Alexa Alice Joubin
The George Washington University, English, Department Member
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Literature (21L), Department MemberMiddlebury College, Bread Loaf School of English, Faculty Memberadd
- Shakespearean performance history, Digital Humanities, Globalization and literature, Asian Studies, Adaptation, Taiwanese Literature, and 58 moreChinese Literary History, Chinese Modern Literature, Comparative Literature, Dramatic Literature, Renaissance literature, British Literature and its Adaptation to Film, Charles Lamb, Comedy improv, Deleuze & Cinema, Performance Theory, Asian Theatre, Contemporary British Theatre, Early Modern Literature, Shakespeare and film, Renaissance Studies, Chinese Studies, Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, English Literature, Shakespeare, Performance Studies, Digital Edition, Digital History, Digital Theory and Culture, Text Encoding, Digital repositories, Digital Literature, Film History, East Asian Cinema, World Literatures, Race and Gender, Philosophy, Translation theory, Translation and literature, Cultural Translation, Postcolonial Studies (Literature), Sinophone Literature, 18th Century German (Literature), African-American Literature, Hong Kong Cinema, Digital Culture, Diaspora Studies, Digital Shakespeare, Literary Theory, Race, Class, Sex and Gender, Intercultural Theatre, German Romanticism, Disability Studies, Feminist Literary Theory and Gender Studies, Global Shakespeare, Globalization, Critical Race Theory, Critical Race Studies, Gender Theory, Feminism, and Engineeringedit
- George Washington University Professor and Middlebury College John M. Kirk, Jr. Chair in Medieval and Renaissance Lit... moreGeorge Washington University Professor and Middlebury College John M. Kirk, Jr. Chair in Medieval and Renaissance Literature (details below)
Founding Co-director, Digital Humanities Institute, George Washington University
George Washington University Professor of English, Theatre and Dance, East Asian Languages and Literatures, and International Affairs
Middlebury College John M. Kirk, Jr. Chair in Medieval and Renaissance Literature, Bread Loaf School of English
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Affiliate in Literature
General Editor, The Shakespearean International Yearbook
Co-founder, Global Shakespeares, http://globalshakespeares.org/
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9914-3578edit
Performativity—how language and nonverbal communication tacitly or overtly affects social actions—is the core of all utterances and imaginative literature. Building on J. L. Austin’s speech act theory, Judith Butler has developed, since... more
Performativity—how language and nonverbal communication tacitly or overtly affects social actions—is the core of all utterances and imaginative literature. Building on J. L. Austin’s speech act theory, Judith Butler has developed, since the 1990s, a theory of gender performativity. It has been widely appropriated as a critical tool to understand sexuality and gender variance in the West, though the theory was not specifically created in the context of trans studies. This chapter examines transness through a theory of trans performativity that re-calibrates our critical capacity to understand tacit transness. Specifically, this chapter engages what might be called body-swap narratives in a global context that were not labeled as trans, including Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Sally Potter’s film adaptation of it, Makoto Shinkai’s film Your Name, the Wachowski Sisters’ Matrix trilogy, as well as Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Trevor Nunn’s and Andy Fickman’s film versions of the comedy. My theory of performativity hinges on the ideas that gender are social practices and interpersonal relationships that evolve over time and in different social spaces and that these practices are constituted, and sometimes undermined, by performative speech acts. Performativity destabilizes the idea of singularity and the perceived absolutism of such signifiers as gender. The case studies show further that trans performance can become overt or tacit over time. Actors may use certain stage practices to suppress or index transness in specific contexts. Their speech acts may be recognized or misrecognized by audiences as symbolizing or evading particular themes. In a future point in time, the actors may no longer desire that same type of legibility.
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Whom does the screen interface serve, and how do artificial intelligence (AI) tools affect theatrical publics across both the playing space and the playgoing space? Screens are a site where cultural and performative meanings are generated... more
Whom does the screen interface serve, and how do artificial intelligence (AI) tools affect theatrical publics across both the playing space and the playgoing space? Screens are a site where cultural and performative meanings are generated and negotiated. This article draws on interface theories to analyze the roles of screens in regulating publics' access to performance, producing new ambient conditions of theatergoing and changing the publics' relationships to themselves and to performance. Screens in All the World's a Screen, an Irish Sign Language production, served and became co-spectating theatrical publics. The organizers encouraged the theatergoing public to use an AI app on their phones, their anthropomorphized "machine guests," to obtain auto-captioning based on pose analysis of the actor and to receive retail suggestions that the AI deemed relevant. Operating both within and beyond the fabula of the performance, screens as anthropomorphic interfaces create multiple theatrical publics through an imperfect spectatorial proxy.
Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Theatre Studies, Machine Learning, Disability Studies, Performance Studies, and 15 moreShakespeare, Machine Translation, Critical Race Theory, Social Justice, Sign Languages, Sonnets, Feminism, Ireland, Hamlet, Macbeth, Shakespeare in Performance, Romeo and Juliet, Irish Sign Language, As You Like It, and Generative AI
Premodern critical race studies, long intertwined with Shakespeare studies, have broadened our understanding of the definitions and discourse of race and racism to include not only phenotype, but also religious and political identity,... more
Premodern critical race studies, long intertwined with Shakespeare studies, have broadened our understanding of the definitions and discourse of race and racism to include not only phenotype, but also religious and political identity, regional, national, and linguistic difference, and systems of differentiation based upon culture and custom. This chapter argues that race and gender are social practices that evolve over time, in each other’s presence, and in different social spaces. To correct the early modern studies’ tendency to privilege narrative texts, this chapter uses global and performance studies methods—as critical tools that are designed to capture transformative cultural practices—to highlight embodied significations of transness. The chapter concludes with a reflection on pedagogical implications of multidisciplinarity. Providing critical tools to understand atypical bodies, trans studies solidifies critical race studies’ support of minority life experiences. Critical race methods, with their attention to the social production of hierarchies, can also help trans studies address its often-unacknowledged whiteness.
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Inclusiveness in higher education is distinct from advocacy journalism, which means we have to work actively against any ineffectual default to rituals of inclusion. When implemented unilaterally as a one-size-fits-all social imposition,... more
Inclusiveness in higher education is distinct from advocacy journalism, which means we have to work actively against any ineffectual default to rituals of inclusion. When implemented unilaterally as a one-size-fits-all social imposition, some gestures of inclusion risk becoming empty rituals. As multifocal, multilingual, and multicultural viewpoints, global perspectives can enhance inclusiveness in academia. This chapter demonstrates the application of strategies for global inclusiveness to Shakespeare studies in the classroom and suggests that through radical listening—a set of communication methods that attend to motivations rather than superficial “plots”—students can acquire new skills to analyze complex cultural texts and thereby gain empathy beyond their academic work. Global perspectives can help us tackle the pervasive Whiteness and cisgender sexism of Shakespeare studies by deconstructing the binary logic of a Black-White or male-female order (which inadvertently naturalizes the two as monolithic concepts). Education is only reparative when it is designed from the ground up to be truly inclusive rather than being a mindless replica of evolving political correctness. Independent facility with complex cultural texts enables everyone to pierce the dense, euphemistic cloud of diversity categories that tokenize individuals and fictional characters based on any given identity marker.
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This special issue on contemporary performance proposes "trans" as method and as a social practice rather than as an immutable identity category that stands in opposition to more established ones such as cisgender men or cisgender women.... more
This special issue on contemporary performance proposes "trans" as method and as a social practice rather than as an immutable identity category that stands in opposition to more established ones such as cisgender men or cisgender women. We ask new questions about Shakespearean performance: How might the meanings of the plays change if we consider them as transgender performances rather than cis-centric stories requiring suspension of disbelief about cross-gender roles? What if the body of the female character and the actor's somatic presence exist on a continuum rather than in contrary fixations? The enactment of gender practices is not predicated upon "substitutions" (as in substituting the boy actor for Desdemona) or entail diagnostic recognition (as in being reminded of the "real" body beneath the illusion of Desdemona). This introduction outlines key issues with today's terminology, suggests a more effective and inclusive vocabulary, elucidates trans as method, and demonstrates trans studies' relevance to Shakespeare studies. Research articles in this issue deal primarily with tacit representations of transness in film and performance, such as the case of an actor who came out as trans posthumously, and interviews highlight practitioners' voices by rerouting the epistemological circuits that have predetermined who can produce knowledge about gender. :::: https://borrowers-ojs-azsu.tdl.org/borrowers/article/view/314
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Gender is a set of interpersonal relationships and social practices that evolve in the presence of other people, in social spaces, and over time. My theory of trans lens corrects the institutionalized cis-sexism that assumes the cis... more
Gender is a set of interpersonal relationships and social practices that evolve in the presence of other people, in social spaces, and over time. My theory of trans lens corrects the institutionalized cis-sexism that assumes the cis status of even those characters with fluid gender practices. It does so by questioning the purported neutrality of cisgender subject positions. Tracing the development of trans presence in Shakespearean and global performances, this article uses Richard Eyre's film Stage Beauty as a case study to demonstrate trans lens at work, to delineate the relationships between transgender, adaptation, queer, and performance studies, and to reveal the caveats of those fields. ::: https://borrowers-ojs-azsu.tdl.org/borrowers/article/view/350
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This interview with non-binary actor Jess Chanliau, conducted by Alexa Alice Joubin, explores genderplay onstage. A bilingual actor, Chanliau has played Viola, "an intrinsically trans character" in Twelfth Night and a queer Mercutio in... more
This interview with non-binary actor Jess Chanliau, conducted by Alexa Alice Joubin, explores genderplay onstage. A bilingual actor, Chanliau has played Viola, "an intrinsically trans character" in Twelfth Night and a queer Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. They spoke candidly on their experience of either being tokenized or being cast frequently as cisgender women. Despite being asked disproportionately to perform the emotional labor of speaking on behalf of trans communities, Chanliau has created meaningful dialogues with industry professionals to address equity issues regarding gender, race, and disability. They reflect on the duality of being marginalized while enjoying certain privilege and offer suggestions on how to hold ourselves accountable and help to dismantle transphobic practices in the entertainment industry. ::: https://borrowers-ojs-azsu.tdl.org/borrowers/article/view/330
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This interview with King Sammy Silver, conducted by Alexa Alice Joubin and Terri Power, explores drag as a stage practice. A London-based actor and YouTube personality, he represents a new generation of trans artists. He has worked with... more
This interview with King Sammy Silver, conducted by Alexa Alice Joubin and Terri Power, explores drag as a stage practice. A London-based actor and YouTube personality, he represents a new generation of trans artists. He has worked with Power on multiple Shakespeare productions at Bath Spa University in the UK and elsewhere, and has been influenced by Power's Drag King Richard III. He has played Valentine in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Viola in Twelfth Night, Capulet and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing. He reflects on Shakespeare's role in trans theater today as well as how drag can deconstruct toxic masculinity. ::: https://borrowers-ojs-azsu.tdl.org/borrowers/article/view/331
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This interview with Terri Power, conducted by Alexa Alice Joubin, focuses on the representations of trans masculinity in Power's play Drag King Richard III. For nearly two decades Power has been at the forefront of trans and queer... more
This interview with Terri Power, conducted by Alexa Alice Joubin, focuses on the representations of trans masculinity in Power's play Drag King Richard III. For nearly two decades Power has been at the forefront of trans and queer representation in performances of Shakespeare. Weaving a personal story of the 1990s with Shakespeare's early modern disability narrative, Power's adaptation reveals that the gender binary was enforced even in queer circles in the 1990s, coding lesbian identities as either butch or femme. The interview concludes with her suggestions for future work in transgender theater based on her collaboration with trans actors beyond Richard III. ::: https://borrowers-ojs-azsu.tdl.org/borrowers/article/view/332
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This interview with Dr. Mary Ann Saunders, conducted by Alexa Alice Joubin, offers a new interpretation of Julie Taymor's 2010 film The Tempest. Bringing her life experience to bear on cisgender biases in nontrans artists' works, Saunders... more
This interview with Dr. Mary Ann Saunders, conducted by Alexa Alice Joubin, offers a new interpretation of Julie Taymor's 2010 film The Tempest. Bringing her life experience to bear on cisgender biases in nontrans artists' works, Saunders proposes a new interpretation of Ariel, as performed by Ben Whishaw, as a trans woman who is "both beautiful and bittersweet." Reading Shakespeare as a "trans archive" enables us to more effectively interrogate the long history of associating trans bodies with monstrosity and bodies in distress. :: https://borrowers-ojs-azsu.tdl.org/borrowers/article/view/351
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Stage and screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays raise ethical questions – that is, questions about how human beings should act and treat one another. In which contexts might cross-cultural enterprises be naturalising the values... more
Stage and screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays raise ethical questions – that is, questions about how human beings should act and treat one another. In which contexts might cross-cultural enterprises be naturalising the values associated with Shakespeare to exploit unequal power relations among artists of different backgrounds? Conversely, to what end are artists using the brand of Shakespeare? How do festival organizers tap into the ideological purchase of being ‘global’ (which means being connected to several locations) by inviting productions that feature diverse casts and cultural references? These are just some of the questions driving critical engagements with Shakespearean adaptations from the past five decades. On one hand, the reception history of such works reveals the self-proclaimed and imposed ethical burden that cross-cultural works carry. On the other hand, there are tensions between contemporary and early modern ethics. This chapter argues that the dialogues between Shakespeare and his modern interlocutors are driven by ethical claims and the use of Shakespeare for social justice or political expediency. ::: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/global-shakespeare-and-social-injustice-9781350335110/
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Criticism of the Shakespearean canon through adaptation as a genre has the capacity for liberation and social reparation. As a cluster of complex texts that sustains both past practices and contemporary interpretive conventions,... more
Criticism of the Shakespearean canon through adaptation as a genre has the capacity for liberation and social reparation. As a cluster of complex texts that sustains both past practices and contemporary interpretive conventions, Shakespeare provides fertile ground for training students to listen intently and compassionately to other individuals’ voices. This chapter theorizes contextualized and interactive pedagogies that link historical texts to our contemporary contexts. Contextualization enables students to find their own voices. Interactivity nurtures student-initiated engagement. Education can be reparative when we practise ‘radical listening’: a set of proactive communication strategies to listen for the roots rather than only the ‘plots’ of stories. ::: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/liberating-shakespeare-9781350320284/
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The depiction of Asian women in science fiction films reveals how racial hierarchies are mapped onto, and used as justification for, mistreatment of women—and misogynistic prejudices inform racism. Contributing to the patterns that... more
The depiction of Asian women in science fiction films reveals how racial hierarchies are mapped onto, and used as justification for, mistreatment of women—and misogynistic prejudices inform racism. Contributing to the patterns that dehumanize Asian women are multiple sci-fi films that feature cyborgs and androids in Asian female bodies. ::::: The relationship between racism and misogyny directed toward women of Asian descent is fraught with racialized myths about Asian cultures and womanhood. ::::: Racially-motivated hatred manifests itself as misogynist racism, bringing together the toxic ideas of "yellow peril" and "yellow fever." ::::: In addition to these two concepts, there is also the idea of techno-Orientalism within racist misogyny. We shall use the three concepts of "yellow peril," "yellow fever," and techno-Orientalism to examine the relationship between racism and misogyny. This mutually reinforcing relationship between racism and misogyny is evidenced on the cinematic screen, a space between fictional universes and film audiences' lived realities. ::::: When actors embody the characters, they draw attention to their accents, mannerisms, and (un)intentionally highlighted or concealed traces of racialized inscriptions in their lives. Yet audiences of mainstream films tend to look through—rather than at—the Asian characters, many of whom are unnamed. :::: https://asianamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/2285140
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Despite its prominence in the dramatic canon, King Lear occupies a peculiar position in stage and screen histories. Throughout the centuries, some Anglophone critics and directors have repeatedly declared the play unstageable due to its... more
Despite its prominence in the dramatic canon, King Lear occupies a peculiar position in stage and screen histories. Throughout the centuries, some Anglophone critics and directors have repeatedly declared the play unstageable due to its cruel and nihilistic vision. However, the tragedy holds an important place in non-Anglophone cinema and theater works that decolonize disability, mortality (articulated through intergenerational conflicts), and such patriarchal concepts as filial piety and gender stereotypes. To resolve the blind spots in the bifurcated history of performing King Lear, I offer multiple approaches to central scenes and themes in the play, illustrating a wide variety of interpretations from films and productions around the world. As opposed to a traditional, chronological account of the performance history, which gives the false impression of evolution and cohesion, analyses of contrasting interpretations of key scenes or tropes acknowledge and support the contradictory ways in which directors and audiences have approached King Lear. ::: https://broadviewpress.com/product/king-lear-ed-best-joubin
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Even though Shakespeare’s plays were initially performed by all-male casts, they were designed to appeal to diverse audiences. Many modern adaptations reimagine those plays as expressions of gender nonconformity. Over the past decades,... more
Even though Shakespeare’s plays were initially performed by all-male casts, they were designed to appeal to diverse audiences. Many modern adaptations reimagine those plays as expressions of gender nonconformity. Over the past decades, prominent films and theater works have fostered new public conversations about the politics of appropriating gender identities in Shakespeare’s plays around the world. This chapter makes an intervention in both transgender and Shakespeare studies by reading traditionally binary characters as transgender to shed new light on performances of gender identities in a global context. Viola as Cesario, for instance, is a trans masculine character, as she does not cross-dress for entertainment or mischief. She never recovers her “maiden’s weeds” at the end of Twelfth Night. We could deploy transgender theories to examine other cases as well, such as the practice of cross-gender casting (Julie Taymor’s 2010 film The Tempest), gender-bending performances (contemporary productions of Jacob Gordin’s 1898 play The Jewish Queen Lear), and postgender adaptations, in which gender is not treated as a meaningful denominator of characterization (Michelle Terry’s 2018 Globe productions). Performance theories inflected by transgender studies destabilize the line between normalcy and the deviant in and beyond scripted performance. ::::: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781683933601/Performing-Shakespearean-Appropriations-Essays-in-Honor-of-Christy-Desmet
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Cultural appropriation can be an exploitative act but need not be; it all depends on what users do with Shakespeare. Due to the unequal status of the parties engaged in appropriative exchange, some appropriations deploy Shakespeare to... more
Cultural appropriation can be an exploitative act but need not be; it all depends on what users do with Shakespeare. Due to the unequal status of the parties engaged in appropriative exchange, some appropriations deploy Shakespeare to protect conventional power structures. Appropriations are rarely negotiated on a level playing field, especially when it comes to Shakespeare, because of the canon’s long history of association with cultural elites and prestige. Cultural appropriation can also have subversive and counter-hegemonic effects. Marginalized agents have the power to expose and correct power imbalances. In other words, we addresses a wide range of intercultural and global appropriations of Shakespeare. Our study also complicates any simple definition of how cultural appropriation works and what ethical effects it might produce. ::: ISBN 9781032303086
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Cooperative learning as a pedagogical method effectively reflects the communal character of the performing arts. By creating knowledge about Shakespearean performance collaboratively, students and educators lay claim to the ethics and... more
Cooperative learning as a pedagogical method effectively reflects the communal character of the performing arts. By creating knowledge about Shakespearean performance collaboratively, students and educators lay claim to the ethics and ownership of that knowledge, an act that is particularly urgent and meaningful in the age of COVID-19 when we need to rebuild sociality. This chapter demonstrates how communal writing assignments and digital, video-based pedagogy turn textual and performative variants in Shakespeare’s plays into a cluster of inclusive narratives for critical analysis. Shakespeare is no longer a white canon with culturally predetermined meanings. ::: One effective tool for communal writing assignments is Perusall.com, an open-access platform that incentivize and support collaborative annotation of texts, images and videos. Grounded in the notion of textual variants, the pedagogy encourages students to claim Shakespeare’s language rather than aiming for interpretations that are gratuitous or merely politically correct. Working in tandem with collaborative textual analysis is video-centric collaboration. By turning a large number of performance versions into common objects of study, my digital video project makes links between adaptations that were previously regarded as distinct. In pedagogical contexts, the malleability of digital video puts play texts and performances to work in an interactive environment. Online performance video archives can encourage user curation and interaction with other forms of cultural records. In practice, this redistributes the power of collecting, re-arranging and archiving cultural records away from a centralised authority to the hands of student users. :::: ISBN 9781108778510
Research Interests: Translation Studies, Digital Humanities, Film Studies, Shakespeare, Collaboration, and 13 moreSocial Justice, Cross-Cultural Collaborations, Cross-Cultural Studies, Inclusive Education, Digital Pedagogy, Feminism and Social Justice, Hamlet, King Lear, William Shakespeare, Pedagogia, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, and Global Shakespeare
The metatheatricality of A Midsummer Night’s Dream has invited recent directors to tell particular kinds of socially progressive stories. This article uses the notion of “social reparation” to theorize remedial uses of Shakespeare in... more
The metatheatricality of A Midsummer Night’s Dream has invited recent directors to tell particular kinds of socially progressive stories. This article uses the notion of “social reparation” to theorize remedial uses of Shakespeare in adaptations that give artists and audiences more moral agency. By imagining more inclusive local habitations and social spaces for Dream, these socially progressive adaptations seek to remedy injustices in our times and the power asymmetries that inform Shakespeare’s play.
My research indicates that place and social space feature prominently in reparative adaptations. To examine the significance of place in performances of Dream, this article analyzes the queer film Were the World Mine (2008), a cross-cultural mime-dance production entitled Dreamer (2016), and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s pandemic-era, interactive, digital performance (2021). All three adaptations draw on the dynamics of their newly created localities to perform various social or artistic mediations.
My research indicates that place and social space feature prominently in reparative adaptations. To examine the significance of place in performances of Dream, this article analyzes the queer film Were the World Mine (2008), a cross-cultural mime-dance production entitled Dreamer (2016), and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s pandemic-era, interactive, digital performance (2021). All three adaptations draw on the dynamics of their newly created localities to perform various social or artistic mediations.
