Shakespeare, the State, and Imperialism

This seminar explores how Shakespeare’s unruly worldview was put at the service of the British imperial state over the subsequent centuries, starting with the regulation of the English language itself in the wake of Shakespeare’s English polyglotism. It will also explore the changing perceptions of race and racism as portrayed by Shakespeare, especially through the work of Farah Karim-Cooper. How did Shakespeare’s anarchic warnings against sovereignty’s claims, including its consequences for the emerging racial regime, get redirected into advice to the prince? This will be our central question in the seminar. We will use film versions (subtitled where possible) to explore several of his plays and ask this question.