The necessity of modern media in the

teaching of Shakespeare and

World Literature in schools

• Literary texts are taught in isolation. This advocates the view of texts as ‘sources’, not as ‘adaptations’ which can be flexibly applied to the contemporary.

• Arts in general are not taught in a way which utilises a range of cognitive modes of learning. This marginalises the number of students who can access arts.

• Not adapted to be in tune with the way the modern generation think, which is undergoing a drastic change compared to the way a generation growing up pre the advent of the internet think.

Current problems in arts education:

‘the immediate source of its own truth […] to cite the canonical metaphor, the imagination ceases to function as a mirror reflecting some external reality and becomes a lamp which projects its own internally generated light onto things.’

Literature students must be allowed the following:

• understanding of how the text can be adapted and applied to their contemporary culture

• collaborative adaptation of the text for the creation of meaning

• the opportunity to use their creativity

• experimentation with understanding the text physically, visually and vocally as well as the traditional academic way

• the use of new media technologies to facilitate the above, in order to enhance their capacity for creativity and confidence with these technologies, and by extension the texts

83% of students said that workshops developed their understanding of Romeo &

Juliet more than their regular English lessons

Responses from Chorlton students:

‘[…] because we explored it in a different way.’

‘It was funny and interesting. This is because it was a different way of learning the storyline.’

‘I enjoyed watching other people’s performances. I also enjoyed interacting with others.’

‘I enjoyed exploring how society today is still quite similar.’

‘I liked learning about how Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet linked/ was relevant to our day now’

‘the lines [become] secondary which is a very freeing thing [because]

when the lines aren’t the paramount thing in the front of your mind they

take on […] a deeper meaning’

‘I liked the lessons because it was more enjoyable than sitting in a classroom. My brain was more active in the

drama room.’

‘I liked the bit where we made our own drama performances because it was good how we got to

recognise more about the fight scene.’

The concept of a "Gutenberg Parenthesis" […] offers a

means of identifying and understanding the period [in which

Gutenberg operated], varying between societies and

subcultures, during which the mediation of texts through

time and across space was dominated by powerful

permutations of letters, print, pages and books. Our current

transitional experience toward a post-print media world

dominated by digital technology and the internet can be

usefully juxtaposed with that of the period -- Shakespeare's

-- when England was making the transition into the

parenthesis from a world of scribal transmission and oral

performance.Thomas Pettitt and Peter Donaldson, The Gutenberg Parenthesis: Oral Tradition and Digital Technologies

‘How is the internet changing the way you create? […] The Gutenberg Parenthesis answer would be “it’s making me a bit

more like Shakespeare”’

‘The internet will make us less categorical in the way we perceive the world’

1440s 1980s

‘yes [the workshops have given me more confidence with Shakespeare] because I have a clear idea of how he writes’

‘Yes it did [explain the themes of the play] thoroughly it was great fun. I enjoyed seeing how they translated it to films.’

‘I liked the idea that we got to come up with our own modernised version and film it’

‘[…] it was interesting and fun and let me be a bit more creative than usual.’

‘I enjoyed the independence we were given when filming’

‘the media are routinely seen as an anti-educational influence, as the deadly enemy of literacy, of

morality, of art and culture’ – David Buckingham

‘schools create themselves in the image of universities’ – Sir Ken Robinson

The Arts in Schools: Principles, Provision and Practice

• in developing a full variety of human intelligence

• developing the ability for creative thought and action

• in the exploration of values

• in understanding cultural change and differences

‘the job market calls for computing, communication, problem-solving and

entrepreneurial skills’

‘Education in the twenty-first century needs to focus more sharply on the ability to

communicate, to work in teams, to think critically, to adapt to change, to be more innovative, creative and familiar with

new technologies.’

50% of the world’s school children study Shakespeare

‘To me, Shakespeare is real life’