Ohio University-Zanesville Students present at Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference
Ohio University-Zanesville students Christina Fulk of Philo, Teresa Henderson of Zanesville, and Crystal Gearhart of Senecaville recently presented at the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference (OVSC), a regional conference of Shakespeare scholars. They discussed the modern terms of “oppression” and “assimilation,” as they may be perceived in Shakespeare’s original text of Othello. In addition, they analyzed how those same terms were conceived within three film adaptations of the play, O (2001), Othello (1995), and The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1952). Each student presenter expertly fielded questions from the audience of Shakespeare scholars, according to Dr. Lisa Stein, assistant professor of English at Ohio University-Zanesville.
Stein incorporates research and hands-on learning opportunities, such as this conference presentation, into the English courses she teaches. The three made up a panel compiling material from their final exam essays from Stein’s Shakespeare’s Tragedies course.
In response to the experience, Gearhart commented, “Dr. Stein's Shakespeare class, coupled with the OVSC, proved to be one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences during my enrollment as an undergraduate so far. I was honored to be afforded the opportunity to carry the positive classroom experience to a higher level of academia.”