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The screen as an interface immerses audiences in an alternate universe. As a result, that interface seems transparent. Through analyses of performances that call attention to filmic genres, such as Edgar Wright’s parody film, Hot Fuzz... more
The screen as an interface immerses audiences in an alternate universe. As a result, that interface seems transparent. Through analyses of performances that call attention to filmic genres, such as Edgar Wright’s parody film, Hot Fuzz (2007), and the Wooster Group’s multimedia production, Hamlet (2007), as well as (meta)theatrical operations on small screens within cinematic and digital performances, such as Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus (2011), the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Dream (2021), and Michael Almereyda’s film Hamlet (2000), this chapter argues that the screen is an interface that generates dramatic meanings and that promotes audiences’ self-reflexivity. ::::: Performance, as a medium, interfaces with textual variants, audience expectations, and site-specific arts—artworks produced and consumed at specific physical sites and in designated social spaces. Performances with screens as interface, in particular, create celluloid and digital pathways to various ideologies. The interface between humans (story-tellers) and machines (technologies of representation) governs the very logic of screened performance as a narrative medium. ::::: With case studies showing how screens big and small have become more than technologies of representation, this chapter reveals the central place of screen as interface between the different universes of the characters, the performers, and the audiences. :::::
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The global pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism—the demonization of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as viral origins—in the United States. Offering strategies for inclusion and for identifying tacit... more
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism—the demonization of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as viral origins—in the United States. Offering strategies for inclusion and for identifying tacit forms of misogynistic racism, this article analyzes the manifestation of the ideas of yellow peril and yellow fever in recent films and television series. The spectatorial aspect of racism has both fetishized Asian bodies and erased Asianness from content creators' visual landscapes. These case studies reveal that racialized thinking is institutionalized as power relations in the cultural and political life, take the form of political marginalization of minority groups, and cause emotional distress and physical harm within and beyond the fictional universe. ::::: Keywords: anti-Asian racism, misogyny, tropes of illness, colorblind gaze, techno-Orientalism ::::: DOI 10.1215/25783491-9645962
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Analyzing trans narratives about the early moderns through the lenses of affective labor and social reparation, this chapter reclaims as trans the Shakespeare films that have been misinterpreted as homosexual. In doing so, this chapter... more
Analyzing trans narratives about the early moderns through the lenses of affective labor and social reparation, this chapter reclaims as trans the Shakespeare films that have been misinterpreted as homosexual. In doing so, this chapter builds a longer, more intersectional history of gendered embodiment. Reparative trans performances—works in which characters see their conditions improve—carry substantial affective rewards by offering optimism and emotional gratification, as exemplified by two recent films about early modern theatre making. The South Korean blockbuster The King and the Clown (dir. Lee Joon-ik, 2005) delineates the love triangle between a fifteenth-century king, a masculine jester, and a trans feminine character. Stage Beauty (dir. Richard Eyre, Lions Gate, 2004) chronicles the private life and stage career of the historical boy actor Edward Kynaston (1640–1712) who plays exclusively female roles before taking on male roles on stage. By reading these two films in the context of trans cinema, this chapter makes an intervention in both transgender and Shakespeare studies by demonstrating new ways to interpret gender variance beyond just a dramatic device. :::: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501759505/trans-historical/#bookTabs=1 ::::: ISBN: 978-1501759505
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Transgender Studies, Shakespeare, Feminism, Korean film, and 10 moreBritish Cinema (Film Studies), Film Adaptation Theory, William Shakespeare, East Asian Film and Visual Studies, Adaptation and Appropriation Theory, Transgender Cinema, Transgender Theory, Global Shakespeare, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Studies, and Queer film; Transgender film; Queer film festival
This article examines new theories and praxis of listening for silenced voices and of telling compelling stories that make us human. Elucidation of our Levinas-inspired theories of the Other is followed by a discussion of classroom... more
This article examines new theories and praxis of listening for silenced voices and of telling compelling stories that make us human. Elucidation of our Levinas-inspired theories of the Other is followed by a discussion of classroom practices for in-person and remote instruction that foster collaborative knowledge building and intersectional pedagogy. The moral agency that comes with the cultivation of ethical treatment of one another can lead to political advocacy. Special attention is given to race, gender, and the exigencies of social justice and remote learning in the era of the global pandemic of COVID-19 (2019 novel coronavirus disease). The new normal in higher education, which is emerging at the time of writing, exposes inequities that were previously veiled by on-campus life and resources. Even as they are cause for grief and anxiety, the inequities exposed by COVID-19 can spur change for the better. :::: Open-access at https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/shakespeare-survey-74/teaching-shakespeare-in-a-time-of-hate/EB4C10719977B21C29AA22F75D73DC76
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Many screen and stage adaptations of the classics are informed by a philosophical investment in literature's reparative merit, a preconceived notion that performing the canon can make one a better person. Inspirational narratives, in... more
Many screen and stage adaptations of the classics are informed by a philosophical investment in literature's reparative merit, a preconceived notion that performing the canon can make one a better person. Inspirational narratives, in particular, have instrumentalized the canon to serve socially reparative purposes. Social recuperation of disabled figures loom large in adaptation, and many reparative adaptations tap into a curative quality of Shakespearean texts. When Shakespeare's phrases or texts are quoted, even in fragments, they serve as an index of intelligence of the speaker. Governing the disability narrative is the trope about Shakespeare's therapeutic value. There are two strands of recuperative adaptations. The first is informed by the assumption that the dramatic situations exemplify moral universals. The second strand consists of adaptations that problematize heteronormativity and psychological universals in liberal humanist visions of the canon. This approach is self-conscious of deeply contextual meanings of the canon. As a result, it lends itself to the genres of parody, metatheatre, and metacinema. Through case studies of Tom Hooper's King's Speech, Cheah Chee Kong's Chicken Rice War, and other adaptations that thematize vocal disorders, this article identifies a common trope in reparative performances of disability in order to highlight some questions the trope raises.
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When encountering the acronym, TSA, most Americans would associate it with unpleasant airport experiences courtesy of theTransportation Security Administration. However, the TaiwanShakespeare Association offers much for us to celebrate... more
When encountering the acronym, TSA, most Americans would associate it with unpleasant airport experiences courtesy of theTransportation Security Administration. However, the TaiwanShakespeare Association offers much for us to celebrate and rejoice at across the oceans. ::: As the vanguard of innovative research, the TSA has enabled new knowledge creation, fostered curiosity and passion in Shakespeare studies in the new generation, and facilitated the dissemination of exciting new findings. On the TSA’s 10th anniversary, I would like to dedicate one of my latest books, Sinophone Adaptations of Shakespeare, featuring works by Taiwanese Shakespearean playwrights, directors, scholars, and translators, to the TSA!
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The rise of global Shakespeare as an industry and cultural practice-the incorporation of Shakespearean performance in cultural diplomacy and in the cultural marketplace-is aided by digital tools of dissemination and digital forms of... more
The rise of global Shakespeare as an industry and cultural practice-the incorporation of Shakespearean performance in cultural diplomacy and in the cultural marketplace-is aided by digital tools of dissemination and digital forms of artistic expression. Shakespeare has evolved from a cultural nomad in the past centuries-a body of works with no permanent artistic home base-to a digital nomad in the twentyfirst century-an artist whose livelihood depends on commissions online and who works from any number of physical locations. The digital sphere is now the most important habitation for global Shakespeare, especially in the era of the pandemic of Covid-19. A nomad may not have a place to call home, but they can also lay claim to any cultural location. :::::
In a scene in Armenian-Iranian director Varuzh Karim-Masihi’s film Tardid (Doubt , 2009), an archivist named Siavash is hanging a framedFarsi text, “to be or not to be,” on the wall of a dimly lit basement in modern-day Tehran. He proceeds to contemplate the parallels between his life and Hamlet. The Danish prince’s speech becomes a tangible arti-fact in this scene. The framed text on the wall is part of the technologies of representation that are rendering Hamlet’s and Siavash’s musings in a palpable form of writing. :::::: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-04787-9
In a scene in Armenian-Iranian director Varuzh Karim-Masihi’s film Tardid (Doubt , 2009), an archivist named Siavash is hanging a framedFarsi text, “to be or not to be,” on the wall of a dimly lit basement in modern-day Tehran. He proceeds to contemplate the parallels between his life and Hamlet. The Danish prince’s speech becomes a tangible arti-fact in this scene. The framed text on the wall is part of the technologies of representation that are rendering Hamlet’s and Siavash’s musings in a palpable form of writing. :::::: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-04787-9
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Alexa Alice Joubin’s entry expands the global scope of The Chaucer Encyclopedia (4 vols). This entry, in Volume 3, examines the work by the Chinese translator Lin Shu’s (1852-1924). Lin translated and rewrote several key stories from the... more
Alexa Alice Joubin’s entry expands the global scope of The Chaucer Encyclopedia (4 vols). This entry, in Volume 3, examines the work by the Chinese translator Lin Shu’s (1852-1924). Lin translated and rewrote several key stories from the Canterbury Tales. Joubin argues that Lin’s works exemplify early twentieth-century Chinese imaginaries of medieval England. Joubin conducted philological tracing to reveal that Lin based his rewritings on Charles Cowden Clarke’s 1833 Tales from Chaucer in Prose, a prose rendition of ten tales intended for young audiences. Lin categorized most of the tales as fairy tales. Lin was the most prolific and influential translator of foreign literature in early twentieth-century China, who, in addition to rewriting Chaucer and Shakespeare (see shakespeare, william), rendered more than 180 Japanese, German, French, Spanish, and English dramas and novels into classical Chinese. Joubin’s research shows that Lin’s short stories rendered Chaucer in the Ming- and Qing-dynasty narrative tradition of love, filial piety, and exotic adventures. He applied a Confucian moral framework to turn Clarke’s Victorian rewriting intended for women and children into stories for the predominantly male elites in China. Lin’s texts gave the impression that Chaucer concentrated on fairies and ghosts. Lin used this strategic rewriting to counter the rhetoric deployed by those of his contemporaries who were in favor of totalWesternization and had been influenced by the Enlightenment and rationalism. ::: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781119086130
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Literary translations work with, rather than out of, the space between languages. Translations evolve not only across linguistic and cultural borders but also across time. It is notable that Shakespeare’s own play texts feature... more
Literary translations work with, rather than out of, the space between languages. Translations evolve not only across linguistic and cultural borders but also across time. It is notable that Shakespeare’s own play texts feature translational properties that can be amplified in translation. This translingual property makes Shakespeare’s text inherently translational in the dramaturgical and gestural senses. A frequently stated myth is that Shakespearean drama is all about its poetic language, and adaptations in another language would violate the “original.” The history of performance and reception in and beyond the Anglophone world suggests otherwise. Literary translations rely on, and amplify, the translingual property of languages. Translingual echoes occur when semantically linked phrases mean similar but not identical things in more than one language. Even English-language performances engage in translational behaviors, because audiences would find many scenes confusing without seeing the actors performing them. In our times, most audiences encounter Shakespeare in truncated, often translational, forms, such as short video clips, memes, or quotes. This cross-fertilization and mobility are the norms, not the exceptions. Translation studies contribute site-specific epistemologies to our understanding of what Shakespeare means in different locations and in different times.
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Like Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Shakespeare’s Sonnets challenge the binaries between gender and between the vernacular and the literary. Translators take up this challenge and turn it into an opportunity for humanist interpretations of... more
Like Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Shakespeare’s Sonnets challenge the binaries between gender and between the vernacular and the literary. Translators take up this challenge and turn it into an opportunity for humanist interpretations of literature, as in the case of Taiwanese essayist Liang Shiqiu’s (1903–1987) translation.
Widely known in the Sinophone world as the only poet to have single-handedly translated and annotated all of Shakespeare’s works into vernacular Chinese, Liang uses translations of the Western canon to (1) promote the written vernacular (baihua wen) during a time when classical Chinese was regarded as the preferred vehicle for literature; and (2) to render the sonnets more gender neutral. Based on W. J. Craig’s Oxford edition (a 1943 reprint), Liang’s annotated translation of the Sonnets gloss over what he considers unpalatable sexual references.
The translation also brushes aside the (then sensitive) question of a male speaker asking a young man to reproduce in Sonnets 1–17. Since gendered pronouns are sometimes interchangeable in the Chinese language, Liang avoided having to assign male or female identities to a speaker in the poems. While Liang pursued a gender-neutral vernacular translation with a conservative agenda, his version turns out to be ahead of his time, as the revisionist approaches of Paul Edmondson and Stanley Wells demonstrate the addressees in many sonnets cannot be gendered because the context is fluid and ambiguous.
Widely known in the Sinophone world as the only poet to have single-handedly translated and annotated all of Shakespeare’s works into vernacular Chinese, Liang uses translations of the Western canon to (1) promote the written vernacular (baihua wen) during a time when classical Chinese was regarded as the preferred vehicle for literature; and (2) to render the sonnets more gender neutral. Based on W. J. Craig’s Oxford edition (a 1943 reprint), Liang’s annotated translation of the Sonnets gloss over what he considers unpalatable sexual references.
The translation also brushes aside the (then sensitive) question of a male speaker asking a young man to reproduce in Sonnets 1–17. Since gendered pronouns are sometimes interchangeable in the Chinese language, Liang avoided having to assign male or female identities to a speaker in the poems. While Liang pursued a gender-neutral vernacular translation with a conservative agenda, his version turns out to be ahead of his time, as the revisionist approaches of Paul Edmondson and Stanley Wells demonstrate the addressees in many sonnets cannot be gendered because the context is fluid and ambiguous.
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Shakespeare adaptations share an intimate relation with global studies, because Shakespeare – as a cultural institution – registers a broad spectrum of practices that generate productive dialogues with world cultures. Global studies... more
Shakespeare adaptations share an intimate relation with global studies, because Shakespeare – as a cultural institution – registers a broad spectrum of practices that generate productive dialogues with world cultures. Global studies enables us to examine deceivingly harmonious images of Shakespeare’s works. This paper examines culturally fluid, contemporary adaptations in relation to digital cultures. Mining rhizomatic and non-linear flows of tropes, my approach evaluates the connections among Saudi, Bollywood, and French New Wave films. ::::: The second part of this paper traces global Shakespeares during the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020. While the global pandemic closed live theatre events and cinemas worldwide, it also ushered in a new phase of globalization fuelled by on-demand digital videos as at-home audiences took to streaming to engage with Shakespeare. In tandem with the spread of coronavirus, there is a global viral spread of Shakespeare that carries site-specific meanings with them in disembodied forms. ::::: Delineating the relations between Shakespeare and global studies in adaptations and in digital culture, this paper outlines the future challenges and opportunities for the fields. ::::: Résumés francais : Les adaptations de Shakespeare entretiennent un lien privilégié avec les études de la mondialisation, car Shakespeare, en tant qu’institution culturelle, recouvre un large éventail de pratiques qui génèrent des dialogues productifs avec les cultures du monde. Les études mondiales nous permettent d’examiner une certaine image, trop simpliste, des œuvres de Shakespeare. Grâce aux méthodologies rhizomatiques de Deleuze et Guattari, cet article analyse les adaptations contemporaines et les met en vis-à-vis avec les cultures numériques. En explorant les connexions non linéaires entre les cultures, mon approche approfondit les liens entre les films saoudiens, les films bollywoodiens et les films français de la Nouvelle Vague. La deuxième partie de cet article parcourt les adaptations internationales de Shakespeare durant l'épidémie de COVID-19 au début de l'année 2020. Alors que la pandémie a conduit à la fermeture des salles de cinéma et l’arrêt des représentations théâtrales non virtuelles dans le monde entier, elle a également inauguré une nouvelle phase de mondialisation alimentée par un circuit de vidéos à la demande, que les spectateurs ont adopté afin d’entretenir leur passion pour Shakespeare. Parallèlement à la propagation du coronavirus, on a pu observer une propagation virale mondiale de Shakespeare à travers des flux numériques qui apportent un nouveau sens en dépit d’une forme désincarnée. En juxtaposant les contextes culturels et la portée locale de trois films avec l’émergence de significations numériques inédites, cet article décrit les futurs défis et opportunités qui se profilent pour Shakespeare et les études de la mondialisation. ::::: https://journals.openedition.org/shakespeare/7040
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Digital Humanities, Globalization, French Cinema, Transgender Studies, and 15 moreShakespeare, Global Studies, Saudi Arabia, Gender Theory, Feminism, French New Wave, Hamlet, Titus Andronicus, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bollywood cinema, Literary allusions, Ophelia, Global Shakespeare, Saudi cinema, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear stand out as the most frequently and creatively adapted tragedies in more than two centuries of Sinophone performances of Western classics. Between 1987 (when Deng Xiaoping reaffirmed “socialist market... more
Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear stand out as the most frequently and creatively adapted tragedies in more than two centuries of Sinophone performances of Western classics. Between 1987 (when Deng Xiaoping reaffirmed “socialist market economy” as the guiding principle of China’s development and when Taiwan’s martial law was lifted) and 2007 (when the first competitive Chief Executive election changed Hong Kong’s political culture), these three tragedies were staged in multiple traditional and modern performance genres in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Examining how circulations of these texts reach into performance forms and change their meanings from the inside, the introductory chapter reveals the connections between distinctive and often conflicting interpretations of these plays.
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Performing Shakespeare in modern times is an act of mediation between characters and actors, creating channels between geocultural spaces and time periods. The multiplicity of the plural term global Shakespeares helps us push back against... more
Performing Shakespeare in modern times is an act of mediation between characters and actors, creating channels between geocultural spaces and time periods. The multiplicity of the plural term global Shakespeares helps us push back against deceivingly harmonious images of Shakespeare’s ubiquitous presence. Adaptations accrue nuanced meanings as they move through physical and digital spaces, gaining cultural significance by paying homage to or remediating previous interpretations. As a transhistorical and intermedial practice, global Shakespeares have been deployed to revitalize performance genres, resist colonial appendage, exemplify social reparation. This chapter investigates methodologies for transhistorical inquiry into culturally fluid, contemporary adaptations of early modern texts in relation to digital cultures. In juxtaposing the ways in which localities create site-specific meanings, and the ways in which cultural meanings are dispersed and reframed through ever-evolving forms of digital engagement, this chapter outlines the future challenges and opportunities for contemporary global performances.
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“Can you hear me?” asks Stephen Hawking towards the end of The Theory of Everything. Slumping in a motorized wheelchair, theoretical physicist Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) poses the question in a monotonic, computer-generated voice with... more
“Can you hear me?” asks Stephen Hawking towards the end of The Theory of Everything. Slumping in a motorized wheelchair, theoretical physicist Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) poses the question in a monotonic, computer-generated voice with staccato quality to an eager audience through his speech synthesizer. Even though he is physically present, his disembodied voice fills the auditorium in ways that suggest both his earth-bound reality and transcendental status. The question “can you hear me” is a profound moment that invites various levels of interpretation.
On a literal level it is a quotidian question about legibility and whether the speaker is audible, but it bears symbolic significance at the end of this film, which generates consensual pleasure. On a philosophical level, it asks both the audiences within and outside the film’s universe whether they understand him after following the biopic subject around in his wheelchair through his tribulations and triumphs. On a metacinematic level, it asks whether the biopic as a redemptive genre merely speaks for its subject or allows Hawking to speak for himself.
Perhaps a more urgent question for adaptation studies is whether the biopic subject can speak and be truly heard. Two recent biopics, The King's Speech (dir. Tom Hooper, 2010) and The Theory of Everything (dir. James Marsh, 2015), seek to give a voice to their historical and contemporary subjects who could only speak in disembodied voices. The films navigate the fine lines between public disgust of voice disability and the craving for what might be called “supercrip” figures—figures who are defined by their physical limitations but who, because of their disability, are perceived as possessing extraordinary talents and abilities.
The adaptations of King George VI's and Stephen Hawking's life stories show their uneasy relationship to the "troubled-white-male-genius" genre and to the vocal embodiment of their subjects who lose and gain a voice through therapy, technology, and their will to live a full life. The films carefully skirt the edges of public disgust and pity of differently abled bodies: how the stuttering King George VI struggles to find his voice and adapt to the then emerging and increasingly important radio broadcasting technology; and how the physicist Stephen Hawking speaks through a speech synthesizer.
On a literal level it is a quotidian question about legibility and whether the speaker is audible, but it bears symbolic significance at the end of this film, which generates consensual pleasure. On a philosophical level, it asks both the audiences within and outside the film’s universe whether they understand him after following the biopic subject around in his wheelchair through his tribulations and triumphs. On a metacinematic level, it asks whether the biopic as a redemptive genre merely speaks for its subject or allows Hawking to speak for himself.
Perhaps a more urgent question for adaptation studies is whether the biopic subject can speak and be truly heard. Two recent biopics, The King's Speech (dir. Tom Hooper, 2010) and The Theory of Everything (dir. James Marsh, 2015), seek to give a voice to their historical and contemporary subjects who could only speak in disembodied voices. The films navigate the fine lines between public disgust of voice disability and the craving for what might be called “supercrip” figures—figures who are defined by their physical limitations but who, because of their disability, are perceived as possessing extraordinary talents and abilities.
The adaptations of King George VI's and Stephen Hawking's life stories show their uneasy relationship to the "troubled-white-male-genius" genre and to the vocal embodiment of their subjects who lose and gain a voice through therapy, technology, and their will to live a full life. The films carefully skirt the edges of public disgust and pity of differently abled bodies: how the stuttering King George VI struggles to find his voice and adapt to the then emerging and increasingly important radio broadcasting technology; and how the physicist Stephen Hawking speaks through a speech synthesizer.
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Global studies enable us to examine deceivingly harmonious images of Shakespeare. This chapter focuses on the modern period and introduces readers to a number of key concepts in Shakespeare and global studies, namely censorship and... more
Global studies enable us to examine deceivingly harmonious images of Shakespeare. This chapter focuses on the modern period and introduces readers to a number of key concepts in Shakespeare and global studies, namely censorship and redaction, genre, gender, race, and politics of reception. Performing Shakespeare not only creates channels between geographic spaces but also connects different time periods. Therefore, in modern times, global Shakespeares have been recruited as a transhistorical and intercultural practice to revitalize performance genres, exemplified or resisted as a colonial appendage or rhetoric and admired as a centrepiece in an exotic display.
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This chapter theorizes global Shakespeare through two interrelated concepts: performance as an act of citation and the ethics of citation. Bringing the concept of performance as citation and the ethics of citation together, this chapter... more
This chapter theorizes global Shakespeare through two interrelated concepts: performance as an act of citation and the ethics of citation. Bringing the concept of performance as citation and the ethics of citation together, this chapter argues that acts of appropriation carry with them strong ethical implications. A crucial, ethical component of appropriation is one’s willingness to listen to and be subjected to the demands of others. These metaphorical citations create moments of self and mutual recognition.
Seeing the others within is the first step toward seeing oneself in others’ eyes. The act of citation is founded upon the premise of one’s subjectivity, the subject who speaks, and the other’s voice that one is channeling, misrepresenting, or appropriating.
Seeing the others within is the first step toward seeing oneself in others’ eyes. The act of citation is founded upon the premise of one’s subjectivity, the subject who speaks, and the other’s voice that one is channeling, misrepresenting, or appropriating.
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A regional methodology with a transnational framework can identify shared and conflicting patterns of cultural dissemination. Regional data is widely available but difficult to classify, and this book has organized and synthesized... more
A regional methodology with a transnational framework can identify shared and conflicting patterns of cultural dissemination. Regional data is widely available but difficult to classify, and this book has organized and synthesized important sectors of Nordic histories to serve as a key method ‘for disrupting nationalist and globalist paradigms’, according to Aaron Nyerges and Thomas Adams. From literary history to social sciences, including American studies, scholars are recently calling for renewed attention to the region as a unit of knowledge. A regional methodology attends to intra-regional idiosyncrasies and connections by breaking down perceived, clear cultural boundaries between nation-states. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/disseminating-shakespeare-in-the-nordic-countries-9781350200869/
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Shakespeare has often offered orientation and even emotional refuge both to people in crisis and to those contemplating it. Shakespeare has also been performed by and for refugees. The Western canon has been given various forms of moral... more
Shakespeare has often offered orientation and even emotional refuge both to people in crisis and to those contemplating it. Shakespeare has also been performed by and for refugees. The Western canon has been given various forms of moral authority, including the authority to address crisis. Shakespeare in particular has been deployed for socially and politically reparative purposes. The efficacy of the purported reparation differs among these performances. As empowering and positive as these productions and academic initiatives can be, our present volume considers the moment dialectically, including the less comfortable question of whether some of these "reparative" projects for refugees might unconsciously exploit the refugee crisis as a trendy topic to serve mere palliation or even academic advancement rather than communities in need. :::: Parallel, political uses of Shakespeare for socially progressive causes have also emerged in Latin America, which is why the present volume features a second thematic section, edited by Tom Bishop and Alexa Alice Joubin. The five articles in our special section take the pulse of the vibrant artistic and scholarly creativity in the field since that time by examining the presence of Shakespeare variously on page and stage in Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Colombia, and the Caribbean. :::: The two sections on refuge and on Latin America speak to each other in their nuanced reframing of concepts such as the local and the global as well as antipathy and political uses of Shakespeare. An ethical concern around “outsourcing” social work to Shakespeare also informs both sections, raising questions about the use of canonical texts as much to reassure the privileged as to advance the interest of the oppressed. ::: https://www.routledge.com/The-Shakespearean-International-Yearbook-19-Special-Section-Shakespeare/Bishop-Joubin/p/book/9781032130385
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Since the nineteenth century, stage and film directors have mounted hundreds of adaptations of Shakespeare drawn on East Asian motifs, and by the late twentieth century, Shakespeare had become one of the most frequently performed... more
Since the nineteenth century, stage and film directors have mounted hundreds of adaptations of Shakespeare drawn on East Asian motifs, and by the late twentieth century, Shakespeare had become one of the most frequently performed playwrights in East Asia. There are five striking themes surrounding cultural, racial, and gender dynamics. Gender roles in the play take on new meanings in translation, and familiar and unfamiliar accents expanded the characters’ racial identities.
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Shakespeare’s works and Shakespeare as a cultural figure have been closely associated with world cultures. The history of global performance dates back to the late sixteenth century when Shakespeare’s plays began to be performed in... more
Shakespeare’s works and Shakespeare as a cultural figure have been closely associated with world cultures. The history of global performance dates back to the late sixteenth century when Shakespeare’s plays began to be performed in continental Europe during his lifetime. The word “global” in global Shakespeare does double duty: it is an attributive genitive naming the stakeholder and playwright of the Globe Theatre, and it is a descriptive adjective signaling the influence and significance of that theater and of Shakespeare. Shakespeare has become both an author of the Globe and a playwright of global stature. One reason for Shakespeare’s global reach is the oeuvre’s ability to allow audiences to project various values onto the open narrative structure. The illusion that Shakespeare seems to be universal lies in the fact that Shakespeare’s narratives are flexible and can blend into other cultures. ::::: https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-99378-2
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Shakespeare has played a less visible but nonetheless important role in the performance cultures of Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Prolific playwright and internationally renowned director Ong Keng Sen has toured... more
Shakespeare has played a less visible but nonetheless important role in the performance cultures of Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Prolific playwright and internationally renowned director Ong Keng Sen has toured his multilingual adaptations of Shakespeare from Singapore to many parts of the world, while the documentary A Dream in Hanoi drew attention to an American-Vietnamese bilingual production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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Due to their British and Portuguese legacies, Hong Kong and Macao are unique locations where multilingual and multifaceted performances of Shakespeare take place. The handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China in 1997 and... more
Due to their British and Portuguese legacies, Hong Kong and Macao are unique locations where multilingual and multifaceted performances of Shakespeare take place. The handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China in 1997 and Macao in 1999 marked the end of European colonialism and ushered in a new era of artistic creativity at the crossroads of cultures.
