ENL 5227 Spring 2020 Della Gatta

In the early modern period, theatre audiences depended greatly on the auditory to convey meaning. While performance theory, critical race theory, and theatre more broadly are often heavily anchored by the visual, this class amplifies the aural soundscape to attend to early modern theatre as acoustic ethnic theatre. We aim to hear the plays, and with that, reexamine how cultural differences are constructed through sound.

This class will focus on translation scenes, the sound of wordplay, the aural soundscape (including music), and accents that are all present in Shakespeare’s dramatic literature. Moving beyond the written text to engage other elements of theatre, the class will consider competing ideas of Original Practices as well as the efficacy of language and accents when layered onto the text in performance today. We will question how aurality shapes and reflects notions of ethnicity, race, class, “Othered” characters, and foreign settings. Examining the plays, historical performance conventions, and contemporary performance, how does the aural soundscape frame our understandings of the plays, settings, and characters? How is sound conveyed through textual markers and how does that effect change over time with different audiences and readers, advancements in theatre technologies, and reception theory?

Secondary texts will include essays from sound studies, translation theory, critical race and ethnicity studies, original practices and performance theory, reception theory, and essays on the plays and the sensorium.