This volume takes up the challenge embodied in its predecessors, Alternative Shakespeares and Alternative Shakespeares 2, to identify and explore the new, the changing and the radically ‘other’ possibilities for Shakespeare Studies at our particular historical moment.
Alternative Shakespeares 3 introduces the strongest and most innovative of the new directions emerging in Shakespearean scholarship – ranging across performance studies, multimedia and textual criticism, concerns of economics, science, religion and ethics – as well as the ‘next step’ work in areas such as postcolonial and queer studies that continue to push the boundaries of the field. The contributors approach each topic with clarity and accessibility in mind, enabling student readers to engage with serious ‘alternatives’ to established ways of interpreting Shakespeare’s plays and their roles in contemporary culture.
The expertise, commitment and daring of this volume’s contributors shine through each essay, maintaining the progressive edge and real-world urgency that are the hallmark of Alternative Shakespeares. This volume is essential reading for students and scholars of Shakespeare who seek an understanding of current and future directions in this ever-changing field.
Contributors include: Kate Chedgzoy, Mary Thomas Crane, Lukas Erne, Diana E. Henderson, Rui Carvalho Homem, Julia Reinhard Lupton, Willy Maley, Patricia Parker, Shankar Raman, Katherine Rowe, Robert Shaughnessy, W. B. Worthen
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC)] 4.0 license.
1. Introduction Diana E. Henderson 2. ‘I do, I will’: Hal, Falstaff and the Performative Robert Shaughnessy 3. Medium-Specificity and other Critical Scripts for Screen Shakespeare Katherine Rowe 4. Shakespeare 3.0; or, Text vs. Performance, the Remix W. B. Worthen 5. Shakespeare for Readers Lukas Erne 6. Cutting Both Ways: Bloodletting, Castration/Circumcision, and the "Lancelet" of The Merchant of Venice Patricia Parker 7. Cymbeline, the Font of History, and the Matter of Britain: From Times New Roman to Italic Type Willy Maley 8. Playing with Cupid: Gender, Sexuality, and Adolescence Kate Chedgzoy 9. Death by Numbers: Counting and Recounting in The Winter’s Tale Shankar Raman 10. Hamlet, Prince: Tragedy, Citizenship, and Political Theology Julia Reinhard Lupton 11. Memory, Ideology, Translation: King Lear behind bars and before history Rui Carvalho Homem 12. The Materiality of the Scholarly Text: What Our Books Reveal About Us Mary Thomas Crane 13. Alternative Collaborations: Shakespeare, Nahum Tate, Our Academy, and the Science of Probability Diana E. Henderson 14. Afterword: Alternativity at the Theatrical Core: A Conversation with Michael Boyd, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Bibliography
Biography
Diana E. Henderson is Professor of Literature at MIT.