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The world needs good question askers as much as it needs good problem solvers. Before solving problems, we need to first identify the problems. Great stories are often strangers at home. The best of them defamiliarize banal experiences... more
The world needs good question askers as much as it needs good problem solvers. Before solving problems, we need to first identify the problems. Great stories are often strangers at home. The best of them defamiliarize banal experiences and everyday utterances while offering something recognizable through a new language and form. ::: https://www.signalhouseedition.org/issue-10-essay
Three things to know about global Shakespeare ::: In recent years, many English-speaking film studios, theatre companies and festivals have amplified and taken advantage of the theme of Shakespeare as something that is both familiar and... more
Three things to know about global Shakespeare ::: In recent years, many English-speaking film studios, theatre companies and festivals have amplified and taken advantage of the theme of Shakespeare as something that is both familiar and exotic – and by implication worth seeing again. ::: To translate, appropriate, and interpret drama and literature is an act of citation. One simple way to identify a quote is obviously the verbatim reproduction, in writing or orally, of someone else’s words. There are many other ways, however, to allude to Shakespeare in embodied performances (think of a man holding up a skull without saying a word) as well as out-of-context political uses of Shakespeare’s words. ::: Behind these acts of quoting others lie some questions about ethics. Often, when Shakespeare is cited, the passages are given an ethical burden and curative quality. Ethics suggest mutually accepted guidelines on how human beings should act and treat one another and, in particular, what constitutes a good action. In our contemporary context, ethics are often interpreted specifically in terms of a responsibility to cultural otherness. ::: ISBN 978-6556400914
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Scroll down to read the English version (which comes after the Korean version) :::::: COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism—the demonization of a group of people based on their perceived social value—in the United States in the... more
Scroll down to read the English version (which comes after the Korean version) :::::: COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism—the demonization of a group of people based on their perceived social value—in the United States in the cultural and political life. Offering strategies for inclusion during and after the pandemic, this article analyzes the history and language of racism, including the notion of yellow peril. Racialized thinking and racial discourses are institutionalized as power relations, take the form of political marginalization of minority groups, and cause emotional distress and physical harm. COVID-19로 인해 미국에서는 사람들이 인식하는 사회적 가치를 기반으로 특정 집단을 악마화하는 반아시아인종주의가 문화와 정치적 삶에서 심화되고 있다. 본 내용은 코로나 팬데믹 기간 동안 그리고 그 이후 포용에 대한 전략을 제시하고 황화(yellow peril)에 대한 개념 등 인종차별주의의 역사와 언어를 분석한다. 인종차별적사고와 인종 담론은 권력 관계로서 자리를 잡게 되고 소수집단을 정치적 비주류로 만들며 정서적 고통과 신체적피해를 유발한다. :::::: Published by the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs, ISSN: 25860844
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As a work that survives and appears in more than one form, King Lear has a vexing problem of interpretation and a rich opportunity for the study of textual and cultural variants. The play begins with an aging monarch staging a... more
As a work that survives and appears in more than one form, King Lear has a vexing problem of interpretation and a rich opportunity for the study of textual and cultural variants. The play begins with an aging monarch staging a fantastical, paradoxical final act as a king. It lures us toward a final act of interpretation to nail down the nature of the sufferings and yet fails to provide any sense of closure. Are Lear’s “evil daughters” implicated as a source of the tragedy of King Lear that has been said to be coded masculine? Does Cordelia’s hanging enhance the tragic pathos surrounding her journey, or does it help to highlight the senseless male suffering? How does Lear speak to cultures far removed11politically and historically from early modern England, and make certain themes of contemporary cultural life more legible, such as generational gap, filial piety, and loyalty and duty? The play’s history of reception and criticism is informed by a perceived ethical burden – as a human responsibility to each other and to cultural otherness—to explain Lear’s problems away or legitimize the characters’ suffering and the tragic pathos of the play. Digital tools help us make necessary links between the analogue and digital worlds, and between different iterations of the human experience. While there is much discussion of a mediated Shakespeare in the mediascape (such as YouTube) and while there is an increasing number of apps with some video content, video-centric teaching platforms have remained marginal to pedagogical and critical inquiries.
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In contemporary American culture, race, has multiple and contradictory meanings. In current American cultural discourses, race often brings to mind people who are not white, while whiteness remains unmarked and serves as a benchmark... more
In contemporary American culture, race, has multiple and contradictory meanings. In current American cultural discourses, race often brings to mind people who are not white, while whiteness remains unmarked and serves as a benchmark category—as if white is not a race. The second feature in American racial discourses is the alignment of a race-based social group with innate or inner qualities rather than class. Third, the focus on black and white sometimes obscures other groups within the United States, such that Hispanics, Latinos, Chicanos, and Native Americans often fall under the rubric of ethnicities rather than “race.” The construction of race is a process that emphasizes subjection and responsiveness to the demands of others. We study race historically not only to find roots of modern racism, but also to discover other views that may have been obscured by more dominant ideologies such as colonialism. Literary and historical texts contain traces of these alternative perspectives and past debates. Reading histories of race may be a passive act, but if it leads to recognition of one’s self in others, then our job as critical analysts is done.
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Cultural memory is actively constructed through embodied and political performances. Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare, two “national poets” of unequal global stature, have recently become vehicles for British and Chinese cultural... more
Cultural memory is actively constructed through embodied and political performances. Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare, two “national poets” of unequal global stature, have recently become vehicles for British and Chinese cultural diplomacy and exchange during their quatercentenary in 2016. The culture of commemoration is a key factor in Tang’s and Shakespeare’s positions within world theatre. Performances of commemoration take a wide range of approaches from grass-root events to government-sponsored festivals. With a comparative scope that explores the afterlives of the two dramatists, this cluster of essays examines commemorative practices, the dynamics of artistic fame, comparability of different dramatic traditions, and transformations of performance styles in socio-historical contexts.
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This chapter examines narratives that reflect the impact of epistemologies of otherness upon our understanding of race. Race intersects with other social factors such as class, cultural citizenship, and gender. This chapter draws on case... more
This chapter examines narratives that reflect the impact of epistemologies of otherness upon our understanding of race. Race intersects with other social factors such as class, cultural citizenship, and gender. This chapter draws on case studies of artists in exile or diaspora who interrogate their own identities, because exile brings racial tensions into stark relief when brought into conflict with personal identity. Narratives engaged with epistemologies of otherness inform works about exile and works produced in exile. I also examine how the recent emergence of whiteness changes notions of race. Lastly, it is important to take a step back and examine the process of knowledge production.
Research Interests: Film Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Shakespeare, Asian American Studies, Critical Race Theory, and 15 moreEast Asian Studies, T.S. Eliot, Whiteness Studies, Exile, Diaspora Studies, White Supremacy, Gender and Race, W.B.Yeats, Gao Xingjian, Othello, Blackness, Negritude, A Passage to India, Global Shakespeare, and E.M.Forster
To move global Shakespeare studies beyond the more limiting scope of nation-state and cultural profiling, I would like to propose we consider a number of critical concepts as methodology. These concepts critique the limitations of... more
To move global Shakespeare studies beyond the more limiting scope of nation-state and cultural profiling, I would like to propose we consider a number of critical concepts as methodology. These concepts critique the limitations of cartographic imagination, and connect the performance site to spaces of knowledge production: (1) the site of performance and the myth of global Shakespeare; (2) diaspora and racial tensions; (3) art in post-national space; (4) the ethics of quoting Shakespeare and world cultures; and (5) the production and dissemination of knowledge through archives.
Research Interests: Cartography, Gender Studies, Ethics, Epistemology, Digital Humanities, and 39 moreFilm Studies, Performance Studies, Transnationalism, Shakespeare, Asian American Studies, South Korea, Critical Race Theory, Nationalism, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Archives, Gilles Deleuze, Émmanuel Lévinas, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Memory Studies, Jacques Derrida, Festival Tourism, Diaspora Studies, Site-Specific Art, Digital Archives, Shakespearean Drama, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, Contemporary China, Performance criticism, Indian theatre, South Africa, British South Asian Film, Titus Andronicus, King Lear, Nation-State, Julius Caesar, Site Specificity, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, British-Asian literature, Site Specific Performance, Global Shakespeare, Citationality, and Touring Theatre
In the centuries since William Shakespeare's death, numerous stage and, more recently, film and television adaptations of his work have emerged to inspire, comfort, and provoke audiences in far-flung corners of the globe. As early as... more
In the centuries since William Shakespeare's death, numerous stage and, more recently, film and television adaptations of his work have emerged to inspire, comfort, and provoke audiences in far-flung corners of the globe. As early as 1619, for example, Hamlet was performed in colonial Indonesia to entertain European expatriates. In 1845, U.S. Army officers staged Othello in Corpus Christi, Texas, as a distraction from the run-up to the Mexican-American War. Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival toured its production of Macbeth to several key U.S. military bases in 2004.
The gender roles have also been taken for a spin, notably in Phyllida Lloyd's all-female production of Julius Caesar and Henry IV (Donmar Warehouse, London, 2012 and 2014). Set in a women's prison, the cross-gender performance stirred heated discussions. Meanwhile, rehearsing The Comedy of Errors in Kabul and eventually performingat the Globe Theatre in London during the 2012 Olympics helped the Roy-e-Sabs Company cope with persecution from the Talibans and take shelter from harsh Afghan politics.
The gender roles have also been taken for a spin, notably in Phyllida Lloyd's all-female production of Julius Caesar and Henry IV (Donmar Warehouse, London, 2012 and 2014). Set in a women's prison, the cross-gender performance stirred heated discussions. Meanwhile, rehearsing The Comedy of Errors in Kabul and eventually performingat the Globe Theatre in London during the 2012 Olympics helped the Roy-e-Sabs Company cope with persecution from the Talibans and take shelter from harsh Afghan politics.
Research Interests:
Shakespeare's Ophelia is an iconic character with conflicting myths. She is both an innocent "rose of May" and a sexually aware singer in act 4. Both her lyric sufferings and her suicide-as-resistance to the patriarchy enabled contrasting... more
Shakespeare's Ophelia is an iconic character with conflicting myths. She is both an innocent "rose of May" and a sexually aware singer in act 4. Both her lyric sufferings and her suicide-as-resistance to the patriarchy enabled contrasting interpretations. Asian directors leverage Shakespeare's own propensity to undermine dominant ideologies of gender in their effort to renew Asian performance traditions. With case studies of three Hamlet films: Haider (India, 2004), The King and the Clown (South Korea, 2005), and Prince of the Himalayas (Tibet, 2006), this article examines how Asian films negotiate ideas of Ophelia as an iconic victim and a feminist voice.
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The fields of critical disability studies and global Shakespeare have a great deal to say to each other, which is why we are creating this opportunity for an interdisciplinary dialogue and reflection. This year’s Shakespearean... more
The fields of critical disability studies and global Shakespeare have a great deal to say to each other, which is why we are creating this opportunity for an interdisciplinary dialogue and reflection. This year’s Shakespearean International Yearbook focuses on the theme of global disability performances of Shakespeare. Curated by Katherine Schaap Williams, this cluster of articles attends to the global turn in critical disability studies by expanding the history of Shakespearean performance in India, Iran, Sri Lanka, Poland, Russia, and the Arabian Peninsula. Thinking beyond the Western framework enables a more inclusive, and expansive, perspective on the diverse ways in which disability aesthetics affect disability politics and on the question of what “counts” as disability representation. When they transcend the “nation,” critical tools from disability studies are more effective in aiding our deconstruction of ableist erasure of human variation. Studies of global performance can further enrich our understanding of disability representation by mobilizing a range of local histories and theatrical traditions. Ultimately, examining disability performances in relation to glocal definitions of alterity fosters culturally and politically nuanced visions of deploying Shakespeare in service of social justice.
::: ISBN: 9781032649238
::: ISBN: 9781032649238
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This volume focuses on Pericles, Prince of Tyre, whose narrative of refugee suffering, familial loss, emotional distancing, people-trafficking, and eventual, joyous recovery speaks strikingly to our historical moment. The play’s... more
This volume focuses on Pericles, Prince of Tyre, whose narrative of refugee suffering, familial loss, emotional distancing, people-trafficking, and eventual, joyous recovery speaks strikingly to our historical moment. The play’s internationalist reach, its images of cross-cultural relations, and its Eastern Mediterranean setting also promote a reflection on the current politics of global exchange. ::: Notably this volume includes a comprehensive list of productions up to 2020. After an Introduction reviewing key aspects of the play’s history, the dozen contributions are grouped into four trios. ::: The first two trios examine Pericles’ place in the canon and its appropriation of ideas of the baroque and medievalism to the story’s relevance to the culture of early seventeenth-century England. This sets up a strong foundation for readers to appreciate the third trio on theoretical and practical performance cues scripted within the play itself, such as its use of props, the court masque. Essays in the fourth trio take us to performances of the play in modern times, including an in-depth analysis of its first known performance in North America in Massachusetts in 1920 and a survey of dance in twenty eight productions from 1947 to 2018, focused in particular on questions of choreography and the incorporation of international dance traditions in the soldiers’ dance at Pentapolis, where Pericles meets his future wife, Thaisa. This trio concludes with a global chronological list of known productions of Pericles. :::: In addition to its curated thematic section on Pericles, there is a “state of the field” review essay in keeping with the general commitment to current scholarship in international Shakespeare studies. In this volume, we feature Nicole A. Jacobs’s “Intersectional Shakespeare” which covers new scholarship during the pandemic on social justice issues through the lenses of critical race theory, queer theory, disability studies, and studies of the non-human.
Research Interests: Travel Writing, Globalization, Refugee Studies, Queer Theory, Shakespeare, and 14 moreErasmus, Colonialism, Intercultural Performance, Film Adaptation, Shakespearean Drama, Authorship, Food Studies, Orientalism, Interculturalism, King Lear, Pericles, John Gower, Dutch language and culture, and Global Shakespeare
Cross-gender roles and performances permeate many of Shakespeare’s plays. This special issue on contemporary transgender performance of Shakespeare was published by the open-access journal dedicated to Shakespeare and appropriation,... more
Cross-gender roles and performances permeate many of Shakespeare’s plays. This special issue on contemporary transgender performance of Shakespeare was published by the open-access journal dedicated to Shakespeare and appropriation, Borrowers and Lenders, and edited by Alexa Alice Joubin. She shows that these cross-gender acts have been misunderstood as “cross-dressing,” which implies crossing from one fixed binary position to the other. Viola presents as pageboy Cesario for most of the dramatic action in Twelfth Night. Falstaff escapes Ford’s house as the Witch of Brainford in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Rosalind ventures into the woods as Ganymede in As You Like It. In that same comedy, Celia (as Aliena), Phoebe, and Audrey were also played by boy actors in Shakespeare’s time. In Cymbeline, British princess Imogen dresses as a male servant, Fidele, on their quest to find their husband among the Roman soldiers. These works are in fact transgender plays. Centuries of cisgender-centric biases told us we have to suspend our disbelief to understand cross-gender roles. Joubin and her contributors ask: What if the body of the female character and the actor’s somatic presence exist on a continuum rather than in contrary fixations? The enactment of gender practices is not predicated upon “substitutions” (as in substituting the boy actor for Desdemona) or entail diagnostic recognition (as in being reminded of the “real” body beneath the illusion of Desdemona). The special issue contains research articles and interviews of actors. ::: https://borrowers-ojs-azsu.tdl.org/borrowers
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Four themes distinguish post-1950s East Asian cinemas and theaters from works in other parts of the world: Japanese innovations in sound and spectacle; Sinophone uses of Shakespeare for social reparation; the reception of South Korean... more
Four themes distinguish post-1950s East Asian cinemas and theaters from works in other parts of the world: Japanese innovations in sound and spectacle; Sinophone uses of Shakespeare for social reparation; the reception of South Korean presentations of gender identities in film and touring productions; and multilingual, disability, and racial discourses in cinema and diasporic theatre in Asian America, Singapore, and the UK. :::::: Discount code AAFLYG6 for 30% off. Go to: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/shakespeare-and-east-asia-9780198703570?q=Shakespeare%20and%20East%20Asia&lang=en&cc=us
Research Interests: Japanese Studies, Gender Studies, Theatre Studies, Feminist Theory, Globalization, and 15 moreFilm Studies, Performance Studies, Shakespeare, Asian American Studies, Korean Studies, Critical Race Theory, East Asian Studies, Taiwan Studies, Singapore, American Cinema, Shakespearean Drama, China studies, British Cinema (Film Studies), Shakespeare adaptation, and British Asian Theatre
"Race" offers a compelling study of ideas related to race throughout history. Its breadth of coverage, both geographically and temporally, provides readers with an expansive, global understanding of the term from the classical period... more
"Race" offers a compelling study of ideas related to race throughout history. Its breadth of coverage, both geographically and temporally, provides readers with an expansive, global understanding of the term from the classical period onwards: Intersections of Race and Gender // Race and Social Theory Identity // Ethnicity, and Immigration // Whiteness // Legislative and Judicial Markings of Difference // Race in South Africa, Israel, East Asia, Asian America // Blackness in a Global Context // Race in the History of Science // Critical Race Theory
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Shakespeare’s plays and motifs have been appropriated in fragmentary forms on screen since motion pictures were invented in 1893. Allusions to Shakespeare haunt our contemporary culture in a myriad of ways, whether through brief... more
Shakespeare’s plays and motifs have been appropriated in fragmentary forms on screen since motion pictures were invented in 1893. Allusions to Shakespeare haunt our contemporary culture in a myriad of ways, whether through brief references or sustained intertextual engagements. ::::: This collection of essays extends beyond a US-UK axis to bring together an international group of scholars to explore Shakespearean appropriations in unexpected contexts in lesser-known films and television shows in India, Brazil, Russia, France, Australia, South Africa, East-Central Europe and Italy, with reference to some filmed stage works. Keywords: theory of allusion, Shakespeare, spectral citation, intertextuality, Russia, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, France, Italy, India, East-Central Europe :::: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-93783-6
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Screening Shakespeare by Alexa Alice Joubin covers four key aspects of filmmaking: mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound and music, and film theory. It draws on film adaptations of Shakespeare as case studies to explain these concepts,... more
Screening Shakespeare by Alexa Alice Joubin covers four key aspects of filmmaking: mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound and music, and film theory. It draws on film adaptations of Shakespeare as case studies to explain these concepts, beginning with formal and cultural analysis of film as a medium. Supported by the George Washington University Adapting Course Materials for Equity Faculty Grant (news story) and the Online Course Development grant, GW Digital Humanities Institute, and GW Coders, Screening Shakespeare is an openly licensed, open-access, online textbook with interactive learning modules. This web-based textbook is designed with the principle of equitable redundancy and multimodal access, providing multiple, curated and self-guided, pathways to the contents. You are cordially invited to “roam around” and chart your own path through the lesson units (presented as “tiles”) which are designed to be read in any order. Click one of the thematic “tiles” on the homepage to access the contents in a non-linear fashion. You can also navigate this site in a more traditional manner. The drop-down menus that replicate the experience of leafing through a codex book. ::: https://screenshakespeare.org/
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King Lear has an unusual performance history. It was significantly revised, by Shakespeare or others, between its first two publications and was then succeeded by an adaptation that softened the ending so that Lear and Cordelia survived.... more
King Lear has an unusual performance history. It was significantly revised, by Shakespeare or others, between its first two publications and was then succeeded by an adaptation that softened the ending so that Lear and Cordelia survived. In our own times it is performed around the world in productions that explore its relevance to contemporary political and environmental challenges. This edition offers an extensive performance history along with a distinctive “extended” text, taking the later Folio as a starting point and adding the lines that appear only in the Quarto.
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Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear, three of the most frequently adapted tragedies, have inspired incredible work in the Sinophone theatres of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China for over two centuries as political theatre, comedic... more
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear, three of the most frequently adapted tragedies, have inspired incredible work in the Sinophone theatres of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China for over two centuries as political theatre, comedic parody, Chinese opera, and avant-garde theatre. Gender roles in the plays take on new meanings when they are embodied by actors whose new accents expand the characters’ racial identities. :::::
Each of this book’s three sections offers contrasting adaptations of each tragedy for comparative analysis. This anthology showcases the directors’ methodic transformations both Shakespeare and Sinophone performance traditions. Organized thematically to address the cultural exigencies between 1987 and 2007, this collection of translated plays showcases some gems of Sinophone cultures that stand at the intersection of East Asian and Anglophone dramas. ::::: ISBN 978-3-030-92993-0
Each of this book’s three sections offers contrasting adaptations of each tragedy for comparative analysis. This anthology showcases the directors’ methodic transformations both Shakespeare and Sinophone performance traditions. Organized thematically to address the cultural exigencies between 1987 and 2007, this collection of translated plays showcases some gems of Sinophone cultures that stand at the intersection of East Asian and Anglophone dramas. ::::: ISBN 978-3-030-92993-0
Research Interests:
As a familiar and canonical playwright, Shakespeare has often offered orientation and even emotional refuge both to people in crisis and to those contemplating it. Shakespeare has also been performed by and for refugees. The Western canon... more
As a familiar and canonical playwright, Shakespeare has often offered orientation and even emotional refuge both to people in crisis and to those contemplating it. Shakespeare has also been performed by and for refugees. The Western canon has been given various forms of moral authority, including the authority to address crisis. Shakespeare in particular has been deployed for socially and politically reparative purposes. The efficacy of the purported reparation differs among these performances. As empowering and positive as these productions and academic initiatives can be, our present volume considers the moment dialectically, including the less comfortable question of whether some of these "reparative" projects for refugees might unconsciously exploit the refugee crisis as a trendy topic to serve mere palliation or even academic advancement rather than communities in need. :::: Parallel, political uses of Shakespeare for socially progressive causes have also emerged in Latin America, which is why the present volume features a second thematic section, edited by Tom Bishop and Alexa Alice Joubin. The five articles in our special section take the pulse of the vibrant artistic and scholarly creativity in the field since that time by examining the presence of Shakespeare variously on page and stage in Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Colombia, and the Caribbean. :::: The two sections on refuge and on Latin America speak to each other in their nuanced reframing of concepts such as the local and the global as well as antipathy and political uses of Shakespeare. An ethical concern around “outsourcing” social work to Shakespeare also informs both sections, raising questions about the use of canonical texts as much to reassure the privileged as to advance the interest of the oppressed. ::: https://www.routledge.com/The-Shakespearean-International-Yearbook-19-Special-Section-Shakespeare/Bishop-Joubin/p/book/9781032130385
Research Interests:
Due to Karl Marx’s frequent references in his political treatises, Shakespeare held a significant place in a number of communist and other left-authoritarian countries, including China and the USSR. And although there were themes in... more
Due to Karl Marx’s frequent references in his political treatises, Shakespeare held a significant place in a number of communist and other left-authoritarian countries, including China and the USSR. And although there were themes in Shakespeare that turned out to be inconvenient for communist ideology, other Shakespearean plays were put into service. In Part I of this volume of the Yearbook, the special section of chapters explores the vicissitudes of artistic and political uses of Shakespeare in Soviet culture and ideology after the October Revolution in 1917, including in some of the continuing resonances of those uses since the collapse of the Soviet Union. And while the real and perceived resistance to prevailing ideologies of Soviet directors has tended to capture recent critical attention, there is a wide range of Soviet and post-Soviet interpretations of Shakespeare. Scholarship on global Shakespeare has drawn more frequently on Sergei Iutkevich’s Othello (for its influence outside the USSR) and on Grigori Kozintsev’s mid-century films of Hamlet and King Lear, since Kozintsev is seen as a political dissident. In Part II of this volume, Tom Ue presents interviews with novelist Lisa Klein and filmmaker Claire McCarthy, creators of two recent revisionings of Ophelia’s story, and John Mucciolo discusses recent work in Shakespeare studies in the review essay format, which is a regular feature of the Yearbook.
