Philosophy
Today is the 398th anniversary of the fire that destroyed the original Globe Theatre. I've been thinking a lot about Shakespeare lately because the less short of the short people read a book a month or so ago in which a modern child and a child of Shakespeare's time magically changed places so that the child of long ago could receive medical care to save her life. The book was shot thruogh with references and allusions to A Midsummer Night's Dream. As a result she became interested in the play and Shakespeare's writings more generally and so has had my collected works volumes in her room, trying to read through some of the comedies.
No doubt, at her age, she is getting little in terms of plot and less in terms of literary devices. But it seemed an interest that was worth facilitating. It is shocking how many standard utterances to this day trace back to Shakespeare's writings. Shakespeare and calculus are the twin pillars of "high learning" in high school, the subjects that mark those who have received advanced, serious pre-collegiate educations.
But is Shakespeare still the key to culture that his (or her or their...) works have always been held to be? Is high school the proper place for their introduction? It seems that Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird are subtly being worked into the niche that had been reserved for Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. Is this a problem? Should Lady Macbeth tell Scout Finch to get out, out of her damned curricular spot? Is Shakespeare still relevant to the education of contemporary children?
- What Makes A Great Teacher?
When I'm on a plane chatting and the person next to me finds out that I teach philosophy, the reaction is either, "I took that in college and hated it" or "I took that in college and had the strangest teacher." When I get the second one, inevitably...
- Chuckle With Shakespeare
"In Praise of Shakespeare’s Comedies" Rethinking the best way to introduce Shakespeare to the young by John R. MacArthur January 16th, 2014 Harpers Like many parents, I’m always looking for an opportunity to pry my kids away from screens and interest...
- Shakespeare And Astronomy
"The Astronomy of Shakespeare" by Elizabeth Howell February 17th, 2013 Universe Today With all this talk lately of rocks whizzing by Earth (or crashing through the atmosphere), it’s remarkable that we didn’t even know of space rocks a few...
- One Toke To Write Another Line...pothead Shakespeare?
This is not justification to exhume Shakespeare's remains. "Exhumation of Shakespeare to determine cause of death and drug test" by Deborah Braconnier June 27th, 2011 physorg.com Director of the Institute for Human Evolution, anthropologist Francis...
- "cardenio"...the Lost Shakesperean Play?
"Cumulating converging evidence" [a statistical probability feature] is providing reasonable proof for the validation of a lost Shakesperean play Cardenio [The History of Cardenio]. "Lost Shakespeare Play: Found?" An academic claims that an 18th century...
Philosophy
A Midsummer Day's Blog Post: Is Shakespeare Still Relevant?
Today is the 398th anniversary of the fire that destroyed the original Globe Theatre. I've been thinking a lot about Shakespeare lately because the less short of the short people read a book a month or so ago in which a modern child and a child of Shakespeare's time magically changed places so that the child of long ago could receive medical care to save her life. The book was shot thruogh with references and allusions to A Midsummer Night's Dream. As a result she became interested in the play and Shakespeare's writings more generally and so has had my collected works volumes in her room, trying to read through some of the comedies.
No doubt, at her age, she is getting little in terms of plot and less in terms of literary devices. But it seemed an interest that was worth facilitating. It is shocking how many standard utterances to this day trace back to Shakespeare's writings. Shakespeare and calculus are the twin pillars of "high learning" in high school, the subjects that mark those who have received advanced, serious pre-collegiate educations.
But is Shakespeare still the key to culture that his (or her or their...) works have always been held to be? Is high school the proper place for their introduction? It seems that Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird are subtly being worked into the niche that had been reserved for Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. Is this a problem? Should Lady Macbeth tell Scout Finch to get out, out of her damned curricular spot? Is Shakespeare still relevant to the education of contemporary children?
- What Makes A Great Teacher?
When I'm on a plane chatting and the person next to me finds out that I teach philosophy, the reaction is either, "I took that in college and hated it" or "I took that in college and had the strangest teacher." When I get the second one, inevitably...
- Chuckle With Shakespeare
"In Praise of Shakespeare’s Comedies" Rethinking the best way to introduce Shakespeare to the young by John R. MacArthur January 16th, 2014 Harpers Like many parents, I’m always looking for an opportunity to pry my kids away from screens and interest...
- Shakespeare And Astronomy
"The Astronomy of Shakespeare" by Elizabeth Howell February 17th, 2013 Universe Today With all this talk lately of rocks whizzing by Earth (or crashing through the atmosphere), it’s remarkable that we didn’t even know of space rocks a few...
- One Toke To Write Another Line...pothead Shakespeare?
This is not justification to exhume Shakespeare's remains. "Exhumation of Shakespeare to determine cause of death and drug test" by Deborah Braconnier June 27th, 2011 physorg.com Director of the Institute for Human Evolution, anthropologist Francis...
- "cardenio"...the Lost Shakesperean Play?
"Cumulating converging evidence" [a statistical probability feature] is providing reasonable proof for the validation of a lost Shakesperean play Cardenio [The History of Cardenio]. "Lost Shakespeare Play: Found?" An academic claims that an 18th century...