A recent post on Reddit compared Shakespeare and Taylor Swift as “voices of their generation.” Needless to say, it generated just a wee bit of debate. Is this the way to get a modern student’s attention? Or is it indicative of a downward slide in what we think those same students can handle? For the record, I was on the “nay” side. I’m all for teaching Shakespeare through pop culture examples, but I don’t think you need or want to elevate Taylor Swift to top billing like she’s the new Shakespeare or even deserves to be in the comparison.

It also got me thinking about what might be some good modern Shakespeare courses. If you could build your own course, how would you do it? Taking the original post as our example, we want to build a general education course for non-majors. So, while it might ultimately attract some knowledgeable Shakespeare geeks, it’s geared toward those students who don’t have to take it and may not otherwise get that Shakespeare content if they don’t happen to trip into this class.

I asked an AI for some ideas. Would you sign up for any of these? I love the cinematics one. Note how it focuses on looking at the gaps between the text. Endless room for interpretation there. The remix is pretty good, too, but for my taste, it’s got too much room to go off the rails. How much Shakespeare does something have to have in it for us to call it still Shakespeare?

(If we have to, I suppose we can put Ms. Swift into “remix” or “composing”. But I bet she shows up in the Fan Fiction one, too.)

Shakespearean Mashups: Remixing the Bard’s Universe

Synopsis: Explore the art of literary fusion by creating modern mashups of Shakespeare’s characters and plots. Imagine Hamlet meeting Macbeth in a steampunk London or Juliet navigating the world of social media. Through writing and multimedia projects, students will craft dynamic narratives that bridge classic and contemporary storytelling.

Shakespearean Culinary Chronicles: Feasting through the Plays

Synopsis: Embark on a gastronomic adventure inspired by Shakespeare’s feasts and banquets. Investigate historical recipes, recreate dishes from the plays, and design a modern Shakespeare-themed menu. This culinary journey will indulge both literary and culinary appetites, bringing Shakespeare’s world to life on your plate.

Shakespearean Escape Quest: Puzzles in the Bard’s Realm

Synopsis: Immerse yourself in an interactive storytelling experience where you become a character in Shakespeare’s universe. Solve puzzles, decode riddles, and make strategic decisions to progress through the narrative. From Hamlet’s castle to Prospero’s island, this course blends escape room dynamics with the intrigue of the Bard’s tales.

Shakespearean Fan Fiction Frenzy: Crafting Alternate Realities

Synopsis: Unleash your creativity by crafting fan fiction that reimagines Shakespeare’s stories in unexpected ways. Rewrite the endings, transport characters to different eras, or explore “what if” scenarios. Through writing, multimedia projects, and collaborative workshops, you’ll create a fan fiction collection that breathes new life into the classics.

Shakespearean Cosplay Creations: Crafting Wearable Art

Synopsis: Merge Shakespearean passion with craftsmanship as you design and create costumes inspired by the plays. From Elizabethan court attire to fantastical creatures, you’ll delve into historical fashion, fabric manipulation, and character interpretation. Showcase your creations in a Shakespearean fashion show and explore the intersection of art and theater.

Shakespearean Soundscapes: Composing Music for the Bard

Synopsis: Dive into the auditory dimension of Shakespeare’s works by composing original music that captures the essence of his plays. Create melodies for soliloquies, dramatic themes for pivotal scenes, and even experiment with Shakespearean hip-hop. The class culminates in a musical showcase that harmonizes your musical talents with the Bard’s verses.

Shakespearean Cinematics: Directing the Unseen Scenes

Synopsis: Put on the director’s hat and breathe life into the lesser-known moments of Shakespeare’s plays. Analyze the gaps in the text and collaborate on scripts, storyboards, and visual concepts for scenes that occurred offstage. Explore how these “unseen” scenes deepen the characters and themes of the plays.

Shakespearean Gardening Guild: Cultivating Literary Landscapes

Synopsis: Tend to the gardens that flourish within Shakespeare’s works. Study the symbolic significance of plants and flowers in his plays, then design and cultivate your own Shakespearean-inspired garden. Through hands-on gardening and creative projects, you’ll nurture nature while exploring the literary connections.

Shakespearean Virtual Reality Odyssey: Immersive Theatrical Expeditions

Synopsis: Step into Shakespearean worlds like never before through virtual reality. Craft immersive experiences that transport participants to key scenes from the plays. Combine your love for technology and theater to create virtual stage designs, allowing users to interact with the Bard’s works in innovative ways.

Shakespearean Comedy Club: Stand-Up Inspired by the Bard

Synopsis: Merge the wit of Shakespearean humor with the art of stand-up comedy. Analyze comedic elements in the plays and craft your own original stand-up routines that infuse modern humor with classic themes. The course culminates in a comedy showcase that celebrates the hilarity of the Bard’s timeless wit.