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Shakespeare’s works and Shakespeare as a cultural figure have been closely associated with world cultures. The history of global performance dates back to the late sixteenth century when Shakespeare’s plays began to be performed in... more
Shakespeare’s works and Shakespeare as a cultural figure have been closely associated with world cultures. The history of global performance dates back to the late sixteenth century when Shakespeare’s plays began to be performed in continental Europe during his lifetime. The word “global” in global Shakespeare does double duty: it is an attributive genitive naming the stakeholder and playwright of the Globe Theatre, and it is a descriptive adjective signaling the influence and significance of that theater and of Shakespeare. Shakespeare has become both an author of the Globe and a playwright of global stature. One reason for Shakespeare’s global reach is the oeuvre’s ability to allow audiences to project various values onto the open narrative structure. The illusion that Shakespeare seems to be universal lies in the fact that Shakespeare’s narratives are flexible and can blend into other cultures. ::::: https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-99378-2
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At a time when Shakespeare is becoming increasingly globalized and diversified it is urgent more than ever to ask how this appropriated 'Shakespeare' constructs ethical value across cultural and other fault lines. Shakespeare and the... more
At a time when Shakespeare is becoming increasingly globalized and diversified it is urgent more than ever to ask how this appropriated 'Shakespeare' constructs ethical value across cultural and other fault lines. Shakespeare and the Ethics of Appropriation is the first book to address the intersection of ethics, aesthetics, authority, and authenticity.
Research Interests:
Cultural memory is actively constructed through embodied and political performances. Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare, two “national poets” of unequal global stature, have recently become vehicles for British and Chinese cultural... more
Cultural memory is actively constructed through embodied and political performances. Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare, two “national poets” of unequal global stature, have recently become vehicles for British and Chinese cultural diplomacy and exchange during their quatercentenary in 2016. The culture of commemoration is a key factor in Tang’s and Shakespeare’s positions within world theatre. Performances of commemoration take a wide range of approaches from grass-root events to government-sponsored festivals. With a comparative scope that explores the afterlives of the two dramatists, this cluster of essays examines commemorative practices, the dynamics of artistic fame, comparability of different dramatic traditions, and transformations of performance styles in socio-historical contexts.
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This collection of scholarly essays offers a new understanding of local and global myths that have been constructed around Shakespeare in theatre, cinema, and television from the nineteenth century to the present. Drawing on a definition... more
This collection of scholarly essays offers a new understanding of local and global myths that have been constructed around Shakespeare in theatre, cinema, and television from the nineteenth century to the present. Drawing on a definition of myth as a powerful ideological narrative, Local and Global Myths in Shakespearean Performance examines historical, political, and cultural conditions of Shakespearean performances in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. The first part of this volume offers a theoretical introduction to Shakespeare as myth from a twenty-first century perspective. The second part critically evaluates myths of linguistic transcendence, authenticity, and universality within broader European, neo-liberal, and post-colonial contexts. The study of local identities and global icons in the third part uncovers dynamic relationships between regional, national, and transnational myths of Shakespeare. The fourth part revises persistent narratives concerning a political potential of Shakespeare’s plays in communist and post-communist countries. Finally, part five explores the influence of commercial and popular culture on Shakespeare myths. Michael Dobson’s Afterword concludes the volume by locating Shakespeare within classical mythology and contemporary concerns.
/// Introduction, pp. 1-21
/// Introduction, pp. 1-21
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How do Shakespearean plays sustain clashing values within them, or imposed on them? Is Shakespeare anti-Semitic? Can Shakespeare be a feminist? How is value subject to context, to market, and demand? A wide range of moral, political, and... more
How do Shakespearean plays sustain clashing values within them, or imposed on them? Is Shakespeare anti-Semitic? Can Shakespeare be a feminist? How is value subject to context, to market, and demand? A wide range of moral, political, and aesthetic values—profitable or heartening or threatening from case to case—have been associated with Shakespeare, and those values have changed over time. And conflicting values may coincide at different levels of discussion of a given play, at once driving diversity in entertainment industries and sustaining traditional aesthetic principles, or in some other concatenation.
This volume’s special section of essays on “Shakespeare and Value” explores these questions through general enquiry and case studies of complex moral designs that resist easy profiling in the plays. Instead of following formulae or jumping to conclusions, the contributors urge us not to flatten out the contradictory sets of values in these designs, but to set these clashes at the heart of action and inquiry.
This volume’s special section of essays on “Shakespeare and Value” explores these questions through general enquiry and case studies of complex moral designs that resist easy profiling in the plays. Instead of following formulae or jumping to conclusions, the contributors urge us not to flatten out the contradictory sets of values in these designs, but to set these clashes at the heart of action and inquiry.
Research Interests:
Among the many ambitious projects is Shakespeare Theatre Association’s “400 Dreams: Shakespeare Around the Globe,” a year-long celebration of user-generated digital videos from every time zone in the world. This is an instance where arts... more
Among the many ambitious projects is Shakespeare Theatre Association’s “400 Dreams: Shakespeare Around the Globe,” a year-long celebration of user-generated digital videos from every time zone in the world. This is an instance where arts make some sites legible. On the other hand, as Britain’s vote to leave the European Union reminds us, performances change the meanings of place. Some instances of “global” Shakespeare seem to belong more to particular geohistorical sites, others are designed to signify across several international sites and festivals (such as the London Globe’s Hamlet, directed by Dominic Dromgoole, that has toured to more than 200 countries and regions), and still others become site-specific performances such as the long list of experimental and mainstream productions staged at Kronborg Castle’s annual Hamletsommer festivals. The sites of performance can change or sustain collective memory.
The meanings of various sites of performance also go beyond mere brute location. Our knowledge of sites is skewed by available histories offered by various archives and by collective memory. Scholars’ and educators’ own site-specific ideologies and knowledge influence how they historicize and how they teach about global Shakespeares and their sites of origin and reception. Audiences’ historical baggage from their own “sites of origin” influences their perception of performances in different sites. As much as we recognize and celebrate the mobility of global Shakespeare, the complexities of site remind us that Shakespeare can be as grounded and site-specific in articulation as it can also be ungrounded and fluid in discursive formation. There’s always a place elsewhere, as Coriolanus almost says (though experience may change his mind), but we can’t appreciate the journey unless we understand the situation of specific sites and the dynamics that unfold between them.
When staged in Denmark, the fictional setting interacts with the real Kronborg Castle to create a unique hybrid locality. The Globe in London, though it is not the only venue associated with the playwright, has generated from its particular authority many portable ideas and tropes about Shakespearean performance that have in turn affected other sites. The flurry of commemorative events passed around the globe in the landmark year of 2016 suggests that Shakespeare is an adaptably mobile floating signifier moving across geographic spaces and touching down variously. How do these sites differ and how are they implicated in one another?
The meanings of various sites of performance also go beyond mere brute location. Our knowledge of sites is skewed by available histories offered by various archives and by collective memory. Scholars’ and educators’ own site-specific ideologies and knowledge influence how they historicize and how they teach about global Shakespeares and their sites of origin and reception. Audiences’ historical baggage from their own “sites of origin” influences their perception of performances in different sites. As much as we recognize and celebrate the mobility of global Shakespeare, the complexities of site remind us that Shakespeare can be as grounded and site-specific in articulation as it can also be ungrounded and fluid in discursive formation. There’s always a place elsewhere, as Coriolanus almost says (though experience may change his mind), but we can’t appreciate the journey unless we understand the situation of specific sites and the dynamics that unfold between them.
When staged in Denmark, the fictional setting interacts with the real Kronborg Castle to create a unique hybrid locality. The Globe in London, though it is not the only venue associated with the playwright, has generated from its particular authority many portable ideas and tropes about Shakespearean performance that have in turn affected other sites. The flurry of commemorative events passed around the globe in the landmark year of 2016 suggests that Shakespeare is an adaptably mobile floating signifier moving across geographic spaces and touching down variously. How do these sites differ and how are they implicated in one another?
Research Interests:
What makes Shakespeare centrally 'exceptional' to the current humanities curriculum, a measure and minimum unit for University administrations and the general public to recognise the activity of 'the humanities'? The essays in this issue... more
What makes Shakespeare centrally 'exceptional' to the current
humanities curriculum, a measure and minimum unit for University
administrations and the general public to recognise the activity of
'the humanities'? The essays in this issue of the Yearbook ask how we
might push this question beyond categories of the exceptional, the
superlative, the above, beyond, below, or even the normative, in order
to scale Shakespeare historically, canonically, and ontologically in
relation to 'the human'.
humanities curriculum, a measure and minimum unit for University
administrations and the general public to recognise the activity of
'the humanities'? The essays in this issue of the Yearbook ask how we
might push this question beyond categories of the exceptional, the
superlative, the above, beyond, below, or even the normative, in order
to scale Shakespeare historically, canonically, and ontologically in
relation to 'the human'.
Research Interests:
In 2002, for the second volume of this journal, Ian Lancashire reflected on the state of computing in Shakespeare. The decade since his review has seen dramatic change in the web of ‘digital Shakespeares’-experiments in editing and... more
In 2002, for the second volume of this journal, Ian Lancashire reflected on the state of computing in Shakespeare. The decade since his review has seen dramatic change in the web of ‘digital Shakespeares’-experiments in editing and publishing, paradigm shifts in research and pedagogy, new tools and methods for analyzing a growing and varied multimedia archive-all with their share of successes and failures, a veritable ‘mingled yarn’ of ‘good and ill together.’ This issue’s special section on Digital Shakespeares reflects on these developments and achievements, highlights current research in the field, and speculates on future directions. The volume also includes an essay reviewing other recent work in Shakespeare studies.
The Shakespearean International Yearbook continues to provide an annual survey of important developments and topics of concern in contemporary Shakespeare studies across the world. Among the contributors to this volume are Shakespearean scholars from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Sweden and the US.
The Shakespearean International Yearbook continues to provide an annual survey of important developments and topics of concern in contemporary Shakespeare studies across the world. Among the contributors to this volume are Shakespearean scholars from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Sweden and the US.
Research Interests:
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/chinese-shakespeares/9780231148481 For close to two hundred years, the ideas of Shakespeare have inspired incredible work in the literature, fiction, theater, and cinema of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. From... more
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/chinese-shakespeares/9780231148481
For close to two hundred years, the ideas of Shakespeare have inspired incredible work in the literature, fiction, theater, and cinema of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. From the novels of Lao She and Lin Shu to Lu Xun's search for a Chinese "Shakespeare," and from Feng Xiaogang's martial arts films to labor camp memoirs, Soviet-Chinese theater, Chinese opera in Europe, and silent film, Shakespeare has been put to work in unexpected places, yielding a rich trove of transnational imagery and paradoxical citations in popular and political culture.
For close to two hundred years, the ideas of Shakespeare have inspired incredible work in the literature, fiction, theater, and cinema of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. From the novels of Lao She and Lin Shu to Lu Xun's search for a Chinese "Shakespeare," and from Feng Xiaogang's martial arts films to labor camp memoirs, Soviet-Chinese theater, Chinese opera in Europe, and silent film, Shakespeare has been put to work in unexpected places, yielding a rich trove of transnational imagery and paradoxical citations in popular and political culture.
Research Interests: Film Studies, Performance Studies, Shakespeare, Adaptation, Parody, and 12 moreChinese Modern Literature, Film and Media Studies, Macbeth, King Lear, World Theatre / Welttheater, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV, Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Global Shakespeare, and Modern Chinese Literary and Cultural Studies
Book Description in English: World Literature and World Theatre: Aesthetic Humanism in Cultural Globalization argues that the aestheticization of humanistic concerns—the act of converting the human experience to art—is a key force in... more
Book Description in English: World Literature and World Theatre: Aesthetic Humanism in Cultural Globalization argues that the aestheticization of humanistic concerns—the act of converting the human experience to art—is a key force in cross-cultural exchange. The book investigates the relationship between the creation of enduring personal narratives and “humanism”– a secular investment in shared cultural values. Artistic humanism can counter such practices of subjugation as colonialism and cultural imperialism that have dominated the recent historical record of globalization. The phenomenon is notable in the appropriation of Shakespearean sonnets, and the satirical and humorous narratives of Lu Xun (1881-1936), Mo Yan (2012 Nobel laureate), French-Chinese poet Gao Xingjian (2000 Nobel laureate), and other writers. ::::::
Book Description in German: Ein Grund dafür, warum der Humanismus in unserer Zeit so wichtig bleibt, liegt in seiner Fähigkeit, das menschliche Leben nachvollziehbar zu machen, indem man nach den subjektiven Gründen für menschliches Handeln anstatt den objektiven Ursachen fragt. Tatsächlich betont der Humanismus die Subjektivität der menschlichen Erfahrung. Werden Klassiker heute noch studiert, weil sie universelle Werte vermitteln und den heutigen Lesern etwas mitzuteilen haben? Oder nur, weil sie uns erlauben, einen Blick auf die Vergangenheit zu werfen? Worin besteht die Beziehung zwischen “jetzt” und “damals”? Neuere Diskussionen um die Bedeutungsproduktion betonen oft die Politisierung von Kunstwerken, ihre historische Authentizität sowie ihre ideologische Autorität. Diese Debatten beeinflussen natürlich auch die geisteswissenschaftliche Ausbildung, bei der sich die Gegenwart in der Vergangenheit spiegelt und umgekehrt. [Buch-Reihe: Der Mensch im Netz der Kulturen – Humanismus in der Epoche der Globalisierung] ::::::
Here is an English-language review of this book in Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies by Dr. Géraldine Fiss. Weltliteratur und Welttheater is a critical inquiry into the driving force of humanism in the process of cross-cultural exchange that engenders the globalization of literature and theatre. In the course of her analysis, Alexa Alice Joubin asks several key questions, which inform her theoretically informed, site-specific readings: What is the function of humanism as artists create hybrid experimental forms that transcend linguistic, cultural and national boundaries? How do elements of ‘aesthetic humanism’ appear in surprising forms, particularly in literary and dramatic works that are the result of global cultural crossfertilization? And how do aesthetic humanist texts merge Chinese and Western forms to engage with, respond to and shed light upon vital themes of modernization, politics, aesthetics and art? In its broad historical conception which spans both the modern and postmodern periods, and in its foregrounding of the two related genres of world literature and world theatre, this book composed in German not only presents novel readings of iconic Chinese texts but also the multifarious interconnections between Western and Chinese expressions of humanism. :::::
Rationale for publishing the book in German in Germany: The peer-reviewed monograph was supported by a Stiftung Mercator grant. Named after Duisburg’s famous cartographer, the Mercator Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in Germany. Mercator’s life symbolizes the significance of intercultural and interreligious tolerance. :::::
The subject matter of the book, world literature (a concept developed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), is more conducive to discussions in German and within the German critical traditions. :::::
The book appeared in the series (Buch-Reihe) Being Human: Caught in the Web of Cultures – Humanism in the Age of Globalization (Der Mensch im Netz der Kulturen – Humanismus in der Epoche der Globalisierung) whose editorial board includes early modernists such as Peter Burke (Cambridge) and comparative literature scholars such as Longxi Zhang (City University of Hong Kong). The Transcript Verlag is one of the leading academic publishers in Germany with strong lists in social, media and cultural studies.
Book Description in German: Ein Grund dafür, warum der Humanismus in unserer Zeit so wichtig bleibt, liegt in seiner Fähigkeit, das menschliche Leben nachvollziehbar zu machen, indem man nach den subjektiven Gründen für menschliches Handeln anstatt den objektiven Ursachen fragt. Tatsächlich betont der Humanismus die Subjektivität der menschlichen Erfahrung. Werden Klassiker heute noch studiert, weil sie universelle Werte vermitteln und den heutigen Lesern etwas mitzuteilen haben? Oder nur, weil sie uns erlauben, einen Blick auf die Vergangenheit zu werfen? Worin besteht die Beziehung zwischen “jetzt” und “damals”? Neuere Diskussionen um die Bedeutungsproduktion betonen oft die Politisierung von Kunstwerken, ihre historische Authentizität sowie ihre ideologische Autorität. Diese Debatten beeinflussen natürlich auch die geisteswissenschaftliche Ausbildung, bei der sich die Gegenwart in der Vergangenheit spiegelt und umgekehrt. [Buch-Reihe: Der Mensch im Netz der Kulturen – Humanismus in der Epoche der Globalisierung] ::::::
Here is an English-language review of this book in Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies by Dr. Géraldine Fiss. Weltliteratur und Welttheater is a critical inquiry into the driving force of humanism in the process of cross-cultural exchange that engenders the globalization of literature and theatre. In the course of her analysis, Alexa Alice Joubin asks several key questions, which inform her theoretically informed, site-specific readings: What is the function of humanism as artists create hybrid experimental forms that transcend linguistic, cultural and national boundaries? How do elements of ‘aesthetic humanism’ appear in surprising forms, particularly in literary and dramatic works that are the result of global cultural crossfertilization? And how do aesthetic humanist texts merge Chinese and Western forms to engage with, respond to and shed light upon vital themes of modernization, politics, aesthetics and art? In its broad historical conception which spans both the modern and postmodern periods, and in its foregrounding of the two related genres of world literature and world theatre, this book composed in German not only presents novel readings of iconic Chinese texts but also the multifarious interconnections between Western and Chinese expressions of humanism. :::::
Rationale for publishing the book in German in Germany: The peer-reviewed monograph was supported by a Stiftung Mercator grant. Named after Duisburg’s famous cartographer, the Mercator Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in Germany. Mercator’s life symbolizes the significance of intercultural and interreligious tolerance. :::::
The subject matter of the book, world literature (a concept developed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), is more conducive to discussions in German and within the German critical traditions. :::::
The book appeared in the series (Buch-Reihe) Being Human: Caught in the Web of Cultures – Humanism in the Age of Globalization (Der Mensch im Netz der Kulturen – Humanismus in der Epoche der Globalisierung) whose editorial board includes early modernists such as Peter Burke (Cambridge) and comparative literature scholars such as Longxi Zhang (City University of Hong Kong). The Transcript Verlag is one of the leading academic publishers in Germany with strong lists in social, media and cultural studies.
Research Interests: European Studies, Translation Studies, Globalization, Higher Education, Renaissance Humanism, and 17 moreHumor, Posthumanism, Shakespeare, Sonnets, Exile, Modern Chinese History, Humanism, Mo Yan, Literature and humor/ History of literary comic, Lu Xun, Chinese Modern Literature, Gao Xingjian, Tragedy, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Liang Shiqiu, and Cultrual Studies
http://www.thepress.purdue.edu/titles/format/9781612490298 ///////// What is entailed in the cultural practice of screening, in both senses of the verb, Shakespeare in transnational audio-visual idioms in the modern times? The past... more
http://www.thepress.purdue.edu/titles/format/9781612490298
/////////
What is entailed in the cultural practice of screening, in both senses of the verb, Shakespeare in transnational audio-visual idioms in the modern times? The past decades have witnessed diverse incarnations and bold sequences of screen and stage Shakespeares that gave rise to productive encounters between the ideas of Asia and of Shakespeare. Kurosawa's Throne of Blood (Macbeth, 1957) and Ran (Lear, 1985) are far from the earliest or the only Shakespeare films from Asia; around the time Asta Nielsen's cross-dressed Hamlet (1921) was filmed, gender-bender silent film adaptations of The Merchant of Venice and Two Gentlemen of Verona were being made in Shanghai. In the other direction, Hollywood and the global economy in general have brought Asian cultures forcefully into the Western cultural register, as evidenced by the mediation and reception of Shakespeare and world cultures on screens big and small, including silent film, television, feature film, documentary, and such media as online games, anime, and YouTube. Two prominent examples are Kenneth Branagh's As You Like It (2006), set in Japan, and the appropriation of eastern spirituality in Thich Nah Han's scene in Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (2000). In both directions of the intercultural traffic, Asian audio-visual idioms have been appropriated along with Shakespeare's text on stage and on screen. Therefore, we need to ask: On what terms do transnational Shakespeares animate and redirect the traffic between different geo-cultural or virtual localities? In turn, how do the collaborative processes of signification operate as local stagings of Shakespeare and global locales?
/////////
What is entailed in the cultural practice of screening, in both senses of the verb, Shakespeare in transnational audio-visual idioms in the modern times? The past decades have witnessed diverse incarnations and bold sequences of screen and stage Shakespeares that gave rise to productive encounters between the ideas of Asia and of Shakespeare. Kurosawa's Throne of Blood (Macbeth, 1957) and Ran (Lear, 1985) are far from the earliest or the only Shakespeare films from Asia; around the time Asta Nielsen's cross-dressed Hamlet (1921) was filmed, gender-bender silent film adaptations of The Merchant of Venice and Two Gentlemen of Verona were being made in Shanghai. In the other direction, Hollywood and the global economy in general have brought Asian cultures forcefully into the Western cultural register, as evidenced by the mediation and reception of Shakespeare and world cultures on screens big and small, including silent film, television, feature film, documentary, and such media as online games, anime, and YouTube. Two prominent examples are Kenneth Branagh's As You Like It (2006), set in Japan, and the appropriation of eastern spirituality in Thich Nah Han's scene in Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (2000). In both directions of the intercultural traffic, Asian audio-visual idioms have been appropriated along with Shakespeare's text on stage and on screen. Therefore, we need to ask: On what terms do transnational Shakespeares animate and redirect the traffic between different geo-cultural or virtual localities? In turn, how do the collaborative processes of signification operate as local stagings of Shakespeare and global locales?
Research Interests: Asian Studies, Theatre Studies, Translation Studies, Digital Humanities, Globalization, and 13 moreFilm Studies, Film Theory, Performance Studies, Digital Media, Shakespeare, Adaptation, Film Adaptation, Intercultural Theatre, Youtube, Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh, Romeo and Juliet, and Global Shakespeare
The past two decades of theoretical ferment have witnessed tremendous changes in Renaissance studies in terms of scope and methodology, framed by the rise of Foucaultian-inflected social theories and Marxist literary criticism. The... more
The past two decades of theoretical ferment have witnessed
tremendous changes in Renaissance studies in terms of scope and
methodology, framed by the rise of Foucaultian-inflected social theories and Marxist literary criticism. The concept of boundary in our book title names two things: that which separates different gender, class, and geo-cultural identities, and that from which these identities are derived. The boundary is a faultline that divides, frames, and unites contending images of the self and the collective. Class (a designation associated with race and gender) and patterns of belonging, betrayal, and exclusion are all central to the debate about the fashioning of Renaissance literary identities
and the formation of postmodern theoretical positions.
It is equally important to recognize that, as these boundaries are
being reconstituted by new critical approaches, the boundary between the text and the critic also needs to be reevaluated. If literary history has lost its innocence through the intervention of various approaches associated with new historicism such as cultural poetics, one needs no reminding, at this juncture, that the questions of class and social discourse of the Renaissance are also our own. Articulated differently under differing historical circumstances, these questions that beleaguered the men and
women of Renaissance Europe continue to speak to us with unflinching urgency.
Class, Boundary and Social Discourse in the Renaissance is a collection of eight essays that focus on different aspects of the
Renaissance social discourse and how it is fashioned by ideological and scholarly maneuvers, by the complex negotiations between resonating cultural forces and texts.
tremendous changes in Renaissance studies in terms of scope and
methodology, framed by the rise of Foucaultian-inflected social theories and Marxist literary criticism. The concept of boundary in our book title names two things: that which separates different gender, class, and geo-cultural identities, and that from which these identities are derived. The boundary is a faultline that divides, frames, and unites contending images of the self and the collective. Class (a designation associated with race and gender) and patterns of belonging, betrayal, and exclusion are all central to the debate about the fashioning of Renaissance literary identities
and the formation of postmodern theoretical positions.
It is equally important to recognize that, as these boundaries are
being reconstituted by new critical approaches, the boundary between the text and the critic also needs to be reevaluated. If literary history has lost its innocence through the intervention of various approaches associated with new historicism such as cultural poetics, one needs no reminding, at this juncture, that the questions of class and social discourse of the Renaissance are also our own. Articulated differently under differing historical circumstances, these questions that beleaguered the men and
women of Renaissance Europe continue to speak to us with unflinching urgency.
Class, Boundary and Social Discourse in the Renaissance is a collection of eight essays that focus on different aspects of the
Renaissance social discourse and how it is fashioned by ideological and scholarly maneuvers, by the complex negotiations between resonating cultural forces and texts.
