Shakespeare’s Othello: Tragedy, Power, and the Politics of Difference in Renaissance Venice (In-person)
Spring (9 - 13 hours) | Available (Membership Required)
This six-session course explores Shakespeare’s Othello (1603–1604) as both a psychological tragedy and a political drama set at the crossroads of Renaissance Europe. Not only is this a tragic drama of jealousy and manipulation, but it is a play deeply embedded in the politics of Renaissance Venice—a maritime republic balancing commerce, Christianity, and cosmopolitanism.
We will explore how themes of jealousy, power, gender, and identity shaped the tensions both in the play and in Venice. Through a table read of the play, discussion, and some short readings, participants will examine how Othello mirrors early modern anxieties about race, empire, gender, and governance, and how these continue to shape modern interpretations.
This course will be mostly reading and discussing the play with a few mini lectures to provide background and context.
This is a six-session course (12 hours total).
Required Book:
- Othello (Folger Shakespeare Library) - William Shakespeare (ISBN-13: 978-1501146299)
Deborah Springhorn
Deb Springhorn is a retired History/English teacher. The bulk of her 40 year teaching career has been in the Upper Valley, first at Lebanon High School (LHS) and then at Kimball Union Academy (KUA). In the spring of 2013, Deb was awarded the Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical sponsored by the NH Charitable Foundation. During the year she wrote an interdisciplinary contemporary history course titled Global Issues Since the Fall of the Wall, which she taught at both LHS & KUA.