultz's directing project, an all-male version of Romeo and Juliet, on February 7th and 8th. The Staunton Newsleader interviewed Shannon about the project. (Please note that the Newsleader article has the performance time wrong: the show will start at 8pm both nights).
• "Hellraising Antics of Shakespearean Actors Revealed": The London Telegraph has posted an interesting article on what recent research has revealed about the theatrical world in which Shakespeare lived. Kidnappings, riots, thefts, vandalism, all brought to light courtesy of the new Early Modern London Theatres database.
• If you still haven't read James Shapiro's Contested Will, here's another review praising it as "an entertaining reappraisal of Shakespeare's enduring fascination and a conspiracy story worthy of play by the great man himself."
• Dale Salwak of Citrus College, CA, shares his approach to getting his students to love Shakespeare. Cass says: I agree with a lot of what he has to say -- that students say they hate Shakespeare because they really hate the way it's been taught, that you don't need to waste time teaching the plot, that it's okay for art to make demands of the audience -- but I still think he's missing some key elements. His approach remains very page-based, with the augmentation of audio recordings. There's so much to be gained by teaching the plays as plays and making the students take on the responsibilities and decision-making of actors.
  
• And, because no edition of Imprimis would be complete without some links discussing the value of the humanities in education: How Liberals Killed the Liberal Arts, and The Humanities in America: An Endangered Species?
  

Imprimis will be on hiatus next Friday, as I will be at the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Conference in Phoenix, along with Sarah and intern Liz, so you'll get a double-issue on February 18th. Sarah and I will be Tweeting from the conference as well, and I'll be posting about it when we get back.