Research Interests:
本书主要研究莎士比亚在中国的流传以及他对文学界、戏剧界以及中国文化的影响。莎士比亚的作品传到中国后，如何本土化的，如何传播的，如何与中国戏剧结合的，作者从比较文学的角度对这些问题一一进行了探讨。本书英文原版获2010年美国现代语言文学研究会MLA学术著作奖Scaglione Prize和Joe A. Callaway Prize*佳戏剧研究奖。 目录 序言 / 1 第1部 文化交流理论 第1章 莎士比亚与中国： 文化拥有权的争辩 / 第二部 虚构的道德空间 第二章... more
本书主要研究莎士比亚在中国的流传以及他对文学界、戏剧界以及中国文化的影响。莎士比亚的作品传到中国后，如何本土化的，如何传播的，如何与中国戏剧结合的，作者从比较文学的角度对这些问题一一进行了探讨。本书英文原版获2010年美国现代语言文学研究会MLA学术著作奖Scaglione Prize和Joe A. Callaway Prize*佳戏剧研究奖。
目录
序言 / 1
第1部 文化交流理论
第1章 莎士比亚与中国： 文化拥有权的争辩 /
第二部 虚构的道德空间
第二章 晚清的莎士比亚接受史： 从梁启超到鲁迅 /
第三章 道德的批判与改写： 兰姆姐弟、林纾及老舍 /
第三部 本土化的诠释
第四章 无声电影与早期话剧： 表演性别与映像城市 /
第五章 阅读和演出的地方谱系： 孔庙、劳改场与中苏合作剧场 /
第四部 后现代东方莎士比亚
第六章 再论中国戏曲莎剧的吊诡 /
第七章 典范的扬弃与重建： 吴兴国与赖声川 /
目录
序言 / 1
第1部 文化交流理论
第1章 莎士比亚与中国： 文化拥有权的争辩 /
第二部 虚构的道德空间
第二章 晚清的莎士比亚接受史： 从梁启超到鲁迅 /
第三章 道德的批判与改写： 兰姆姐弟、林纾及老舍 /
第三部 本土化的诠释
第四章 无声电影与早期话剧： 表演性别与映像城市 /
第五章 阅读和演出的地方谱系： 孔庙、劳改场与中苏合作剧场 /
第四部 后现代东方莎士比亚
第六章 再论中国戏曲莎剧的吊诡 /
第七章 典范的扬弃与重建： 吴兴国与赖声川 /
Research Interests: Translation Studies, Globalization, Shakespeare, Adaptation, Hong Kong Cinema, and 14 moreMainland Chinese Film, Modern Chinese History, Taiwanese Literature, Chinese Theatre, Late Imperial-Modern China, Chinese Modern Literature, Sinophone Literature, Modern China (especially late Qing and Republican history), Hong Kong avant-garde theatre, Taiwanese Cinema, Adaptation and Appropriation Theory, Global Shakespeare, Taiwan Drama and Theatre, and Chinese Shakespeares: Two Centuries of Cultural Exchange
Screening Shakespeare by Alexa Alice Joubin covers four key aspects of filmmaking: mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound and music, and film theory. It draws on film adaptations of Shakespeare as case studies to explain these concepts,... more
Screening Shakespeare by Alexa Alice Joubin covers four key aspects of filmmaking: mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound and music, and film theory. It draws on film adaptations of Shakespeare as case studies to explain these concepts, beginning with formal and cultural analysis of film as a medium. Screening Shakespeare is an openly licensed, open-access, online textbook with interactive learning modules. ::::: https://screenshakespeare.org/
Research Interests:
The MIT Global Shakespeares Video and Performance Archive was created by the tireless work and personal collection of the Archive’s co-founder and co-director, Alexa Alice Joubin. It is a collaborative project that presents information... more
The MIT Global Shakespeares Video and Performance Archive was created by the tireless work and personal collection of the Archive’s co-founder and co-director, Alexa Alice Joubin. It is a collaborative project that presents information about more than three hundred productions, shorter or longer videos (e.g., trailers) of over two hundred productions, and full-length videos of more than one hundred productions. It is a work in progress. :::: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/emdr/article/view/37580
Research Interests:
Gender roles in Shakespeare’s plays take on new meanings when they are embodied by Asian actors. Learning more about Asian approaches to performance not only enriches our worldview but also makes Asian cultures less abstract and Asian... more
Gender roles in Shakespeare’s plays take on new meanings when they are embodied by Asian actors. Learning more about Asian approaches to performance not only enriches our worldview but also makes Asian cultures less abstract and Asian people more relatable as fellow human beings. Reflecting the idea that strength and empowerment can take many forms, these performances counter the racialized myths about Asian women that have led to the fetishization of Asian women as subservient and dainty objects. The fetish makes Asian women interchangeable. :::::: https://blog.oup.com/2021/07/adapting-shakespeare-shattering-stereotypes-of-asian-women-onstage-and-onscreen/
Research Interests:
During the AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) heritage month, let us explore the fascinating works by East Asian directors and actors. The AAPI month honors the living, hybrid Asian and Western cultures. Since the nineteenth... more
During the AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) heritage month, let us explore the fascinating works by East Asian directors and actors. The AAPI month honors the living, hybrid Asian and Western cultures. Since the nineteenth century, there have been hundreds of adaptations of Shakespeare drawn on East Asian motifs. Gender roles in the plays take on new meanings when they are embodied by Asian actors, and new accents expanded the characters’ racial identities in this age of globalization. :::: https://thetheatretimes.com/asian-adaptations-of-shakespeare-today/
Research Interests: Japanese Studies, Shakespeare, Singapore, China, East Asian Cinema, and 13 moreShakespearean Drama, China studies, Hamlet, Shakespeare in Performance, William Shakespeare, Baz Lurhmann, East Asian Film and Visual Studies, Romeo and Juliet, Global Shakespeare, East Asian Theatre, Shakespeare on Film, Franco Zeffirelli, and Anti-Asian racism
https://thetheatretimes.com/performing-shakespeare-in-the-era-of-covid-19/ :::: Long before the global pandemic of COVID-19, digital videos have helped Shakespeare gone viral around the world. The outbreak of the global pandemic of... more
https://thetheatretimes.com/performing-shakespeare-in-the-era-of-covid-19/ :::: Long before the global pandemic of COVID-19, digital videos have helped Shakespeare gone viral around the world. The outbreak of the global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in early 2020 closed live theatre events worldwide, but the crisis – during which global travel and national borders were shut down – also ushered in a new phase of globalization fuelled by digital videos as at-home audiences took to streaming to engage with Shakespeare. The pandemic has led to a proliferation of born-digital and digitized archival videos of Shakespeare in Western Europe, Canada, the UK, and the US.
Research Interests:
This is a review of Alexa Alice Joubin and Peter S. Donaldson's MIT Global Shakespeares. In 2022, Professor Amrita Sen writes that the MIT Global Shakespeares “opens up new possibilities of community building through its curatorial... more
This is a review of Alexa Alice Joubin and Peter S. Donaldson's MIT Global Shakespeares. In 2022, Professor Amrita Sen writes that the MIT Global Shakespeares “opens up new possibilities of community building through its curatorial strategies and social outreach. It not only acts as repositories of actual performances, but also functions as archives of communal memories. Through bi-lingual records of social media exchanges and transcriptions of performances, the archive opens up new possibilities of accessing and reading Latin American Shakespeares.” :::: This assessment is part of Professor Sen’s chapter, entitled “Practicing Digital Shakespeare in Latin America,” in her edited book, Digital Shakespeares from the Global South (2022), pp. 57-72.
Research Interests:
COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism—the demonization of a group of people based on their perceived social value—in the United States in the cultural and political life. This article that analyzes the language of racism and... more
COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism—the demonization of a group of people based on their perceived social value—in the United States in the cultural and political life. This article that analyzes the language of racism and misogyny. It also offers strategies for inclusion during and after the pandemic. Racialized thinking is institutionalized as power relations. Racial discourses take the form of political marginalization of minority groups, and cause emotional distress and physical harm. ::: https://gwenglish.org/the-roots-of-anti-asian-racism-in-the-u-s-the-pandemic-and-yellow-peril/
Research Interests:
During his lifetime, Shakespeare’s plays were performed in Europe and were subsequently taken to corners of the globe that seemed remote from the English perspective, including colonial Indonesia in 1619. Even though it is not the only... more
During his lifetime, Shakespeare’s plays were performed in Europe and were subsequently taken to corners of the globe that seemed remote from the English perspective, including colonial Indonesia in 1619. Even though it is not the only venue associated with the playwright, the Globe in London has generated many of the ideas and tropes about Shakespeare’s universal appeal.
The word “global” in global Shakespeare does double duty: it is an attributive genitive naming the stakeholder and playwright of the Globe Theatre, and it is a descriptive adjective signaling the influence and significance of that theatre and of Shakespeare. Shakespeare became both an author of the Globe and a playwright of global stature.
The word “global” in global Shakespeare does double duty: it is an attributive genitive naming the stakeholder and playwright of the Globe Theatre, and it is a descriptive adjective signaling the influence and significance of that theatre and of Shakespeare. Shakespeare became both an author of the Globe and a playwright of global stature.
Research Interests:
Why did Shakespeare–and not his contemporaries like Christopher Marlowe or Thomas Kyd–“go viral?” A closer look reveals that his narratives contain qualities that are easily adaptable to different cultures and eras, and have given his... more
Why did Shakespeare–and not his contemporaries like Christopher Marlowe or Thomas Kyd–“go viral?”
A closer look reveals that his narratives contain qualities that are easily adaptable to different cultures and eras, and have given his works broad appeal outside his native England. It helps explain why, even before mass communication, Shakespeare was a hit with readers ranging from Soviet communists to German Romanticists like Goethe.
A closer look reveals that his narratives contain qualities that are easily adaptable to different cultures and eras, and have given his works broad appeal outside his native England. It helps explain why, even before mass communication, Shakespeare was a hit with readers ranging from Soviet communists to German Romanticists like Goethe.
Research Interests:
The transmission of Renaissance culture in China began with the arrival of the first Jesuit missionaries in 1582, followed by the Dominicans and Franciscans in the 1630s. The uses of Shakespeare’s plays in spoken drama and Chinese opera... more
The transmission of Renaissance culture in China began with the arrival of the first Jesuit missionaries in 1582, followed by the Dominicans and Franciscans in the 1630s. The uses of Shakespeare’s plays in spoken drama and Chinese opera are informed by a paradigm shift from seeking authenticity to foregrounding artistic subjectivity. Shakespearean themes and characterization have enriched, challenged, and changed Chinese-language theatres and genres. Chinese and Sinophone Shakespeares have become strangers at home.
Research Interests:
Shakespeare has been used to divert around censorship, “sanitized” and redacted for children, young adults and school use, and even used as a form of protest all over the world. While censors have reacted differently to Shakespeare... more
Shakespeare has been used to divert around censorship, “sanitized” and redacted for children, young adults and school use, and even used as a form of protest all over the world. While censors have reacted differently to Shakespeare (sometimes with a blind eye), self-censorship (by directors and audiences) is part of the picture as well.
Not all censors work in the capacity of a public official. Many censors are in fact editors, writers and educators who are gatekeepers of specific forms of knowledge.
The term “bowdlerized” comes from Henrietta “Harriet” Bowdler who edited the popular, “family-friendly” anthology The Family Shakespeare (1807) which contains 24 edited plays. The anthology sanitized Shakespeare’s texts and rid them of undesirable elements such as references to Roman Catholicism, sex and more. The anthology was intended for young women readers.
Not all censors work in the capacity of a public official. Many censors are in fact editors, writers and educators who are gatekeepers of specific forms of knowledge.
The term “bowdlerized” comes from Henrietta “Harriet” Bowdler who edited the popular, “family-friendly” anthology The Family Shakespeare (1807) which contains 24 edited plays. The anthology sanitized Shakespeare’s texts and rid them of undesirable elements such as references to Roman Catholicism, sex and more. The anthology was intended for young women readers.
Research Interests:
France-based American artist Man Ray’s painting Hamlet captures in his composition the complex themes of objectification of the human body and eroticization of form. It is both geometrically abstract and erotically concrete. It teases us.... more
France-based American artist Man Ray’s painting Hamlet captures in his composition the complex themes of objectification of the human body and eroticization of form. It is both geometrically abstract and erotically concrete. It teases us. It provokes us to pause and contemplate the untold story and the overt visuals. Is the painting a representation of a mathematical model? Is the painting a symbol of womanhood? Is the painting supposed to evoke carnal pleasure or mathematical precision? Is the visual representation pointing toward some invisible reality or untold story?
Research Interests:
ReKN provides a public collaborative annotated bibliography and environmental scan of online materials and digital tools for Early Modern scholars. The advisory board provides scholarly peer review of digital academic work.
Research Interests:
Translation served as a metaphor for physical transformation or transportation in Shakespeare's plays. Translation of Shakespeare’s works is almost as old as Shakespeare himself; the first German adaptations date from the early 17th... more
Translation served as a metaphor for physical transformation or transportation in Shakespeare's plays. Translation of Shakespeare’s works is almost as old as Shakespeare himself; the first German adaptations date from the early 17th century. And within Shakespeare’s plays, moments of translation create comic relief and heighten the awareness that communication is not a given.
Research Interests:
http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Foyer/EditorBoard/ Performance editor and editorial board The Internet Shakespeare Editions is a widely used platform consisting of texts, digital surrogates, critical materials, and a performance... more
http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Foyer/EditorBoard/
Performance editor and editorial board
The Internet Shakespeare Editions is a widely used platform consisting of texts, digital surrogates, critical materials, and a performance database. The Shakespeare in Performance database (SIP) contains production metadata from 3100+ stage and screen productions, 21,000+ performance artefacts, and 30,000+ individual theatre personnel, from over 395 companies and 42 countries. SIP has a user interface that allows external contributors (125+ theatre companies, regional reviewers, and scholars) to add new productions to a PostgreSQL database.
Performance editor and editorial board
The Internet Shakespeare Editions is a widely used platform consisting of texts, digital surrogates, critical materials, and a performance database. The Shakespeare in Performance database (SIP) contains production metadata from 3100+ stage and screen productions, 21,000+ performance artefacts, and 30,000+ individual theatre personnel, from over 395 companies and 42 countries. SIP has a user interface that allows external contributors (125+ theatre companies, regional reviewers, and scholars) to add new productions to a PostgreSQL database.
Research Interests:
The MIT Global Shakespeares Video & Performance Archive is a collaborative project providing online access to performances of Shakespeare from many parts of the world as well as essays and metadata provided by scholars and educators in... more
The MIT Global Shakespeares Video & Performance Archive is a collaborative project providing online access to performances of Shakespeare from many parts of the world as well as essays and metadata provided by scholars and educators in the field. The idea that Shakespeare is a global author has taken many forms since the building of the Globe playhouse. Our work honors the fact and demonstrates the diversity of the world-wide reception and production of Shakespeare’s plays in ways that we hope will nourish the remarkable array of new forms of cultural exchange that the digital age has made possible. MIT Global Shakespeares is a participatory multi-centric networked model that offers wide access to international performances that are changing how we understand Shakespeare’s plays and the world.
Research Interests:
Member, Performance Editorial Board ////// Digital Renaissance Editions aims to expand the range of early English drama available to a world-wide audience for study, teaching, and performance, and to inspire a greater appreciation... more
Member, Performance Editorial Board //////
Digital Renaissance Editions aims to expand the range of early English drama available to a world-wide audience for study, teaching, and performance, and to inspire a greater appreciation and understanding of the drama and its various contexts. In order to achieve these ambitious goals, the project relies upon the efforts and expertise of dedicated scholars and developers working with the highest standards of scholarship, design, and usability in mind.
http://digitalrenaissance.uvic.ca/Foyer/PerfEdBoard/
Digital Renaissance Editions aims to expand the range of early English drama available to a world-wide audience for study, teaching, and performance, and to inspire a greater appreciation and understanding of the drama and its various contexts. In order to achieve these ambitious goals, the project relies upon the efforts and expertise of dedicated scholars and developers working with the highest standards of scholarship, design, and usability in mind.
http://digitalrenaissance.uvic.ca/Foyer/PerfEdBoard/
Research Interests:
https://luminarydigitalmedia.com/index.php/team ////// The Tempest for iPad is a collaboration of scholars from the US and Europe. This interactive Shakespeare “edition” is designed to be generative. The reading process is... more
https://luminarydigitalmedia.com/index.php/team //////
The Tempest for iPad is a collaboration of scholars from the US and Europe. This interactive Shakespeare “edition” is designed to be generative. The reading process is social rather than solitary. Readers can choose the experts that meet their interests. Readers can share their notes in real time and create their own play text—enhanced by illustrations, podcasts, and videos.
The Tempest for iPad is a collaboration of scholars from the US and Europe. This interactive Shakespeare “edition” is designed to be generative. The reading process is social rather than solitary. Readers can choose the experts that meet their interests. Readers can share their notes in real time and create their own play text—enhanced by illustrations, podcasts, and videos.
Research Interests:
In the art and entertainment industry, race is both visible and invisible in various forms of embodiment. Depending on the context, doing Shakespeare while a minority can invite different responses. It is one thing for Indian actors to... more
In the art and entertainment industry, race is both visible and invisible in various forms of embodiment. Depending on the context, doing Shakespeare while a minority can invite different responses. It is one thing for Indian actors to perform Shakespeare in India, where the actor is not part of a minority. It is quite another to do Shakespeare in a country where one is perceived to be “non-mainstream” or different. It is important to tell the story of the making and reception of “locally grown” works that are somehow perceived as “global” or exotic because of the artists’ identities. Meaningful diversity is the key here. Diversity in the arts is not about checking boxes on some survey form, but rather about a wider range of rich narratives about the human experience. Enriched by multiracial and multiethnic casting and multilingual performance strategies, these performances are far from simple tales of black versus white, or the subaltern versus the authority (e.g. Shakespeare providing the universal theme, while black actors bring the music and dance; Shakespeare has got privileged poetry; black dancers have got “exotic” rhythm). Being black does not necessarily mean being tribal or believing in witchcraft. Diasporic Shakespeare is all about enriching our experiences with drama.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Intercultural Communication, Digital Humanities, Shakespeare, Contemporary British Theatre, and 9 moreCritical Race Theory, Race and Ethnicity, Intercultural Performance, African American Studies, Intercultural Theatre, Black British literature, Adaptation and Appropriation Theory, Global Shakespeare, and Asian American Theatre and Drama
http://theconversation.com/thou-art-translated-how-shakespeare-went-viral-40044 (The conversation is an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community.) Why did Shakespeare – and not his contemporaries... more
http://theconversation.com/thou-art-translated-how-shakespeare-went-viral-40044
(The conversation is an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community.)
Why did Shakespeare – and not his contemporaries like Christopher Marlowe or Thomas Kyd go viral? A closer look reveals that his narratives contain qualities that are easily adaptable to different cultures and eras, and have given his works broad appeal outside his native England.
(The conversation is an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community.)
Why did Shakespeare – and not his contemporaries like Christopher Marlowe or Thomas Kyd go viral? A closer look reveals that his narratives contain qualities that are easily adaptable to different cultures and eras, and have given his works broad appeal outside his native England.
Research Interests:
http://literatortura.com/2015/08/foste-traduzido-como-shakespeare-viralizou/ O presente texto é a tradução de um artigo de opinião escrito por Alexa Huang e publicado originalmente no site The Conversation, não correspondendo... more
http://literatortura.com/2015/08/foste-traduzido-como-shakespeare-viralizou/
O presente texto é a tradução de um artigo de opinião escrito por Alexa Huang e publicado originalmente no site The Conversation, não correspondendo necessariamente com a opinião da equipe do Literatortura.
O presente texto é a tradução de um artigo de opinião escrito por Alexa Huang e publicado originalmente no site The Conversation, não correspondendo necessariamente com a opinião da equipe do Literatortura.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
http://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/blog/2012/07/29/shakespeare-in-borrowed-robes/ Can Shakespeare’s plays give a “local habitation” to the “airy nothing” of globalization? Shakespeare is proclaimed, once again, the bearer of universal... more
http://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/blog/2012/07/29/shakespeare-in-borrowed-robes/
Can Shakespeare’s plays give a “local habitation” to the “airy nothing” of globalization? Shakespeare is proclaimed, once again, the bearer of universal currency and Britain’s national poet as the London Olympics draw nearer. Much more ambitious than the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2006 “Complete Works” Festival, the World Shakespeare Festival in summer 2012 will bring theatre companies from different parts of the world to perform Shakespeare in their own languages. Shakespeare has been transformed from Britain’s export to import industry, but the meaning of this “return” is ambiguous.
Can Shakespeare’s plays give a “local habitation” to the “airy nothing” of globalization? Shakespeare is proclaimed, once again, the bearer of universal currency and Britain’s national poet as the London Olympics draw nearer. Much more ambitious than the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2006 “Complete Works” Festival, the World Shakespeare Festival in summer 2012 will bring theatre companies from different parts of the world to perform Shakespeare in their own languages. Shakespeare has been transformed from Britain’s export to import industry, but the meaning of this “return” is ambiguous.
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Online discussion of digital mapping tools that forge new or revive old connections in literary and historical texts. Hosts: Cameron Butt, Univ. Victoria (English), Annette Joseph-Gabriel, Vanderbilt (French), Rebecca Nesvet, UNC Chapel... more
Online discussion of digital mapping tools that forge new or revive old connections in literary and historical texts. Hosts: Cameron Butt, Univ. Victoria (English), Annette Joseph-Gabriel, Vanderbilt (French), Rebecca Nesvet, UNC Chapel Hill (English and Comparative Literature), Rebecca Shores, UNC Chapel Hill (English and Comparative Literature), Spring 2013.
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This book series, edited by Alexa Alice Joubin, addresses the mobility of texts and cultures through the global afterlife of Shakespearean drama, poetry, and motifs in its literary, performative, and digital forms of expression in the... more
This book series, edited by Alexa Alice Joubin, addresses the mobility of texts and cultures through the global afterlife of Shakespearean drama, poetry, and motifs in its literary, performative, and digital forms of expression in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Books will investigate the Anglophone and worldwide history of production and reception of conflicting myths of Shakespeare as a global author and national poet to uncover blind spots in current methodologies and propose new paradigms.
Focusing on scholarly polemic and important studies of 25,000 to 50,000 words that capture global Shakespeares as they evolve, the series efficiently disseminates big ideas and cutting-edge research to a wide market in ebook and print formats.
Volumes will be published within three months of acceptance of final manuscript.
Topics to be explored may include:
• Critical debates about authenticity and transnational identities
• Translations, subtitling practices, archives, alterity, diaspora, touring, canon formation
• Value systems in Shakespeare and world cultures: religions, race, ethnicity, gender, politics, philosophies
• The role of Shakespeare in fostering or hindering productive exchanges between cultures
• Theories and practices of literary, digital, stage, and screen genres
Editorial board:
Mark Thornton Burnett, Queen's University Belfast, UK
Peter Donaldson, MIT, USA
Mark Houlahan, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Douglas Lanier, University of New Hampshire, USA
Dennis Kennedy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Margaret Litvin, Boston University, USA
Ryuta Minami, Shirayuri College, Tokyo, Japan
Alfredo Michel Modenessi, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
David Schalkwyk, Folger Shakespeare Library, USA
Ayanna Thompson, George Washington University, USA
Poonam Trivedi, Indraprastha College, University of Delhi, India
Books will investigate the Anglophone and worldwide history of production and reception of conflicting myths of Shakespeare as a global author and national poet to uncover blind spots in current methodologies and propose new paradigms.
Focusing on scholarly polemic and important studies of 25,000 to 50,000 words that capture global Shakespeares as they evolve, the series efficiently disseminates big ideas and cutting-edge research to a wide market in ebook and print formats.
Volumes will be published within three months of acceptance of final manuscript.
Topics to be explored may include:
• Critical debates about authenticity and transnational identities
• Translations, subtitling practices, archives, alterity, diaspora, touring, canon formation
• Value systems in Shakespeare and world cultures: religions, race, ethnicity, gender, politics, philosophies
• The role of Shakespeare in fostering or hindering productive exchanges between cultures
• Theories and practices of literary, digital, stage, and screen genres
Editorial board:
Mark Thornton Burnett, Queen's University Belfast, UK
Peter Donaldson, MIT, USA
Mark Houlahan, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Douglas Lanier, University of New Hampshire, USA
Dennis Kennedy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Margaret Litvin, Boston University, USA
Ryuta Minami, Shirayuri College, Tokyo, Japan
Alfredo Michel Modenessi, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
David Schalkwyk, Folger Shakespeare Library, USA
Ayanna Thompson, George Washington University, USA
Poonam Trivedi, Indraprastha College, University of Delhi, India
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The EMC Imprint is a publishing venture associated with the Early Modern Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Imprint works to imagine new forms of early modern scholarship — rigorously peer reviewed and... more
The EMC Imprint is a publishing venture associated with the Early Modern Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Imprint works to imagine new forms of early modern scholarship — rigorously peer reviewed and professionally produced — that exploit the affordances of digital media, mounted in Scalar, an open source, media-rich publishing platform. Our inaugural publication, The Making of a Broadside Ballad, ed. Patricia Fumerton, Andrew Griffin, and Carl Stahmer, is on track for publication in the spring of 2015.
