A CRITICAL
ANALYIS OF SHAKESPEARE
Teaching Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
Through Computer Technology
Ms. Bell
A Web Quest for an English Literature Course
(11th grade)
INTERRACIAL
MARRIAGE Discrimination: An Analysis of Shakespeare’s OTHELLO AND
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY VIEWS
What if your son/daughter wanted to marry or date someone of a
different race? What would be your first
reaction? How would you handle the
situation? How do you think people in
general feel about these couples? You
will now have a great opportunity to explore these couple’s experiences. Your mission in this web quest is to research
and document the society’s discrimination of interracial
relationships/marriages. Your focus will
stem from Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello and from evidence in
contemporary society. Are you ready to
analyze your views as well as others’ from past and present centuries?
You will be
writing a Modern Language Association research paper. Your paper must focus on the discrimination experienced
in interracial marriages. Your analysis
should concentrate on Othello’s relationship with Desdemona and how
interracial relationships tend to experience discrimination. Your group will as
make an oral presentation of your findings using a PowerPoint presentation.
Working in groups of five, you will
research the special social problem of racial discrimination within interracial
marriages. Each group member will have a specific role as assigned by your
teacher. These roles are:
v
COORDINATOR-
a team member whose job is to see that all research is completed on time and
meets the requirements of the assignment. The Coordinator will also arrange for
an effective oral presentation of the group’s findings. This job also involves
assisting other team members with their roles as necessary
v
RESEARCHER(S)
these are TWO group members, whose job will be to gather information to address
the social problem and provide enough data to develop specific policies to deal
with it. They will also be responsible for completing and submitting the
worksheets from the Public
Policy Analyst
v
POWERPOINT
WRITER- This person will be responsible for the design and development of an
effective PowerPoint presentation using the information developed by the
researchers
v
PRESENTER-
This person will be responsible for the actual oral presentation to the class
of the group’s research and conclusions. The presenter must clearly understand
the PowerPoint being used, the research undertaken be the Researchers, and the
conclusions drawn by the group to deal with the social problem.
Your research paper must follow the
six-step public policy approach. Your
essay must follow the guidelines below:
A. Type
5 pages (font size 12, Standard PRINT)
WITH 1 ½ SPACING
B. Follow
the 5-step Global
History Public Policy Analysis model for your paper’s format
C. Document
ALL your research with MLA style end-notes”
D. 
Use the MLA research style for endnotes,
page headers, and citation of research (see examples)
***Some
advice on using the PPA***
1. The social problem is
the discrimination of interracial marriages in Shakespeare’s Othello and
in our contemporary American society.
2. Gather
evidence of the problem in the play, Othello, and in contemporary
social commentaries.
3. Determine
the causes of the problem by reading through the sites in this web
quest.
4. Describe and evaluate past and
present public policies regarding the problem.
5. Do a Comparative
Analysis and develop 3 of your original public policies that would
address the problem today.
6. Select your
most effective and feasible public policy that would address this
problem. Use the Effectiveness –
Feasibility matrix.
Follow the steps below:
Answer all the research
questions by reading through the sites in the “Resource” section of this web quest.
1 Complete all 6 public policy analysis worksheets.
2 You are to write a complete explanation for each of the steps in
our public policy analysis model regarding the problem:
“DISCRIMINATION OF INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE IN OTHELLO AND IN OUR
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN SOCIETY”
*Explain each step for your research
findings and give opinions in your paragraph form essay about your findings.
*Use MS Word software to type your
MLA style research paper
*Your
last page is the “Works Cited” page that lists at least 6 internet sites and
the play Othello from the “Resource” section of this web quest.
USE YOUR OWN WORDS
AND GIVE CREDIT TO AUTHORS’WORDS!
COPYING OR FAILURE TO GIVE CREDIT TO AUTHORS WILL RESULT IN A ZERO
RESOURCE QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER
1. Write a short summary of the play.
2. What are the Jim Crow Laws?
3. When were they enforced?
4.
When were they enforced?
5.
What are the statistics about interracial marriage?
6.
According
to the Bible, what are two conclusions
on interracial marriage?
7.
What happened to Thurgood Marshall and
his wife
30 years ago?
8.
What are 7 significant finding on interracial
marriage?
9.
In 1995, how many couples were white/black
interracial marriages?
10.
What did Charlie and Clara Loving write in the space for race on their marriage
license application?
11.
What was the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the Lovings’ right to visit
the state of
12.
How does the younger generation view race and interracial
marriage?
13.
List 5 quotations from Shakespeare’s Othello regarding race
relations or interracial marriage.
