Introduction to Who Wrote Shakespeare

This course gave me a much deeper insight into the Shakespeare Authorship Question, and why there are so many conflicting and contradictory points of view about the whole subject. Recommended for anyone wishing to broaden their knowledge about this topic.

Dave Patrick, Editor, 'The View Beyond: Sir Francis Bacon - Alchemy, Science, Mystery' (Polair Publishing, 2011)

i was impressed with the class and Dr. Barber's work of presenting it. I enjoyed all the work that went into the support of the lectures. I especially liked the text that was available for the hard of hearing a group that I am included. I would take it again if it is offered and possibly additional material was added.

I greatly enjoyed the course and found it quite informative. Dr. Barber’s open attitude encouraged us to reflect and ask questions of both the evidence and ourselves. Me only bémol is the forum, which at times was very contentious, people with an agenda fir disruption, people who wanred only to push their rather already cemented ideas. For this reason I didn’t participate much in the forums. But still, I am quite pleased with the course.

Gwen

This course provided some excellent, detailed material for exploring various aspects of the Shakespeare authorship question. I especially enjoyed the content of the interviews with Mark Rylance, Greg Thompson and William Leahy, partly because, on a mooc there needs to be a human dimension, but mostly because they gave thought-provoking into this issue from their own specialist and knowledgeable perspectives.

I understand why it was not possible to include material on other candidates, and internal evidence from the texts, on this course but I feel that it is difficult to avoid these two key aspects of the debate. It would be great if the University of London provided further courses in these two areas, linked to this one.

It is always good to get to know your fellow participants on the programme, and I enjoyed conversing with a number of individuals on the threads on various aspects of the SAQ. However, it was noticeable that only a small number of participants took part in these discussions. It would be worth thinking through whether there might be a better way of bringing participants together in a way which encourages everyone to exchange views and ideas, rather than just a dedicated few.

Ros Barber managed the course very well, dealing with problems effectively, and presenting the evidence in an engaging and well-conceived way. The only issue I had with the content of the course was the use of quizzes to test the memory,, and the fact that this was mainly on information which tended to be favour a non-Stratfordian perspective. I didn't feel that this was a very effective way for me to test my own critical thinking on the various matters discussed, although I understand that it would be difficult for the small team involved to deal with written material from participants.