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http://www.brill.com/products/series/east-asian-comparative-literature-and-culture With the increasing international importance of East Asia in economic, political, and cultural terms, more and more readers are interested in better... more
http://www.brill.com/products/series/east-asian-comparative-literature-and-culture
With the increasing international importance of East Asia in economic, political, and cultural terms, more and more readers are interested in better understanding this part of the world which can boast long-standing histories and traditions as well as vibrating modern cultures. This book series publishes substantial comparative research on the literary and cultural traditions of premodern and modern East Asia and their relation to the world.
It welcomes in particular forms of comparative analysis that combine the depth of area-studyexpertise and philology with theoretical acumen and a courageous orientation towards fundamental questions.
With the increasing international importance of East Asia in economic, political, and cultural terms, more and more readers are interested in better understanding this part of the world which can boast long-standing histories and traditions as well as vibrating modern cultures. This book series publishes substantial comparative research on the literary and cultural traditions of premodern and modern East Asia and their relation to the world.
It welcomes in particular forms of comparative analysis that combine the depth of area-studyexpertise and philology with theoretical acumen and a courageous orientation towards fundamental questions.
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REMEDIAEVAL: A Minigraph Book Series at Punctum Books will revise and renew contemporary theory by salvaging the missing texts and objects of the premodern archive (500-1700), bringing those into contact with various currents in... more
REMEDIAEVAL: A Minigraph Book Series at Punctum Books will revise and renew contemporary theory by salvaging the missing texts and objects of the premodern archive (500-1700), bringing those into contact with various currents in contemporary life and thought. The idea of a premodernity that comprises both medieval and early modern periods is critically important here for pushing back against theories that imagine modernity simultaneously as exceptional and/or as emerging inevitably from narrowly conceptualized and shallow historical chronologies.
http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2014/02/remediaeval-proposal-for-new-minigraph.html
http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2014/02/remediaeval-proposal-for-new-minigraph.html
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ISSN: 2515-1444
Future Fossil Flora is a publication dedicated to exploring the world of one flower per issue. http://www.futurefossilflora.com
Future Fossil Flora is a publication dedicated to exploring the world of one flower per issue. http://www.futurefossilflora.com
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When the little mermaid was born, she found herself in a strange place. There was no one around her except for a suitcase that had sunken to the bottom of this dark corner of the ocean. With profound sadness she opened the suitcase to... more
When the little mermaid was born, she found herself in a strange place. There was no one around her except for a suitcase that had sunken to the bottom of this dark corner of the ocean. With profound sadness she opened the suitcase to find a cruel joke on her. She did her best to stay alive.
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Can we entertain the idea that The Taming of the Shrew can be performed and received as comedy in the post-Women’s March US? If so, would the laughter be empathetic and solidary rather than callous? The answer lies in physical theater... more
Can we entertain the idea that The Taming of the Shrew can be performed and received as comedy in the post-Women’s March US? If so, would the laughter be empathetic and solidary rather than callous? The answer lies in physical theater which is uniquely poised to activate elements of farce in the play. Shrew is one of the Shakespearean comedies that tends to clash with modern sensibilities and is therefore generally considered challenging to stage. The Synetic Theater’s version reminds us that, after all, the foundation of this play is farce, a play-within-a-play to mock the worldview of Christopher Sly the drunkard and to entertain the impersonated lords who derive voyeuristic pleasure from watching Sly gawking at Shrew. The so-called play-within-a-play could also be a fanciful dream of the inebriated Sly. The Synetic Theater’s ninety-minute dance, musical, and visual feast rendered the comedy in vibrant colors—without spoken words. There was no induction or framing scene, though a fair amount of extratextual material had been introduced.
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This book delves into two seeming paradoxes in popular and performance cultures: the proliferation of references to Othello and the peculiar erasure of Blackness in adaptations. This occurred between 2008 and 2016, which coincided with... more
This book delves into two seeming paradoxes in popular and performance cultures: the proliferation of references to Othello and the peculiar erasure of Blackness in adaptations. This occurred between 2008 and 2016, which coincided with Barack Obama’s presidency. As much as the book critiques the hypocrisy of the Shakespeare industry, it also encourages artistic investment in antiracist work in post-post-racial America. Instead of attempting to speak of Othello as he is perceived in the play we should speak out against trans-historical racial tensions so as to reanimate both Othello and our collective future.
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“Joubin makes a case for aesthetic merit to be acknowledged and enjoyed; for multiplicity and play in cultural borrowing to be discerned. Shakespeare thus becomes a mechanism for recognising the global in Asia, and for representing Asias... more
“Joubin makes a case for aesthetic merit to be acknowledged and enjoyed; for multiplicity and play in cultural borrowing to be discerned. Shakespeare thus becomes a mechanism for recognising the global in Asia, and for representing Asias across the globe.”
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Modernity, as most students of literature may anticipate, is strongly associated with urban culture. The field of modern Chinese studies has indeed experienced an urban turn in its increased attention to urban and modern sensibilities, as... more
Modernity, as most students of literature may anticipate, is strongly associated with urban culture. The field of modern Chinese studies has indeed experienced an urban turn in its increased attention to urban and modern sensibilities, as evidenced by the outpouring of studies on such Shanghai writers as Eileen Chang. When rural China does come into the picture, it typically emerges as case studies in anthropology and sociology. Yu Zhang begs the differ. In her illuminating study, Zhang deftly traces cultural representations of “going to the countryside as a distinctively modern experience in China between 1915 and 1965” across the 1949 divide in order to bring “the rural back to the central concern of Chinese cultural studies." This is not only a compelling thesis but also an important contribution to modern Chinese literary and cultural studies.
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In this review, Alexa Alice Joubin reflects on her experience as a listener and tracks her students' reactions to the #SuchStuff podcast series. "Educational podcasts have gained momentum in recent years. Closure of live performance... more
In this review, Alexa Alice Joubin reflects on her experience as a listener and tracks her students' reactions to the #SuchStuff podcast series. "Educational podcasts have gained momentum in recent years. Closure of live performance venues and widespread lockdowns as part of public hygiene measures during the global COVID-19 pandemic further increased interest in at-home consumption of digitally delivered content for entertainment and education. Supported by the Globe Theatre’s education department, the #SuchStuff podcast offers thematic dialogues that can be categorized as a conversationalist chat show. Listeners and podcasters meeting in digital space may be such stuff as dreams are made on, but the important topics of social justice covered by this series will not melt into thin air."
Research Interests:
Educational podcasts have gained momentum in recent years. Closure of live performance venues and widespread lockdowns as part of public hygiene measures during the global COVID-19 pandemic further increased interest in at-home... more
Educational podcasts have gained momentum in recent years. Closure of live performance venues and widespread lockdowns as part of public hygiene measures during the global COVID-19 pandemic further increased interest in at-home consumption of digitally delivered content for entertainment and education. Supported by the Globe Theatre’s education department, the #SuchStuff podcast offers thematic dialogues that can be categorized as a “conversationalist chat show.” Listeners and podcasters meeting in digital space may be “such stuff as dreams are made on,” but the important topics of social justice covered by this series will not melt into thin air. ::: DOI: 10.33137/rr.v46i2.42296 ::: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/renref/article/view/42296
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In Alexa Alice Joubin's book’s ample engagement with other scholars and current theories of adaptation, it is the very model of synthetic work. The tone is accessible, the scholarship up-to-date, the materials kaleidoscopic, the ideas... more
In Alexa Alice Joubin's book’s ample engagement with other scholars and current theories of adaptation, it is the very model of synthetic work. The tone is accessible, the scholarship up-to-date, the materials kaleidoscopic, the ideas clearly articulated. Her presentation is for the most part admirably linear and lucid. The sign-postings start with an analytic table of contents, which clearly identifies the plays, media and genres, and directors to be discussed in each chapter. Joubin has proposed for us a dazzling itinerary across these unpathed waters, undreamed shores, traversing states unborn and accents yet unknown.
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“The title of this superlative recent volume of essays, edited by Alexa Alice Joubin and Victoria Bladen, boldly announces its focus on a topic that could be seen as trivial: mere allusions to Shakespeare and his works in screen texts.... more
“The title of this superlative recent volume of essays, edited by Alexa Alice Joubin and Victoria Bladen, boldly announces its focus on a topic that could be seen as trivial: mere allusions to Shakespeare and his works in screen texts. The films and shows covered therein are not screen adaptations of Shakespeare, which are the subject of a great many books. Instead, the essays in this volume examine brief Shakespeare references in film or television texts.” “This study continues the ongoing work of postmodern and cultural studies strategic goals to read all cultural products and practices as texts that reveal the multiple potential meanings of any given text, which is always already embedded in multifarious contexts. The essays in this volume demonstrate that the Bard has been and is a ubiquitous presence in international media in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, evidenced by the fact that each essay looks at film and/or televisual texts from a different country.” “Refreshingly, Joubin and Bladen contend that this volume examining Shakespearean allusions extends beyond the question of whether a screen text is or is not “Shakespeare(an)”, instead focusing “further along the intertextuality continuum” to look at the often powerful ideological and artistic work performed by brief references to Shakespeare. Indeed, the Bard’s brief appearances in screen texts like these, as adeptly argued in this volume, help keep Shakespeare alive in significant ways, rather than damning him to a purgatorial half-life.”
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“The anthology remedies a problem in both Sinophone studies and Shakespeare scholarship: the scarce availability of primary research materials on East Asian adaptations of Western classics. One of the main contributions of the anthology... more
“The anthology remedies a problem in both Sinophone studies and Shakespeare scholarship: the scarce availability of primary research materials on East Asian adaptations of Western classics. One of the main contributions of the anthology is its use of the concept of the Sinophone to deconstruct the Western-centric focus of Shakespeare scholarship.”
Research Interests: Musical Theatre, Theatre Studies, Translation Studies, Dramatic Literature, Shakespeare, and 15 moreTaiwan Studies, Feminism, Contemporary China, Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Hong Kong studies, Chinese Opera, Dramatic Translation, Global Shakespeare, Adaptations, Huaju Spoken Drama, Hong Kong & Singapore Comparative Studies, and Sinophone Studies
Alexa Alice Joubin's Shakespeare and East Asia is “a sweeping and formidably learned survey of the many ways in which artists across a vast part of the non-English-speaking world have been reimagining and repurposing Shakespeare’s plays... more
Alexa Alice Joubin's Shakespeare and East Asia is “a sweeping and formidably learned survey of the many ways in which artists across a vast part of the non-English-speaking world have been reimagining and repurposing Shakespeare’s plays from the 1950s through the present day. It’s a dense, informative, and occasionally dizzying tour d’horizon of modern film and theatre practice that makes “all the world’s a stage” seem like a virtually literal account.“
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Queer performance as a genre is both complex and challenging to track, especially in the throes of political oppression. Why should people who do not identify as queer care about queer performance? Trans-identified dancer Jin Xing has... more
Queer performance as a genre is both complex and challenging to track, especially in the throes of political oppression. Why should people who do not identify as queer care about queer performance? Trans-identified dancer Jin Xing has this to say: "As long as we live together in a society, people can always find excuses to discriminate against each other. If you are not transsexual, you may be gay or lesbian; if you are not gay or lesbian, you may still be single at a marriageable age; if you are married, you may still be poor; if you are not poor, you may be overweight; if you are not overweight, you may need a higher university degree" (76). Clearly one does not need to embody all identities in order to oppose systemic oppression, whatever form it may take. This is one of the core messages of Contemporary Chinese Queer Performance by Hongwei Bao.
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This book traces “waves of migration” of people and of Shakespeare’s texts Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Covering a larger swath of continental Europe, case studies in Migrating Shakespeare cohere around the idea of... more
This book traces “waves of migration” of people and of Shakespeare’s texts Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Covering a larger swath of continental Europe, case studies in Migrating Shakespeare cohere around the idea of cultural assimilation and map the influence of trade and travel on textual migrations. Positivist and antithetical patterns coexist in early European reception of Shakespeare. This book successfully demonstrates the multilingual and multicultural nature of the transmission of Shakespeare’s texts within a context where cultural meanings are relational.
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As a single-authored monograph, Shakespeare and East Asia presents a clear agenda of resisting national allegory approaches in favor of rhizomatic readings, which can highlight connections and cross-fertilization among Asian and Western... more
As a single-authored monograph, Shakespeare and East Asia presents a clear agenda of resisting national allegory approaches in favor of rhizomatic readings, which can highlight connections and cross-fertilization among Asian and Western Shakespeare works in intercultural, intracultural, and intermedial ways. :::: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/865454
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In this review, Alexa Alice Joubin outlines the main argument of Xiaomei Chen's Performing the Socialist State: Modern Chinese Theater and Film Culture. "The eight chronologically- and thematically-organized chapters in this book provide... more
In this review, Alexa Alice Joubin outlines the main argument of Xiaomei Chen's Performing the Socialist State: Modern Chinese Theater and Film Culture. "The eight chronologically- and thematically-organized chapters in this book provide a much-needed critical survey of spoken drama (huaju 话剧) from its inception through the Republican and Maoist eras to the first decade of the twenty-first century. Spoken drama, as Chen’s diachronic study shows, has evolved across an astonishing range of media in the forms of women’s theatre, socialist theatre, “red classic” films, and even in the “sonic theatre” of the Internationale, the unofficial anthem of various communist and socialist movements." "The book stakes two important claims. First, the book demonstrates that several political and aesthetic elements inform the development of modern theatre in various periods that have previously been regarded as siloed and distinct, including the Republican, socialist, and postsocialist eras. Secondly, the book argues that, contrary to common wisdom, state regulation and censorship affect, but do not stifle, artistic imagination." ::: 0161-9705
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Going against the grain, this collection counters the common perception of the Maoist era as a time of ideological conformity. The contributors persuasively demonstrate that theatre activities were varied and lively between the 1950s and... more
Going against the grain, this collection counters the common perception of the Maoist era as a time of ideological conformity. The contributors persuasively demonstrate that theatre activities were varied and lively between the 1950s and 1970s. While there was state control over the arts, performances in urban spaces were more frequently censored than those in the countryside. This admirable collection of an Introduction, nine chapters, and Xiaomei Chen’s “personal reflection” on her experience growing up in Maoist China which serves as the epilogue, covers a wide range of performance genres, including xiqu 戲曲 operas, huaju 話劇 spoken drama pieces, wuju 舞劇 dance drama productions, and propaganda performances. Featuring research by “theater specialists, literary scholars, historians, comparatists, and cultural anthropologists,” this co-edited book is truly multidisciplinary (271).
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“While there have been many books on Shakespeare reception, a distinctive feature of Alexa Alice Joubin’s book is that it eschews cultural profiling—the tendency to bracket, for example, Shakespeare in Japan in isolation from other... more
“While there have been many books on Shakespeare reception, a distinctive feature of Alexa Alice Joubin’s book is that it eschews cultural profiling—the tendency to bracket, for example, Shakespeare in Japan in isolation from other cultural influences. Joubin’s approach lights the way for future studies that may build on the critical work she has done in tracing these broad networks across borders, cultures and languages.” ::: https://www.czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/szekspir/article/view/10725
Research Interests: Japanese Studies, Transgender Studies, Shakespeare, South Korea, Critical Race Theory, and 12 moreIntercultural Performance, East Asian Studies, Taiwan Studies, Singapore, Feminism, Japan, Adaptation (Film Studies), Contemporary China, Hong Kong, Adaptation Studies, Adaptation and Appropriation Theory, and Global Shakespeare
Astutely charting shared and unique patterns in post-1950s East Asian adaptations and interpretations of Shakespeare across a range of contexts, genres and media—theatrical and cinematic—Alexa Alice Joubin eschews the prevailing (and... more
Astutely charting shared and unique patterns in post-1950s East Asian adaptations and interpretations of Shakespeare across a range of contexts, genres and media—theatrical and cinematic—Alexa Alice Joubin eschews the prevailing (and potentially harmful) approach to “Global Shakespeare” that anchors performances in their perceived cultural roots and values them more for their political rather than their aesthetic qualities. Joubin also pushes back against the utilization of “Asian Shakespeares” for the purposes of diversifying scholarship and curricula in the Anglo-American academy, as well as the exoticization of these adaptations, in particular, the tendency to over-emphasize how much they deviate from Anglophone practices. Both trends, she argues, have resulted in critical blind-spots in our understanding of the meaning and significance of “Asian Shakespeares,” and the overlooking of the multifarious structural and thematic connections between productions from diverse locales. Organizing her cutting-edge book thematically—rather than chronologically or geopolitically—Joubin identifies four themes in particular that distinguish East Asian Shakespeares in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries: 1) formalistic innovations in sound and spectacle, 2) the remedial uses of Shakespeare’s plays, 3) conflicting and polity-driven production and reception and 4) multilingualism in diasporic adaptations. ::: ISSN: 2160-3316
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Voices carry weight in the embodiment of characters on stage, because accents are a strong marker of a character’s and actor’s identity. Orlando praises Rosalind’s courtly accent in As You Like It by saying “your accent is something finer... more
Voices carry weight in the embodiment of characters on stage, because accents are a strong marker of a character’s and actor’s identity. Orlando praises Rosalind’s courtly accent in As You Like It by saying “your accent is something finer than you could purchase in so removed a dwelling” (3.2.334–35), for example. :::: Sonia Massai’s new book explores the cultural connotation of regional accents in four centuries of performances of Shakespeare on the English stage. Shakespeare is selected for case study because, as Massai asserts, since the mid-eighteenth century the “National Poet” has played a key role “in the establishment of a Standard English pronunciation” and Received Pronunciation (1–2) and thus the canon provides fertile ground for understanding English attitudes toward accents.
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This is the first book-length study devoted to memory and Shakespeare performance studies, to creatively inaccurate memories, written and mechanical records, and the cultural memory enacted in theatrical, cinematic, textual, and museum... more
This is the first book-length study devoted to memory and Shakespeare performance studies, to creatively inaccurate memories, written and mechanical records, and the cultural memory enacted in theatrical, cinematic, textual, and museum spaces.
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Book reviews put books on our radar screen. However, the writing of book reviews is often a thankless task in an underappreciated genre, and the book author does not usually have any opportunity to elaborate on his or her writing process.... more
Book reviews put books on our radar screen. However, the writing of book reviews is often a thankless task in an underappreciated genre, and the book author does not usually have any opportunity to elaborate on his or her writing process. ::: Chinese Literature Today is pleased to launch a new feature in this issue that will enhance the book review section and heighten our appreciation of the works that appear within these covers. ::: What does it entail to become an author in the fullest sense of the word? How does an author construct a study of literature or build worlds in which imagination flies? ::: These are the questions we shall examine. We will invite authors to reflect upon their own writing processes: how they found inspiration, why and how they revised what they wrote, what the book means to them. ::: It is a privilege to know how others know themselves, because self-knowledge is an integral part of one’s worldview and ability to understand others. :::: https://ajoubin.org/CLT-reflection/
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“In the morning, Deng Xiaoping rules; in the evening, Teresa Teng (Deng Lijun) rules,” went a popular saying in China during the 1980s. The late Chinese leader and Taiwanese singer are ideologically opposed and have nothing in common... more
“In the morning, Deng Xiaoping rules; in the evening, Teresa Teng (Deng Lijun) rules,” went a popular saying in China during the 1980s. The late Chinese leader and Taiwanese singer are ideologically opposed and have nothing in common except for their investment in social change through (pop) culture. Analyzing the stark contrast between the two Dengs, Calvin Hui shows that the subjectivity of China’s middle class and new petty bourgeoisie is constructed by their cultural production and consumption. Before the arrival in China of Teresa Teng’s sentimental songs about love and nostalgia, revolutionary songs such as “We Are the Successors of Communism” and “Glory to the Red Sun” dominated the Chinese pop music scene. Teng’s “decadent music,” as it is sometimes characterized in China, showed Chinese audiences how to express personal feelings as an individual rather than as a collective.
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Emma Yu Zhang: “This thought-provoking [and] meticulously researched study maps the richness and complexity of East Asian contributions to the rise of global Shakespeare as a prominent genre and offers a renewed and illuminating... more
Emma Yu Zhang: “This thought-provoking [and] meticulously researched study maps the richness and complexity of East Asian contributions to the rise of global Shakespeare as a prominent genre and offers a renewed and illuminating understanding of the tension between cultural homogenization and heterogenization in global communities. It unsettles assumptions about the stability of Shakespeare as a textual and verbal presence and about Asia as a privileged, unified visual sign. Shakespeare and East Asia is a scholarly masterpiece.”
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“Alexa Alice Joubin and Charles Ross’s [book] is a pioneering, erudite and fascinating work which aims to understand the complex relations between Shakespeare, Hollywood, Asia and the digital age.” “One of the book’s greatest... more
“Alexa Alice Joubin and Charles Ross’s [book] is a pioneering, erudite and fascinating work which aims to understand the complex relations between Shakespeare, Hollywood, Asia and the digital age.”
“One of the book’s greatest virtues is the considerable number of cultural products it analyses: film adaptations, stage productions in the Asian continent and even on-line video games such as the Arden game.”
“For Joubin, Shakespeare in Hollywood, Asia, and Cyberspace brings to a spectacular close her wideranging research on the subject of Shakespeare in Asia. Her article ‘Asian Shakespeares in Europe: From the Unfamiliar to the Defamiliarised’ (2008), her co-foundation with Peter Donaldson of two open-access digital video archives, Global Shakespeares in Performance and Shakespeare Performance in Asia, and her special edition of ‘Asian Shakespeares on Screen: Two Films in Perspective’ (2009), which concentrates on The Banquet – a Chinese film based on Macbeth – and Maqbool – an Indian remake of Macbeth – are only some of her contributions to this field. Her co-edited volume with Ross not only attests to the strength of Asian Shakespeare(s), but also shows how the current global trends that dominate the world influence the reception of Shakespeare. The analysis of Shakespeare in cyberspace is timely because it addresses an area of the corpus of Shakespearean scholarship which is still uncharted territory.”
“Inspired by questions such as ‘how do the collaborative processes of signification operate as local stagings of Shakespeare and global locales?’, Joubin and Ross begin their collaborative project with the aim of answering them. In the Introduction, the editors are wise to identify the benefit of the impact of the English dramatist in Eastern and Western contemporary culture, instead of bemoaning a possible loss in translation and in the visual medium. The introduction likewise covers the literature review of worldwide appropriation of Shakespeare.”
“One of the book’s greatest virtues is the considerable number of cultural products it analyses: film adaptations, stage productions in the Asian continent and even on-line video games such as the Arden game.”
“For Joubin, Shakespeare in Hollywood, Asia, and Cyberspace brings to a spectacular close her wideranging research on the subject of Shakespeare in Asia. Her article ‘Asian Shakespeares in Europe: From the Unfamiliar to the Defamiliarised’ (2008), her co-foundation with Peter Donaldson of two open-access digital video archives, Global Shakespeares in Performance and Shakespeare Performance in Asia, and her special edition of ‘Asian Shakespeares on Screen: Two Films in Perspective’ (2009), which concentrates on The Banquet – a Chinese film based on Macbeth – and Maqbool – an Indian remake of Macbeth – are only some of her contributions to this field. Her co-edited volume with Ross not only attests to the strength of Asian Shakespeare(s), but also shows how the current global trends that dominate the world influence the reception of Shakespeare. The analysis of Shakespeare in cyberspace is timely because it addresses an area of the corpus of Shakespearean scholarship which is still uncharted territory.”
“Inspired by questions such as ‘how do the collaborative processes of signification operate as local stagings of Shakespeare and global locales?’, Joubin and Ross begin their collaborative project with the aim of answering them. In the Introduction, the editors are wise to identify the benefit of the impact of the English dramatist in Eastern and Western contemporary culture, instead of bemoaning a possible loss in translation and in the visual medium. The introduction likewise covers the literature review of worldwide appropriation of Shakespeare.”
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Western observers often attribute Chinese suppression of undesirable information to state crackdowns on dissidents, pervasive censorship apparatus, and even self-censorship. For contemporary Chinese citizens under a certain age, Tiananmen... more
Western observers often attribute Chinese suppression of undesirable information to state crackdowns on dissidents, pervasive censorship apparatus, and even self-censorship. For contemporary Chinese citizens under a certain age, Tiananmen Square protests allegedly did not happen. The PRC leadership’s private lives are shrouded in secrecies, mythologizing their larger-than-life images. The Cultural Revolution and the Nanjing Massacre are re-membered only in grand, jingoistic narratives endorsed by the state. In this thought-provocative book on photography, Margaret Hillenbrand argues that “public secrecy”—collective knowledge of what not to know—is a more powerful force than censorship. Public secrecy structures and sustains permissible histories of China. The paradox here lies in the shared nature of this knowledge. It is widely known—but not spoken of—among contemporary Chinese that these versions of China’s recent history are distorted—in the form of “public secrecy” (7), and that knowledge is important for survival.