Texts:
William Shakespeare’s play Othello The Moor of
Films:
“Othello” – Branagh
and Fishburne
“O”- Keegan and Styles
“Guess who’s coming to dinner?”- Kepburn, Poitier,
“Monster’s Ball”-
“The Bodyguard”- Costner and Houston
“Dance with Me”- Keegan and Smith
Web Sites
T.I.P.S., Public Policy Analyst - http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips.html
Othello, A Summary – http://www.allshakespeare.com/plays/othello/ps.php
Othello, A Summary – http://www.awerty.com/othello2.html
Illustrated Biography of William Shakespeare –
http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/life.htm
Jim Crow Laws – http://www.nps.gov/malu/documents/jim_crow_laws.htm
The Myth of the Melting Pot – http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/dec98/melt29.htm
NAAWP Florida Chapter Inc. – http://naawpflch.org/marriages.html
The Bible and Interracial Marriage – http://www.onehumanrace.com/docs/inter-racial_marriage.asp
Is Love Color Blind? – www.isteve.com/IsLoveColorblind.htm
Couples Confront Prejudice – http://www.sistahspace.com/nommo/ir24.html
A Brief History of Interracial Marriage - http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/07/25/p15s1.htm
Loving Vs. Virginia
(1967) – Supreme Court Decisions http://atheism.about.com/library/legal/decisions/privacy/bl_l_LovingVA.htm
Generation
Y Coloring Outside the Lines - http://racerelations.about.com/library/weekly/aa082900b.htm
Quotations from Othello - http://www.online-literature.com/quotes/quotation_search.php?author=Shakespeare&from=Othello
|
|
CATEGORY
|
4 EXCELLENT |
3 VERY GOOD |
2 SATISFACTORY |
1 UNACCEPTABLE |
|
Preparedness |
Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed. |
Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple
more rehearsals. |
The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal
was lacking. |
Student does not seem at all prepared to present. |
|
Comprehension |
Student is able to accurately answer almost all questions posed
by classmates about the topic. |
Student is able to accurately answer most questions posed by
classmates about the topic. |
Student is able to accurately answer a few questions posed by
classmates about the topic. |
Student is unable to accurately answer questions posed by
classmates about the topic. |
|
Listens to Other Presentations |
Listens intently. Does not make distracting noises or movements.
|
Listens intently but has one distracting noise or movement. |
Sometimes does not appear to be listening but is not
distracting. |
Sometimes does not appear to be listening and has distracting
noises or movements. |
|
Stays on Topic |
Stays on topic all (100%) of the time. USES GH PPA FULLY |
Stays on topic most (99-90%) of the time. USES GH PPA FULLY BUT WITH INACCURACIES |
Stays on topic some (89%-75%) of the time. DOES NOT USE ALL STEPS OF GHPPA |
It was hard to tell what the topic was. HAS LIMITED USE OF GHPPA |
|
|
CATEGORY
|
4 Excellent |
3 Very Good |
2 Satisfactory |
1 Unacceptable |
|
Originality |
Presentation shows considerable originality and inventiveness.
The content and ideas are presented in a unique and interesting way. |
Presentation shows some originality and inventiveness. The
content and ideas are presented in an interesting way. |
Presentation shows an attempt at originality and inventiveness
on 1-2 cards. |
Presentation is a rehash of other people's ideas and/or graphics
and shows very little attempt at original thought. |
|
Content - Accuracy |
All content throughout the presentation is accurate. There are
no factual errors. USES GHPPA FULLY |
Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of
information that might be inaccurate. USESS GHPPA FULLY BUT WITH INACCURACIES |
The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information
is clearly flawed or inaccurate. DOES NOT USE ALL STEPS OF GHPPA |
Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual
error. HAS LIMITED USE OF GHPPA |
|
Sequencing of Information |
Information is organized in a clear, logical way. It is easy to
anticipate the type of material that might be on the next card. |
Most information is organized in a clear, logical way. One card
or item of information seems out of place. |
Some information is logically sequenced. An occasional card or
item of information seems out of place. |
There is no clear plan for the organization of information. |
|
Effectiveness |
Project includes all material needed to gain a comfortable understanding
of the topic. It is a highly effective study guide. |
Project includes most material needed to gain a comfortable
understanding of the material but is lacking one or two key elements. It is
an adequate study guide. |
Project is missing more than two key elements. It would make an
incomplete study guide. |
Project is lacking several key elements and has inaccuracies
that make it a poor study guide. |
You
should have learned from this web quest, the effects of interracial marriage in
the Elizabethan period. Shakespeare believed that art mirrored life. Discrimination
of interracial relationships/marriages is part of today’s society. It had the
same effect on the Elizabethan people as evidenced in American Contemporary
society. Is it right? In step #5 of the GHPPA you have made a comparison of the
two eras.
.
History and Shakespeare has taught us lesson that. racism
begets racism Therefore, racism cannot ever be a means to an end because the
end will lead to tragedy. Let’s hope we will learn now and forever from the
great bard.
English Language Arts
Standard 1:
Language for Information and Understanding
Students
will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As
listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover
relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from
oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they
will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the
English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.
Standard 2: Language for
Literary Response and Expression
Students
will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and
performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances
to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social,
historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As
speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows
the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and
artistic creation.
Standard 3: Language for
Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students
will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As
listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information,
and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As
speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the
accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of
perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information
and issues.
Standard 4: Language for
Social Interaction
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction.
Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted
conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a
wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social
communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their
views.
Social Studies
Standard 5: Civics,
Citizenship, and Government
Students will use
a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the
necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the
Standard 2: World History
Students will use
a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major
ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and
examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives