HUMN 303 Week 4 REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT EXPERIENCING THEATER

HUMN 303 Week 4 REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT EXPERIENCING THEATER

HUMN 303 Introduction to the Humanities

Plays are meant to be performed rather than read. The purpose of dramatic arts often extends far beyond the words written on a page—staging, lighting, costumes intonation, expression, and audience experience are all part of the experience of a theatrical production. To help develop your understanding of Othello and the cultural role of the dramatic arts, you will view a production of the play this week and write a two-page reflection to explain your viewing experience. Please make sure you review the Assignment Connection portion of this week’s lesson, as it will provide some additional help.

Below, please find two adaptations of Othello.

Otelo (Links to an external site.) (Spanish version)

Othello (Links to an external site.)

(1981, William Marshall version)

You may also find this short interview helpful:

Is Othello a Racist Play?  (Links to an external site.)

For this assignment, you will view one of the above versions of Othello. You will also find this website (Links to an external site.) valuable in helping you understand how to analyze a play. Once you’ve gone through the website link and watched the play, please complete a reflection that addresses the following.

Identify the performance that you have selected and why you chose that performance.

Describe the staging, lighting, costumes, and characters of the performance. How do these match or revise the written version of the play?

What type of mood and tone does the performance create? How?

What parts of the play are easier to understand through performance? What are some details that stood out through the performance?

What does the performance suggest about the role of theater in contemporary culture? (Please write a strong paragraph that thoughtfully answers this question.)

Be sure to submit your assignment.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.

Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.

One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.

I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.

In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.

Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).

Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).

Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.

I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.

As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.

It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

Lopes Write Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.

Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.

Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?

Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.

Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.

If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.

I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.

As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:

Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.

Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.