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The figure of the Monkey King shifts from a trickster, a rebel, and a demon to a revolutionary and, later, postsocialist hero. Monkey King has a major impact on the formation of Chinese identity across borders.
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Lear as a seminal text on the relationship between literature and politics, specifically succession as a philosophical and political issue in British Romanticism and American modernism. Sun suggests that King Lear helps William... more
Lear as a seminal text on the relationship between literature and politics, specifically succession as a philosophical and political issue in British Romanticism and American modernism. Sun suggests that King Lear helps William Wordsworth, journalist James Agee, and photographer Walker Evans articulate their anxieties about literary representation and political successions. The Introduction announces that the book intends to show how Wordsworth, Agee, and Evans become successors to Lear when they turn to the play as a source of inspiration as they grapple with questions of sovereignty and the relationship between literature and politics. Succeeding King Lear begins with a chapter on sovereignty and King Lear, devotes two chapters to Wordsworth, and concludes with a fourth and the final chapter on Agee and Evans. Writing The Borderers in 1797, Wordsworth sets his play on a heath. Herbert's lines echo those of Lear's, and Herbert's relationship with Matilda bears resemblance to that between Lear and Cordelia. The play also contains echoes of Iago, Othello, and Macbeth. Fast forward to 1941: Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a work of documentary journalism with photos by Evans and text by Agee, reframes the lives of cotton tenant farmers in the American South during the Depression for public consumption and private reflection on what it means to be a spectator. Sun finds cursory links between that work and Lear in Agee's and Evans's epigraphs that quote the disillusioned former monarch on the heath. The chapters on Sun's own interpretation of the crisis of succession in Lear and the first chapter on Wordsworth are more successful. Chapter one examines King Lear's "unrelenting and cruel probing of spectatorship" (Sun 2010, 11). This long chapter suggests that Lear yearns for an unattainable form of freedom: freedom from the burden of the political realm. Sun notes that "freedom so conceived does not take place between
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In the post-imperial and post-colonial age, the rise of the modern nation depends all the more on soft power and cultural diplomacy. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing and London Olympics in 2008 and 2012 are recent... more
In the post-imperial and post-colonial age, the rise of the modern nation depends all the more on soft power and cultural diplomacy. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing and London Olympics in 2008 and 2012 are recent examples of how nation states construct and market national cultures to international communities. In this context, the rediscovery and marketing of national poets becomes culturally urgent and politically expedient. Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare have recently become the vehicle for British and Chinese cultural diplomacy and exchange. 2016 is a landmark year, because it marks the quartercentenary of Tang and Shakespeare. Multiple projects in the field of comparative drama emerged in this context.
1616 is an ambitious collection of twenty wide-ranging essays on Tang, Ming-dynasty theatre, early modern English theatre, and Shakespeare and his times. While it is published by Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare, 1616 packs the latest scholarly apparatus and is a collection of pioneering, rigorous scholarship from late Ming Chinese and early modern English studies.
1616 is an ambitious collection of twenty wide-ranging essays on Tang, Ming-dynasty theatre, early modern English theatre, and Shakespeare and his times. While it is published by Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare, 1616 packs the latest scholarly apparatus and is a collection of pioneering, rigorous scholarship from late Ming Chinese and early modern English studies.
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While it may seem institutionalized, propaganda can be deeply intertwined with personal memories and provoke nostalgic emotions. Propaganda performances in China shape national and personal histories. Staging Chinese Revolution tells the... more
While it may seem institutionalized, propaganda can be deeply intertwined with personal memories and provoke nostalgic emotions. Propaganda performances in China shape national and personal histories. Staging Chinese Revolution tells the story of socialist propaganda in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as manifested in its propaganda narrative on stage and screen. The book demonstrates convincingly that, contrary to popular understanding, propaganda is far from a monolithic genre, and that propaganda is not limited to totalitarian regimes. Moreover, PRC propaganda is “deeply lodged in personal memories and the nostalgia for a by-gone past.”
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What are the patterns in Hollywood representations of East Asian American women from romantic comedy to science fiction films? How do racism and sexism intersect in these patterns? Depictions of East Asian women which are full of... more
What are the patterns in Hollywood representations of East Asian American women from romantic comedy to science fiction films? How do racism and sexism intersect in these patterns?
Depictions of East Asian women which are full of positive and negative stereotypes. These images are often framed by metaphors of kinship. Imaginations of kinship on screen include Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, John Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet, and Mina Shum’s Double Happiness starring Sandra Oh. These films frame kinship as oppressive relations that could potentially be emancipating in the right context.
Joubin argues that kinship goes beyond blood relations to include affective structures, material relations. It is a narrative structure to bring characters together. In other words, kinship is not an entity but a dynamic relation. It organized social life and our position in the world.
In Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, metaphorical kinship informs the relationships among the otherwise unrelated characters. The 2014 sci-fi film is set in a remote and isolated house that serves as a research lab. This is where a white male inventor named Nathan creates a series of humanoids with artificial intelligence and human emotions. He is by default the father and God figure in this futuristic household.
Using the three interlocking concepts of yellow peril, yellow fever, and techno-Orientalism, Alexa Alice Joubin’s illustrated keynote lecture revealed the manifestation of “yellow fever” in the depiction of Asian American women. She also suggested ways to identify tacit forms of misogynistic racism as well as strategies for inclusion. ::: https://youtu.be/iHjKOYf-IXQ
Depictions of East Asian women which are full of positive and negative stereotypes. These images are often framed by metaphors of kinship. Imaginations of kinship on screen include Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, John Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet, and Mina Shum’s Double Happiness starring Sandra Oh. These films frame kinship as oppressive relations that could potentially be emancipating in the right context.
Joubin argues that kinship goes beyond blood relations to include affective structures, material relations. It is a narrative structure to bring characters together. In other words, kinship is not an entity but a dynamic relation. It organized social life and our position in the world.
In Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, metaphorical kinship informs the relationships among the otherwise unrelated characters. The 2014 sci-fi film is set in a remote and isolated house that serves as a research lab. This is where a white male inventor named Nathan creates a series of humanoids with artificial intelligence and human emotions. He is by default the father and God figure in this futuristic household.
Using the three interlocking concepts of yellow peril, yellow fever, and techno-Orientalism, Alexa Alice Joubin’s illustrated keynote lecture revealed the manifestation of “yellow fever” in the depiction of Asian American women. She also suggested ways to identify tacit forms of misogynistic racism as well as strategies for inclusion. ::: https://youtu.be/iHjKOYf-IXQ
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Drawing on her forthcoming book, Contemporary Readings in Global Performances of Shakespeare, Alexa Alice Joubin examines cultural encounters with Shakespeare’s plays as heterotopia, a series of parallel cultural spaces. In particular,... more
Drawing on her forthcoming book, Contemporary Readings in Global Performances of Shakespeare, Alexa Alice Joubin examines cultural encounters with Shakespeare’s plays as heterotopia, a series of parallel cultural spaces. In particular, theatre and film are key players in creating embodied snippets of knowable worlds, as adaptations open up national cultures to other worldviews. Artists and audiences project their beliefs onto dramatic works to create hybrid worlds across cultures and history. Joubin argues that, since the fictional space created by performance juxtaposes multiple worlds, this heterotopic space functions as a microcosm of different temporalities and worlds. ::: This event was co-sponsored by Las Casas Institute for Social Justice, Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, and Georgetown University Office of the Vice President for Global Engagement.
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Alexa Alice Joubin, Lakeisha R. Harrison (assistant dean for student services, diversity, equity and inclusion), Fatiah Touray (NYU Abu Dhabi), and Shehzad Charania (Government Communications Headquarters UK) had a conversation about how... more
Alexa Alice Joubin, Lakeisha R. Harrison (assistant dean for student services, diversity, equity and inclusion), Fatiah Touray (NYU Abu Dhabi), and Shehzad Charania (Government Communications Headquarters UK) had a conversation about how the language of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion may differ across the globe. Our shared aim of finding language to bring people together remains the same. What can we learn from different cultures about inclusive practices? There are always lessons to be learned about how things are done differently. ::: https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/elliott-school-hosts-annual-inclusive-excellence-week
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What happens when AI goes to theatre with human audiences? Generative AI's natural-language conversational interface has frequently been cast as an anthropomorphic interface. In performance, digital screen as interface has evolved from a... more
What happens when AI goes to theatre with human audiences? Generative AI's natural-language conversational interface has frequently been cast as an anthropomorphic interface. In performance, digital screen as interface has evolved from a vehicle for dramatic messages to a meaning-making agent with an anthropomorphic presence. While the tendency to anthropomorphize this technology is problematic, ChatGPT can be seen as a ghost of the publics, a synthetic version of the publics, or a shadow public. In her keynote lecture, "Screen as Anthropomorphic Interface: Remediated Performance and Generative Artificial Intelligence," Alexa Alice Joubin argued that screens are a site where cultural and performative meanings are generated and negotiated. She uses interface theories and performance studies methods to analyze the outputs of AI. :::: YouTube: https://youtu.be/Bi9a9TBtrow
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What a piece of theatre work is AI ! Since AI outputs can be seen as a theatrical performance, in her 10-minute paper at the MLA, Alexa Alice Joubin argued that we can teach critical questioning skills using generative AI. She... more
What a piece of theatre work is AI ! Since AI outputs can be seen as a theatrical performance, in her 10-minute paper at the MLA, Alexa Alice Joubin argued that we can teach critical questioning skills using generative AI. She demonstrated responsible and creative ways to teach students meta-cognition, using Shakespeare and early modern studies as examples. :::
At its core, theatre is an interlinked system of interfaces that regulate inputs and outputs. Actors work with promptbooks for their cues. Even when scripted, performances of the same production differ in dynamics each night. :::
Similarly, AI tools draw on users’ prompts and the publics’ collective memories to create improvised performances. The same prompt generates cognate but different outputs. Each instance of rendition is unique. The AI outputs are replete with repetitions with a difference, which makes them useful pedagogically. :::
Users’ prompts reflect particular kind of historical imagination and relationships with history. Joubin identifies two challenges in this new landscape, and proposes solutions for each challenge. ::: https://youtu.be/XcdH-D67tRY
At its core, theatre is an interlinked system of interfaces that regulate inputs and outputs. Actors work with promptbooks for their cues. Even when scripted, performances of the same production differ in dynamics each night. :::
Similarly, AI tools draw on users’ prompts and the publics’ collective memories to create improvised performances. The same prompt generates cognate but different outputs. Each instance of rendition is unique. The AI outputs are replete with repetitions with a difference, which makes them useful pedagogically. :::
Users’ prompts reflect particular kind of historical imagination and relationships with history. Joubin identifies two challenges in this new landscape, and proposes solutions for each challenge. ::: https://youtu.be/XcdH-D67tRY
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To celebrate the inauguration of George Washington University President Granberg, a symposium was held to mark academic excellence. Provost Pamela Norris interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin, Mary Ellsberg, Chet Sherwood, and Ekundayo Shittu to... more
To celebrate the inauguration of George Washington University President Granberg, a symposium was held to mark academic excellence. Provost Pamela Norris interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin, Mary Ellsberg, Chet Sherwood, and Ekundayo Shittu to address the significance of interdisciplinary research, risk taking, and what excellence means in different fields. Joubin addressed, among other important topics, the implications of generative AI on our society. ::: YouTube https://youtu.be/h4Y5AIKSE_E?feature=shared
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How do gendered encodings inform Banquo’s and Macbeth’s loaded questions to the witches: “You should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so” (1.3.40-41) and “what are you” (43) as well as the crux of being... more
How do gendered encodings inform Banquo’s and Macbeth’s loaded questions to the witches: “You should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so” (1.3.40-41) and “what are you” (43) as well as the crux of being “of woman born”? Why does Cesario tell Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night that he is ‘all the daughters of [his] father’s house, / And all the brothers too’ (2.4.117-118)? How do gender-based exclusions help racial prejudices ‘perform’ discriminative acts? Alexa Alice Joubin’s theory of trans lens opens up such moments for diverse interpretations beyond literal-mindedness. At the core of her theory is the notion of performativity. Providing critical tools to understand atypical bodies, trans studies solidifies critical race studies’ support of minority life experiences. Critical race methods, with their attention to the social production of hierarchies, can also help trans studies address its often-unacknowledged whiteness.
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Whether we are looking at the arts pages or the headlines, there is no better time than now to talk about Shakespeare. In this special panel, Marjorie Garber will moderate a discussion between Alexa Alice Joubin, Carla Della Gatta, and... more
Whether we are looking at the arts pages or the headlines, there is no better time than now to talk about Shakespeare. In this special panel, Marjorie Garber will moderate a discussion between Alexa Alice Joubin, Carla Della Gatta, and Drew Lichtenberg. How can Shakespeare’s plays generate empathy and understanding, when speaking across the divide of centuries? How do some of his most profound plays resonate when translated into a 21st century context in which differences of gender, race and class challenge early modern categories?
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Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, simulate human writing and complicate the inquiry-driven culture we live in. These tools use singular first-person pronouns in their textual outputs and are often associated with anthropomorphic... more
Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, simulate human writing and complicate the inquiry-driven culture we live in. These tools use singular first-person pronouns in their textual outputs and are often associated with anthropomorphic qualities. Within the humanities, conversations tend to focus on detecting new forms of plagiarism. What is missing from the current debate are insights from performance studies. As a synthesis of human-generated datasets, generative AI is changing publics’ relationship to themselves. Since ChatGPT remixes statistically most likely combinations of words, its outputs are in fact a form of theatrical performance. It draws on users’ prompts and the publics’ collective memories to produce improvised performances, within specific parameters, for its user-audiences. As a fun-house mirror held up to the humanity, ChatGPT produces a pixelated shadow of the publics in time. If we take ChatGPT to 500 BC, it would insist, as the society did, that the Earth is flat. ChatGPT is therefore a survey instrument of the publics’ collective biases rather than the truths. It is an aesthetic instrument rather than an epistemological tool. Based on this understanding, this interactive presentation will theorize AI in the framework of digital humanities and provide pedagogical strategies for educators to teach with AI rather than against it. ::: https://youtu.be/GBsER4Biqg0?feature=shared
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Contemporary theatre and performance studies are promoting the concept of "radical welcome" or “radical hospitality” in response to past exclusionary practices. People from different communities and backgrounds should be able to... more
Contemporary theatre and performance studies are promoting the concept of "radical welcome" or “radical hospitality” in response to past exclusionary practices. People from different communities and backgrounds should be able to participate in theatre without discrimination. Shakespearean performance has the potential to offer a similar welcome to both audiences and performers. Chaired by Jeremy Fiebig, this roundtable examines the concept of radical hospitality in Shakespearean plays, taking into account its theoretical, practical, and educational aspects. Speakers used critical race theory, feminist theory, queer theory, and disability studies to explore how Shakespearean plays can promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. They explored questions such as: In what ways can Shakespearean performances be used to question prevailing narratives and give more prominence to marginalized voices? What steps can we take to make sure performers and audience members from diverse backgrounds feel welcome? In what ways can we approach Shakespeare's plays to address current issues of social justice and activism?
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There are certainly non-binary actors on stage, but are there Shakespearean characters who can be read as trans? The answer is yes. To ask whether there are transgender characters is to ask questions about the performance of gender roles.... more
There are certainly non-binary actors on stage, but are there Shakespearean characters who can be read as trans? The answer is yes. To ask whether there are transgender characters is to ask questions about the performance of gender roles. We are also asking questions about the articulation of gender in early modern and modern times. Genderplay is the name of the game, and it is serious business to be playful with gender. All utterances retain a level of openness, because meanings emerge contextually over time in drama. There are many transgender characters historically, but their presence is not seen or acknowledged. There is a cultural tendency to seek false clarity with literal-mindedness. For example, the language of Twelfth Night is suggestive and porous rather than prescriptive. We should suspend cisgender sexism rather than engage in suspension of disbelief regarding gender crossings. Shakespearean theatre is trans theatre. But current legislation criminalizes transgender people and performance. These anti-trans attitudes endanger classical and Shakespearean theatre, which is why high-school drama programs are withering and theatre festivals are shrinking. ::: YouTube video https://youtu.be/8P5nNv86goQ?feature=shared ::: Slide deck included below.
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Slide Deck for Alexa Alice Joubin's bilingual presentation on AI in higher education as part of the NCCU Sprout Project 政大高教深耕計畫. Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, enrich the inquiry-driven culture we live in. What is missing from the... more
Slide Deck for Alexa Alice Joubin's bilingual presentation on AI in higher education as part of the NCCU Sprout Project 政大高教深耕計畫. Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, enrich the inquiry-driven culture we live in. What is missing from the current debate are insights from the humanities. As a synthesis of human-generated datasets, AI is changing publics’ relationship to themselves. Since ChatGPT remixes statistically most likely combinations of words, its outputs are in fact a form of theatrical performance. It draws on users’ prompts and the publics’ collective memories to produce improvised performances, within specific parameters, for its user-audiences. As a mirror held up to the humanity, ChatGPT produces a pixelated shadow of the publics in time. ChatGPT is therefore a survey instrument of the publics’ collective biases. It is an aesthetic instrument rather than an epistemological tool. Based on this understanding, this interactive workshop provides pedagogical strategies and new AI-enhanced pedagogical tools for educators to teach with AI rather than against it. :::: Alexa Alice Joubin is the inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award and holder of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award. She is Professor of English, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Literatures at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she serves as founding Co-director of the Digital Humanities Institute. :::: 生成式人工智慧 (AI) 工具豐富了我們的生活, 也深刻影響著資訊的流通。然而, 目前針對 AI 的辯論中缺少人文學科的觀點。AI 生成的文本可視為一種擬像與仿真, 微妙的改變大眾與自身的關係。AI 的輸出也是一種戲劇表演形式。AI 奠基於使用者的提示和公眾的集體記憶，在預定的範圍內為使用者進行一場又一場的即興表演。AI 就如同一面鏡子, 映照出一個社會的縮影。基於這種理解，這個工作坊將深入探討新的教學策略以增進學生的批判性思考及人文素養。 ::::: Alexa Alice Joubin 是貝爾.胡克斯獎以及馬丁.路德.金恩獎的得主。她是華盛頓特區喬治華盛頓大學的英語、性別研究、戲劇、國際事務以及東亞語言文學教授，並擔任數位人文研究所的所長。
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Transgender theory can counter cisgender sexism when we study historical texts and modern cinematic imaginations of those texts. Cross-dressing is a misnomer, because it overemphasizes sartorial camouflage and compartmentalizes gender... more
Transgender theory can counter cisgender sexism when we study historical texts and modern cinematic imaginations of those texts. Cross-dressing is a misnomer, because it overemphasizes sartorial camouflage and compartmentalizes gender expressions. In this presentation, Alexa Alice Joubin outlines her theory of trans lens and offers analyses of Stage Beauty and The King and the Clown as case studies.
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Alexa Alice Joubin (George Washington University) and Rebecca Lemos Otero (Executive Director, Humanities D.C.) co-presented the 38th Washington DC Mayor's Arts Awards: Born Bold, at the historic Lincoln Theatre. ::: YouTube:... more
Alexa Alice Joubin (George Washington University) and Rebecca Lemos Otero (Executive Director, Humanities D.C.) co-presented the 38th Washington DC Mayor's Arts Awards: Born Bold, at the historic Lincoln Theatre. ::: YouTube: https://youtu.be/cTqiz5-706w
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In 1930, English novelist Evelyn Waugh entertained the prospect of Chinese American actress Anna May Wong playing Ophelia. Waugh went on to say that “I cannot see her as Lady Macbeth.” These comments reflect the racialized myths about... more
In 1930, English novelist Evelyn Waugh entertained the prospect of Chinese American actress Anna May Wong playing Ophelia. Waugh went on to say that “I cannot see her as Lady Macbeth.” These comments reflect the racialized myths about Asian women as subservient and dainty objects. ::::
These myths continue to inform racist misogyny today that has
congealed around the fetish of “yellow fever.” The notion of yellow fever makes Asian women interchangeable and invisible on screen, affecting characters and their actors such as Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh. ::::
In her illustrated keynote, Alexa Alice Joubin uses three interlocking concepts to analyze screen representations of East Asian women: yellow peril, yellow fever, and techno-Orientalism. The misogyny directed toward women of East Asian descent is fraught with racialized myths about Asian cultures and womanhood. As a result, racial hierarchies are used as justification for mistreatment of women. ::::
Her presentation reveals the manifestation of “yellow fever” in the depiction of Asian American women and suggests ways to identify tacit forms of misogynistic racism as well as strategies for inclusion. ::: YouTube https://youtu.be/Wy3mW9Vqgvo
These myths continue to inform racist misogyny today that has
congealed around the fetish of “yellow fever.” The notion of yellow fever makes Asian women interchangeable and invisible on screen, affecting characters and their actors such as Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh. ::::
In her illustrated keynote, Alexa Alice Joubin uses three interlocking concepts to analyze screen representations of East Asian women: yellow peril, yellow fever, and techno-Orientalism. The misogyny directed toward women of East Asian descent is fraught with racialized myths about Asian cultures and womanhood. As a result, racial hierarchies are used as justification for mistreatment of women. ::::
Her presentation reveals the manifestation of “yellow fever” in the depiction of Asian American women and suggests ways to identify tacit forms of misogynistic racism as well as strategies for inclusion. ::: YouTube https://youtu.be/Wy3mW9Vqgvo
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin's keynote at the Sixth Conference on Education in Multilingualism and Gender in Argentina examines new trans theories informed by anamorphosis and performativity. She proposes inclusive ways to interpret Shakespeare's... more
Alexa Alice Joubin's keynote at the Sixth Conference on Education in Multilingualism and Gender in Argentina examines new trans theories informed by anamorphosis and performativity. She proposes inclusive ways to interpret Shakespeare's plays and Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando through this trans lens which re-calibrates our critical capacity to understand transness--acts of traversing and transversing normative gender categories. Significantly, performativity, as a linguistic function, permeates all narratives (including performance) and therefore has the capacity to expand the scope of trans literature. :::: In sociolinguistic terms, performativity can tacitly or overtly affect social actions. Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel Orlando is an example of the first function of performativity: how language tacitly defines social actions. The novel opens with a witty sentence about its sixteen-year-old eponymous protagonist in Elizabethan England by a narrator: “He—for there could be no doubt of his sex, though the fashion of the time did something to disguise it.” Woolf’s em dash and the subordinating conjunction of “though” foreshadow Orlando’s transformation and undercut the masculine third-person pronoun. Later, in a matter-of-fact tone, Woolf describes how, after sleeping for seven days, the novel’s immortal protagonist, then the English Ambassador, wakes up a woman in Constantinople (“he had become a woman—there is no denying it.” Orlando lives through male and female embodiments over four centuries. ::::: The second function of performativity is exemplified by the Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses: how language affects social actions in overt ways through explicit descriptions of gender change. In Book Nine, Iphis undergoes important emotional and physical transformations. Assigned female at birth but raised as a boy, Iphis identifies as a man and falls in love with a woman named Ianthe. Ovid uses feminine pronouns to describe Iphis throughout even when writing about gender transition. Third-person pronouns are markers of social rejection or acceptance, as the case may be, and their usage is an important part of the performativity of speech acts. Ovid’s choice of pronouns brings Iphis into being. :::: In speech acts, gender is both a spatial and temporal concept, reflecting what one does in a given space at a given point in time. One travels through life with evolving gender practices. But genders (as social practices) also involve interpersonal relationships that may shift over time. ::: Twelfth Night is unique among comedies that are based on so-called mistaken identities, because it is energized by Cesario’s presence rather than that of Viola’s. Significantly, after the scene on the beach Viola disappears from sight and the dramatic action. Other characters’ speech acts affirm and undermine, in different scenes, Cesario’s personhood in Illyria. Traditional criticism, tripped up by the problematic misconception of “crossdressing” as a convenient and temporary dramatic device, has largely overlooked these trans cues and interpreted Viola as a cisgender crossdressing character
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Outputs by AI (such as ChatGPT) are a form of theatrical performance. Alexa Alice Joubin (co-founder of the Digital Humanities Institute at George Washington University) brings performance studies theories to the study of AI. It is... more
Outputs by AI (such as ChatGPT) are a form of theatrical performance. Alexa Alice Joubin (co-founder of the Digital Humanities Institute at George Washington University) brings performance studies theories to the study of AI. It is crucial to recognize and unpack how generative AI tools are changing the publics’ relationship to themselves. Professor Joubin argues that AI draws on users’ prompts and the publics’ collective memories to produce performances for its user-audiences. A more accurate and nuanced description of ChatGPT is that it is an aesthetic instrument rather than an instrument of reason or an epistemological tool. This interactive presentation theorizes AI in the framework of digital humanities and provide pedagogical strategies for educators to teach with AI rather than against it. :::: Recording on YouTube https://youtu.be/69pelUlrex4
Research Interests:
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are leaving educators anxious about the relevance of assignment submissions. But alarmism about technology will eventually disconnect teachers from the student generation. There is a third route, the... more
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are leaving educators anxious about the relevance of assignment submissions. But alarmism about technology will eventually disconnect teachers from the student generation. There is a third route, the proactive mode: think of innovative ways in which AI can be used to enrich and strengthen student skills. Winner of bell hooks legacy award and Martin Luther King Jr. Award, Alexa Alice Joubin has been developing such a methodology. Dayapuram Arts and Science College for Women in Kozhikode, Kerala, managed by academic volunteers from across Indian institutions, is happy to host a presentation by Alexa Alice Joubin as part of programmes that empower faculty. Based on her latest research, Joubin argues that generative AI tools are performance machines simulacrum machines social collaboration tools that bring to light previously unnoticed connections between humans It is crucial to recognize and unpack how generative AI tools such as ChatGPT are changing the publics’ relationship to themselves. ChatGPT’s outputs should be analyzed as a form of theatrical performance. It draws on users’ prompts and the publics’ collective memories to produce performances for its user-audiences. Since ChatGPT is coded to produce syntheses of anonymized public voices in its data sets, it is a “ghost” of the publics. Like King Lear, whose question, “Who is it that can tell me who I am?,” prompts the Fool’s witty answer, “Lear’s shadow,” users of ChatGPT engage in a conversation with their own shadows. In fact, if ChatGPT were to use first person pronouns at all, it should use “we,” instead of singular first-person pronouns in its current iteration, because it is representing anonymized public voices from the data sets it trained on. Joubin maintains that what is missing from the current debate are insights from performance studies. ChatGPT is coded to perform particular discursive tasks through simulation. A more accurate and nuanced description of ChatGPT is that it is an aesthetic instrument rather than an instrument of reason or an epistemological tool. ChatGPT is also a simulacrum machine that simulate human speeches and realities in order to create new realities. The simulacra go beyond mediations of realities to create their own fiction of the real. This illustrated presentation analyzes what these AI tools can realistically accomplish in the higher education context and what the substantive, rather than hyped, challenges are. Joubin proposes new pedagogical strategies to teach with AI rather than against it. Working with one’s own shadows and working against the AI “truths,” students could fine-tune the Socratic Method of Inquiry and open-ended research questions. ::: Video recording https://youtu.be/xbHfmfSQc-k
Research Interests:
Participants in this interactive session will learn ways to talk about disability and transgender life with sensitivity and respect, why "visibility" is not always empowering or desirable for trans individuals and for people with... more
Participants in this interactive session will learn ways to talk about disability and transgender life with sensitivity and respect, why "visibility" is not always empowering or desirable for trans individuals and for people with disability. We will learn about the key issues with today’s vocabulary about disability and transgender practices. Through copious film clips, we will unlearn our habits of seeing able-bodiedness and gender through a new lens.
