Learning Outcomes Progress Report

1. Learning Outcomes --  I've done a good job of posting regularly and I've stayed pretty close to the "business" theme that I identified at the beginning of the semester.  I've been reading out of Tales of Shakespeare and Shakespeare in Modern Culture regularly, having read each chapter that corresponds to the plays that I've read for class.  I've also seen movie renditions of The Taming of the Shrew and Othello.  So far in the semester I have not done as much critical analysis as I would like, and that will be one of my main emphases for the rest of the semester.  I've had trouble maintaining the "dictionary" that I created (although I started strong), and I haven't completed my performance requirement.
2. Reading and Research -- This far in the semester, I read the complete plays of Hamlet, Henry V, and The Taming of the Shrew.  I also read about half of Othello and The Tempest, and I plan to return to those two plays for further analysis.  I've relied pretty heavily on business resources including Harvard Business Review, Movers and Shakespeares, and Shakespeare in Modern Culture (which contains a lot of practical business application.)  I haven't used as many traditional scholarly sources as I would like to (journals, etc.) but I'll focus on this more with the depth requirement for the second part of the semester. I do feel that I've made an attempt to identify the Shakespearean connections in my own life and research some of their significance.  (See Example 1, Example 2)
3. Links and Connections -- I've relied on several books (mentioned above) that have given me a better perspective of Shakespeare.  I've tried to make connection to my own life, specifically to my current job and future career in business.  I haven't connected with other blogs as well as I could in my posts, but I feel I've made substantial comments and suggestions that contribute to the class dialogue. 
4. Personal Impact -- Because of my job/career path, my personal interests (and blog, too) have focused pretty heavily on personal and organizational change efforts.  Shakespeare has a lot of application in this area because he so adequately portrays character motivations.  I think I could pursue this even further in my blog to really make it specific.  Since this is a topic that I spend so much time dealing with, my readings/interpretations of Shakespeare have been pushed in this direction as well. 
5. Personal Evaluation -- I think I've found creative ways to make my blog interesting and engaging.  I also think I've done a good job keeping up with the class reading/posting and contributing to class discussions and the overall Shakespeare discussion of the blogs.  I feel that my main weakness is in the area of critical analysis, both with traditional literary criticism and my particular theme of business analysis.  I need to make a stronger effort to devote at least one post per week to a strong critical analysis. 
6. Peer Influence -- I think Bryan Mulkern has offered some great feedback and suggestions for my blog, as well as offering great ideas in maintaining his own blog.  We had a great class discussion and he kind of inspired me to take my blog in several positive directions.  I also appreciated the discussions I had early in the semester with Claire and Chris because we were able to generate ideas and get a great start in the right direction.