Shakespeare and Facebook

As announced here, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, is coming to BYU (along with Orrin Hatch) for a technology forum on Friday, March 25, at 11am in the Marriott Center. That's where we should all be for class that day. I doubt Zuckerberg or the senator will be discussing Shakespeare, but obviously the digital emphasis of our course makes this a relevant event.

A student from another class shared with me this book, Sarah Schmelling's Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float, which shows what happens when characters from classic literature communicate Facebook style. It's amusing, but not inconsequential. I'd love for one of my Shakespeare students to study this as a digital mediation. 

How does our immersion in social media change the way that we think about communication, or dealing with problems, or negotiating relationships? How much do our online identities become characters, as constructed as fictional characters?

We haven't talked much in class about social media or Facebook in relationship to Shakespeare, but this would be a good time to start. I hope to see you at the technology forum with Zuckerberg. I even submitted a few questions for him and the senator. You can, too.