Several weeks back I posted a poll asking where we should meet up online now that Twitter’s jumped the shark and all the good people are disappearing. Of course, stupid Mark Zuckerberg had to go and ruin the fun by announcing Threads on basically the same day and immediately registering fifteen bajillion users in thirty seconds. (Of course, most of them immediately said, “Oo wait what ick get it off get it off get it off!” and learned that if you try to delete the app, it also deletes your Instagram…)

But that’s neither here nor there. People filled out the survey (though not nearly as many as I’d hoped), and they deserve to see the results. So here we go!

First, I asked what accounts people already had:

Not much of a surprise here. Once you remove Twitter from the equation, Facebook and Instagram are the logical leaders. They’re also the oldest kids on the block. Nice to see Mastodon making a showing, though. And I’m happy to see that Tiktok is not taking over this conversation.

So, then, where would people prefer that we go?

And it’s Mastodon for the win, just edging out Bluesky!

Sure, we only got 15 votes, so that’s a difference of one vote. But nobody said this was binding 🙂

As I said at the beginning, Threads really screwed this up by just kind of saying, “Hi, we’re the elephant in the room.” Everybody’s on it, practically by default, but (a) the app’s terrible, (b) there’s no desktop support, and (c) nobody’s really on it yet. So it’s not like there’s a clear winner yet.

Where Will We End Up?

Here’s what’s going to happen over the next few days. I’m going to leave up my automatic posting of blog entries to Twitter, mostly because, why not, it doesn’t cost me anything, and it’s easy traffic. But I don’t think you’re going to be seeing any live conversation from me there anymore—no dropping quick links I found. No asking random questions I just thought of. I need to focus on building a new following on a new site.

I think we all have to give Threads a chance, whether we like it or not. They’ll change a few things in the app, and suddenly, it’ll be where everybody wants to be. So, if it’s not obvious, you can find me there at ShakespeareGeek. Does anybody know how to link that? I’m on a desktop.

But Mastodon’s the most active community, and it was the place where most people said they have an account and want to go. So it’s only logical that I go there as well. You can find me here: https://toot.community/@ShakespeareGeek I know, it’s weird how all Mastodon servers have their own host. It takes some getting used to. But it’s cool – they all talk to each other.

Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.

Romeo and Juliet Act IV Scene III

I know that not all readers of ShakespeareGeek are also followers on Twitter. But there’s a very large overlap. Most of the real-time daily discussion that happens these days is on Twitter. Don’t get me wrong; the other day, I was saying how I miss the days of flame wars inside comment threads on a blog like this one. But Twitter and the others have made it so much easier to have one place to check on and interact with all the things that you love. I get it. I’ve been on Twitter since 2008, and there are thousands of you following my hijinks.

Unfortunately, that looks like it’s ending, though, as Elon Musk systematically destroys the platform. Maybe it’ll technically remain viable, of course. I don’t think it’s going to shut down. But it’s not *fun* anymore. We used to enjoy being on Twitter, waiting for Top Trends that we could in any way turn into a Shakespeare joke or pun. When that didn’t work, we’d start our own #ShakespearePunHashtag and try to get that trending. Now it’s nothing but sports I don’t watch, reality TV I don’t watch, and godawful conservative political madness that I wish I didn’t have to watch.

So, then, let’s leave, yes? There are plenty of options. But where? Ay, there’s the rub. It’s taken me fifteen years to find those thousands of you and feel like I’m not just shouting into the void. Each new channel – Tribel, Bluesky, Mastodon, etc… – feels like starting over. I’m not going to lie. I’m not sure I’ve got the energy for that.

But then I had an idea. Why not ask? Let’s take a poll and figure out where the majority thinks we should go! Of course, nobody’s making you, but it’s better than random, right? If you’ve read this far, please take a moment to complete the following survey. It will only be useful if a large enough number of people respond. I’ll post a follow-up as soon as we get a clear winner.

Here are my quick thoughts on the subject since I know I’ve been rambling on for too long already…

• I like the blog (the site), and it’s not going anywhere. People have always been welcome to add comments and get a discussion going on any post that interests them.
• We also have a Facebook presence (https://www.facebook.com/shakespearegeekdotcom) which is a little better regarding discussion threads, but I know it’s got that reputation of being as old as blogs.
• I have an Instagram and a Tiktok, but I don’t really use them. My own personal opinion is that Shakespeare’s a words words words game, and I want to write and read words, lots of them, back and forth. Not just a few that somebody’s slapped into a picture of a sunset and turned into a meme. I get why they’re popular,
• I’d happily plug Reddit, too: https://www.reddit.com/r/shakespeare, where I am the moderator. But Reddit’s going through the same “ownership’s an asshole” growing pains that Twitter is, so I can’t promise it won’t suffer the same fate.
• I’ve got accounts on most of the services I listed below, and I’m happy to start posting on any of them if we get a majority going.

Ok, enough of that. On with the voting! Absolutely share this post (or the survey specifically) and absolutely get a discussion going in the comments for this post if you feel like I missed anything important. Let’s remind ourselves why we all do this in the first place, shall we?