Research Interests:
In this webinar, Fulbright Alumni Ambassador Alexa Alice Joubin (Professor of English at George Washington University) shares her insights on inclusive pedagogy, digital humanities, and incorporating generative AI tools such as ChatGPT in... more
In this webinar, Fulbright Alumni Ambassador Alexa Alice Joubin (Professor of English at George Washington University) shares her insights on inclusive pedagogy, digital humanities, and incorporating generative AI tools such as ChatGPT in higher education classrooms. Her pedagogical principle has always been to teach with, rather than against, technologies old and new. ::: ChatGPT is made to perform particular discursive tasks through simulation. A more accurate and nuanced description of ChatGPT is that it is an aesthetic instrument rather than an instrument of reason or an epistemological tool. What is missing from the current debate about ChatGPT are insights from performance studies. :::: When users interact with ChatGPT, they engage in a conversation with their own shadows. ChatGPT is a mirror held up to humanity. As versions of multiple publics, the AI is a social collaboration tool.
Research Interests:
What is gender? How do we maintain a safe space for trans visibility? Further, why is trans visibility not always empowering or desirable? In this interactive session, we will learn about the key issues with today’s vocabulary about... more
What is gender? How do we maintain a safe space for trans visibility? Further, why is trans visibility not always empowering or desirable? In this interactive session, we will learn about the key issues with today’s vocabulary about gender as well as a quick history of representations of transgender individuals in popular media. Through copious film clips, we will unlearn our habits of seeing gender through a trans-inclusive perspective. Performance provides fertile soil for understanding gender practices, because gender is not a fixed identity but a set of social practices and interpersonal relationships. They evolve in the presence of other people, in social spaces, and over time. With the latest vocabulary and tools for cultural analysis, we will acquire a road map to better emotional intelligence to engage diverse communities with empathy, to move forward with shared vulnerability, to develop authentic relationships with individuals of all genders, and to build inclusive and restorative social spaces on campus. ::: https://diversitysummit.gwu.edu/
Research Interests:
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism— the demonization of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as viral origins — in the United States. Offering strategies for inclusion and for identifying... more
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism— the demonization of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as viral origins — in the United States. Offering strategies for inclusion and for identifying tacit forms of misogynistic racism, this presentation analyzes the manifestation of the ideas of yellow peril and yellow fever in recent films and television series. These case studies reveal that racialized thinking is institutionalized as power relations, take the form of political marginalization of minority groups, and cause emotional distress and physical harm within and beyond the fictional universe.
Research Interests:
"Critical AI Literacy: Understanding the New Tool" -- Alexa Alice Joubin's slide deck is available below. "Alexa Alice Joubin sees both danger and opportunity in the new software — one of the dangers being the way ChatGPT can... more
"Critical AI Literacy: Understanding the New Tool" -- Alexa Alice Joubin's slide deck is available below.
"Alexa Alice Joubin sees both danger and opportunity in the new software — one of the dangers being the way ChatGPT can encourage mistaking synthesis for critical thinking. On the plus side, it can encourage students to apply high-level editorial and curatorial skills to material generated by ChatGPT." :::: "AI text is actually very repetitive at this point in time,” Joubin said, while noting that it can be expected to improve. ChatGPT may also not be reliable for current events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the technology is not going away, and the discussion of its use in the classroom will be ongoing. :::::
Join colleagues from across George Washington University to learn more about how recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies (such as, chatGPT) are now being used in university classrooms, labs, and offices. Speakers: Alexa Alice Joubin (Digital Humanities Institute), Katrin Schultheiss (History), Ryan Watkins (Education), and Lorena Barba (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)
"Alexa Alice Joubin sees both danger and opportunity in the new software — one of the dangers being the way ChatGPT can encourage mistaking synthesis for critical thinking. On the plus side, it can encourage students to apply high-level editorial and curatorial skills to material generated by ChatGPT." :::: "AI text is actually very repetitive at this point in time,” Joubin said, while noting that it can be expected to improve. ChatGPT may also not be reliable for current events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the technology is not going away, and the discussion of its use in the classroom will be ongoing. :::::
Join colleagues from across George Washington University to learn more about how recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies (such as, chatGPT) are now being used in university classrooms, labs, and offices. Speakers: Alexa Alice Joubin (Digital Humanities Institute), Katrin Schultheiss (History), Ryan Watkins (Education), and Lorena Barba (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)
Research Interests:
The WoW Talks at George Washington University are 10-minute TED style presentations that offer snapshots of faculty’s latest research. In her talk, Professor Joubin will examine why gender has become the latest battle ground for culture... more
The WoW Talks at George Washington University are 10-minute TED style presentations that offer snapshots of faculty’s latest research. In her talk, Professor Joubin will examine why gender has become the latest battle ground for culture wars. Anti-feminist, white nationalist, (trans)misogynist, anti-immigrant, and homophobic movements use “genderism” to evoke a range of disruptive identities and to attack legal and social human rights. The inequities exposed by the pandemic—even as they are cause for grief and anxiety—can spur change for the better. Trans studies matter all the more now, because transgender theory can help us deconstruct toxic notions of racial and gender purity. Trans theory puts into focus, and thereby expands, our collective understanding of human variations. Trans-as-method enables us to analyze the what, how, and why of gender practices. Trans studies can, therefore, deconstruct the toxic formulations of the who of identity categories that raise questions about unspoken assumptions about “categorical membership.”
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin on Shakespearean Dramaturgy at Canada's Stratford Festival as part of the CBC Ideas Week, the Meighen Forum, and the new Forum Academy Series. • contrasts eighteenth-century and twenty-first-century notions of... more
Alexa Alice Joubin on Shakespearean Dramaturgy at Canada's Stratford Festival as part of the CBC Ideas Week, the Meighen Forum, and the new Forum Academy Series. • contrasts eighteenth-century and twenty-first-century notions of dramaturgy ::: • explains the critical concepts of speech acts and performativity which is the core of dramaturgy ::: • offers Twelfth Night as a case study in gender and dramaturgy ::: She argues that traditional dramaturgy often misunderstood transgender characters, such as Viola, as "crossdressers." Once we understand the inherent performativity of all speech acts and all dramatic dialogues, we will be able to re-read Twelfth Night as a gender non-binary story. Text alone does not encompass everything words connote. Dramaturgy counters the text-centric bias that regards gender practices as fixed. Dramaturgy reveals that words as both a spatial and temporal concept and adds nuances to the meanings of the physicality of theatre-making. This 15-minute illustrated lecture shows why everyone needs dramaturgy in their life! :::: https://youtu.be/AUI_7KnHgF8
Research Interests:
Agreat deal of analysis goes into a play before the acting begins. In this exclusive seminar, Professor Alexa Alice Joubin from George Washington University and Professor Jyotsna Singh from Michigan State University will explore dramatic... more
Agreat deal of analysis goes into a play before the acting begins. In this exclusive seminar, Professor Alexa Alice Joubin from George Washington University and Professor Jyotsna Singh from Michigan State University will explore dramatic theory to dramaturgy and how the vital aspects of Shakespeare’s texts are brought to life through a play’s production. In short, learn when the analysis ends and the acting begins.
Professor Joubin, in her presentation, reveals the German root of western dramaturgy in the eighteenth century and examines one core concept of twenty-first-century dramaturgy: the ideas of performativity and speech acts of language and narrative.
She uses genderplay, embodiment of gender, and gender roles as case studies to show how performativity works in performance. In the process, she untangles some of the enduring myths of such comedies as Twelfth Night. Who is Cesario? Who is Viola? Can the comedy be interpreted through a transgender lens?
Professor Joubin, in her presentation, reveals the German root of western dramaturgy in the eighteenth century and examines one core concept of twenty-first-century dramaturgy: the ideas of performativity and speech acts of language and narrative.
She uses genderplay, embodiment of gender, and gender roles as case studies to show how performativity works in performance. In the process, she untangles some of the enduring myths of such comedies as Twelfth Night. Who is Cesario? Who is Viola? Can the comedy be interpreted through a transgender lens?
Research Interests:
The circulation of diverse forms of Shakespearean criticism may not be immediately obvious due to the diffuse nature of disseminating ideas on varied but connected cultural terrains. There are no singular, unitary centers and peripheries... more
The circulation of diverse forms of Shakespearean criticism may not be immediately obvious due to the diffuse nature of disseminating ideas on varied but connected cultural terrains. There are no singular, unitary centers and peripheries in the international circulation of Shakespeare criticism.
Therefore, encountering intercultural Shakespeare criticism is an experience similar to listening to interweaving parts in a fugue, a contrapuntal musical piece that introduces a melody through one instrument and then develops that same melody through other instruments successively.
Global circulation of Shakespeare criticism is both an exercise in ethics and in cultural agency. We need to go beyond questions of mutual influence among only scholarly critics to consider how new audiences and new forms of criticism are shaping the Shakespeare industry.
This illustrated presentation considers such questions as:
-- What are the ethics of cross-cultural criticism?
-- How do we handle uneven valuation of Shakespeare?
-- How might criticism become a practice of cultural reparation?
Therefore, encountering intercultural Shakespeare criticism is an experience similar to listening to interweaving parts in a fugue, a contrapuntal musical piece that introduces a melody through one instrument and then develops that same melody through other instruments successively.
Global circulation of Shakespeare criticism is both an exercise in ethics and in cultural agency. We need to go beyond questions of mutual influence among only scholarly critics to consider how new audiences and new forms of criticism are shaping the Shakespeare industry.
This illustrated presentation considers such questions as:
-- What are the ethics of cross-cultural criticism?
-- How do we handle uneven valuation of Shakespeare?
-- How might criticism become a practice of cultural reparation?
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin, author of the open-access Screening Shakespeare, https://screenshakespeare.org/, will share how she created the textbook. Open Education Resources (OER) for higher education have made significant progress over the last... more
Alexa Alice Joubin, author of the open-access Screening Shakespeare, https://screenshakespeare.org/, will share how she created the textbook. Open Education Resources (OER) for higher education have made significant progress over the last few decades. Textbook affordability continues to be a serious concern for our students. The event is hosted by the Washington Research Library Consortium and the Textbook Affordability Working Group. ::: Zoom link at:
https://open.wrlc.org/events/wed-04122023-1300
https://open.wrlc.org/events/wed-04122023-1300
Research Interests:
Open Education Resources (OER) for higher education have made significant progress over the last few decades and peer- reviewed textbooks and instructional material are now routinely and successfully used by instructors. Join the... more
Open Education Resources (OER) for higher education have made significant progress over the last few decades and peer- reviewed textbooks and instructional material are now routinely and successfully used by instructors. Join the Washington Research Library Consortium Textbook Affordability Working Group for a brief introduction to open textbooks and a panel discussion featuring Alexa Alice Joubin. ::: Register for Zoom link https://open.wrlc.org/events/wed-04122023-1300
Research Interests:
Recently, anti-feminist, white nationalist, (trans)misogynist, anti-immigrant, and homophobic movements have used “genderism” to evoke a range of disruptive identities and to attack legal and social human rights. This conversation,... more
Recently, anti-feminist, white nationalist, (trans)misogynist, anti-immigrant, and homophobic movements have used “genderism” to evoke a range of disruptive identities and to attack legal and social human rights. This conversation, featuring Alexa Alice Joubin (https://ajoubin.org/), will explore how transgender studies can combat intersectional forms of oppression and what the history of transgender studies can teach us about our current social crisis. ::: Transcript https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/extra/trans-studies-and-why-it-matters/ :::: Video recording https://youtu.be/oPZzRGtHb4s :::: Short excerpt https://ajoubin.org/talks/transmatter/ :::: GW Humanities Center https://humanitiescenter.columbian.gwu.edu/events/
Research Interests:
The social justice turn in the arts may have become more visible during the pandemic, but it has been a key ingredient in world cinema and theatre. Even before these global crises, anti-feminist, white nationalist, transmisogynist, and... more
The social justice turn in the arts may have become more visible during the pandemic, but it has been a key ingredient in world cinema and theatre. Even before these global crises, anti-feminist, white nationalist, transmisogynist, and anti-immigrant movements have used the ideas of otherness to evoke a range of disruptive identities and to attack legal and social human rights. Fortunately, ideas of otherness are also a major driving force for global arts that inspire, cure, and rebuild. The performing arts, in particular, have leveraged the global reach of canonical works for social justice causes. I use the notion of social reparation here to theorize remedial uses of Shakespeare in adaptations that give artists and audiences more moral agency. Since acting involves embodying and channeling the pathos of the characters, performances have become the primary area where beliefs in the remedial functions of art are manifested and contested. In my talk today I would like to explore two aspects of embodiment: race and gender. ::::: The 4th Shakespearean Theatre Conference, “Shakespeare in a Changing World,” will take place from June 15-18, 2022. In the wake of the pandemic’s great interruption, it will ask how the study and performance of Shakespearean theatre might respond to the rapid and very real changes we are witnessing, while also investigating the relationship of this theatre to the similarly rapid changes of Shakespeare’s time. The Shakespearean Theatre Conference is a joint venture of the University of Waterloo and the Stratford Festival, and brings together scholars and practitioners to talk about how performance influences scholarship and vice versa. The Festival has announced a 2022 season that includes Hamlet, Richard III, All’s Well That Ends Well (the last two in the beautiful new Tom Patterson Theatre), and Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman, as well as two world premières: Hamlet-911, by Ann-Marie MacDonald, and 1939, by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan. https://uwaterloo.ca/english/shakespeare
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Media Studies, Globalization, Performance Studies, Digital Media, and 10 moreShakespeare, Shakespearean Drama, William Shakespeare, Digital Humanites, Global Shakespeare, Digital Theatres, Racialized teachers and critical race theory, Coronavirus COVID-19, COVID-19 PANDEMIC, and Economic effects of COVID-19
Organized by Valerie TRAUB (University of Michigan). Speakers: Alexa Alice Joubin, Kumiko HILBERDINK-SAKAMOTO, Judy Celine ICK, Madhavi MENON, Marjorie RUBRIGHT =============== Every five years, the World Shakespeare Congress... more
Organized by Valerie TRAUB (University of Michigan). Speakers: Alexa Alice Joubin, Kumiko HILBERDINK-SAKAMOTO, Judy Celine ICK, Madhavi MENON, Marjorie RUBRIGHT
===============
Every five years, the World Shakespeare Congress regenerates understandings of Shakespeare across the world, bringing together scholars whose geo-cultural vantage points for working with Shakespeare both overlap and differ. A historical nodal point in global economies for Shakespeare, Singapore offers an ideal meeting point for the international aims of the Congress and for emerging cross-border practices and perspectives.
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Every five years, the World Shakespeare Congress regenerates understandings of Shakespeare across the world, bringing together scholars whose geo-cultural vantage points for working with Shakespeare both overlap and differ. A historical nodal point in global economies for Shakespeare, Singapore offers an ideal meeting point for the international aims of the Congress and for emerging cross-border practices and perspectives.
Research Interests:
Panel organized by Alexa Alice Joubin: What difference might it make for queer or transgender performers to play Viola in Twelfth Night, Jaquenetta in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Rosalind in As You... more
Panel organized by Alexa Alice Joubin: What difference might it make for queer or transgender performers to play Viola in Twelfth Night, Jaquenetta in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Rosalind in As You Like It ? Is female-to-male cross-dressing liberating? Are all-female productions of Shakespeare empowering? What is the root of transmisogyny in feminist discourses?
Moving chronologically from trans studies in early modern to our contemporary contexts, the panel brings emerging developments in trans studies to bear on Shakespeare’s plays, especially instances of socially-oriented interpretations of queer-bodied representations. ////
Chair: Sujata Iyengar ////
Alexa Alice Joubin, "Shakespeare and Transgender Theory" ////
Simone Chess, "Trans Residue: Nonbinary Affect and Boy Actors’ Adult Careers" ////
Colby Gordon, "A Woman’s Prick: Trans Technogenesis in Sonnet 20" ////
Lisa Starks, "Trans-cultures: Feminisms, Transgender theory, and Shakespeare Studies" ////
Will Fisher, Respondent
Moving chronologically from trans studies in early modern to our contemporary contexts, the panel brings emerging developments in trans studies to bear on Shakespeare’s plays, especially instances of socially-oriented interpretations of queer-bodied representations. ////
Chair: Sujata Iyengar ////
Alexa Alice Joubin, "Shakespeare and Transgender Theory" ////
Simone Chess, "Trans Residue: Nonbinary Affect and Boy Actors’ Adult Careers" ////
Colby Gordon, "A Woman’s Prick: Trans Technogenesis in Sonnet 20" ////
Lisa Starks, "Trans-cultures: Feminisms, Transgender theory, and Shakespeare Studies" ////
Will Fisher, Respondent
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Queer Studies, Women's Studies, Early Modern History, Transgender Studies, and 8 moreQueer Theory, Shakespeare, Theories of Gender and Transgender, Shakespearean Drama, Early Modern theatre studies, Early Modern Studies, Transsexuality and Transgender, and Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Studies
This panel will show the myriad ways institutions have benefited from supporting faculty to teach abroad though a brief overview of survey data and a presentation by a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar alumna, Alexa Alice Joubin. :::::... more
This panel will show the myriad ways institutions have benefited from supporting faculty to teach abroad though a brief overview of survey data and a presentation by a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar alumna, Alexa Alice Joubin. ::::: While many institutions actively encourage faculty to pursue international research opportunities, there is a growing tendency to withhold support for international teaching opportunities, assuming them to be poor institutional investments. Surveys of Fulbright U.S. Scholar alumni debunk this view, demonstrating sizeable long-term benefits for scholars’ home institutions. Many U.S. colleges and universities have prioritized developing their faculty’s cross-cultural competencies, yet few experiences can instill these skills and perspectives as rapidly and effectively as teaching in a foreign classroom where the instructor may for the first time feel what it is like to be an outsider. Scholars return home from teaching abroad and—applying newly acquired knowledge and perspectives—revise syllabi and develop new projects and courses. Many continue to virtually co-teach with their host-country counterparts or invite them to be visiting scholars, building “exchange” experiences for students who may be unable to participate in study abroad programs. Some establish formal and informal exchange programs for students and postdocs, and many actively recruit foreign students to apply to study at their home institution. :::: https://www.aacu.org/conferences/2022-conference-on-global-learning-redirect-page/schedule-at-a-glance
Research Interests:
Critical race, feminist and queer scholars have long been working to lay bare the violence embedded in the field of early modern studies. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and the acute rupture in the summer of the longfestering chronic health... more
Critical race, feminist and queer scholars have long been working to lay bare the violence embedded in the field of early modern studies. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and the acute rupture in the summer of the longfestering chronic health crisis of racial violence against Black Americans and systemic xenophobia confronting immigrants in both North America and Britain, this work has become increasingly urgent. Early modern archival studies is overdue an examination of the methodologies underlying collections, preservation, and use. Decisions about what documents, voices, and experiences are deemed worthy of collection, preservation, and dissemination (through curatorial exhibition, a place on the library shelves, or digital cataloguing) determine what (hi)stories we tell in future. :::: This seminar invites participants to explore challenges facing the early modern archive, and the work that we create from it, as we work to rebuild a more inclusive field. What are the challenges we face organising research mediating the past and present? What vocabularies does curatorial and historiographical practice need to acknowledge past violences while pointing the way to a more inclusive future, incorporating the methodologies of queer, gender, race, and trans studies? While the object of the early modern archive will be our central to discussion, we encourage approaches that think about the points of contact between the archive and performance practices like performance history, historiography, and early modern bibliography and textual studies, as well as papers reflecting on curatorial practice (including issues connected to digital collections, digitisation, and open access) and reflections on working with live performance and theatre archives. :::: Zoom link https://roehampton-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/82984288380?pwd=Ry9wQ2U2T3dhZVR2SFFLRzRBS0ZuZz09 :::: Meeting ID: 829 8428 8380 and Passcode: 566768
Research Interests:
Transgender performances of Shakespeare on film raise new questions about the long history of associating trans bodies with flawed bodies in distress, such as: Why were marginalized social practices (such as gender expression) used as... more
Transgender performances of Shakespeare on film raise new questions about the long history of associating trans bodies with flawed bodies in distress, such as: Why were marginalized social practices (such as gender expression) used as metaphors for illness? This paper uses what I call the trans lens to analyze Richard Eyre's Othello-inspired film Stage Beauty (2004) as performance of tacit transness. The film dramatizes the career of the Restoration-era adult "boy actor" Ned Kynaston who achieves fame by playing Shakespeare's female characters. Offstage, he also adopts socially feminine practices. My trans lens regards gender as a set of interpersonal relationships and social practices that evolve in the presence of other people. The trans lens questions the purported neutrality of cisgender subject positions. The function of the trans lens, therefore, is heuristic rather than diagnostic, because it seeks to understand, rather than diagnose, diverse social practices. :::: https://pcaaca.org/user/51819
Research Interests:
This presentation reclaims as trans the Shakespeare films that have been misinterpreted as homosexual. This reclamation builds an intersectional history of gendered embodiment that allows early modern ideas about gender variance to... more
This presentation reclaims as trans the Shakespeare films that have been misinterpreted as homosexual. This reclamation builds an intersectional history of gendered embodiment that allows early modern ideas about gender variance to attenuate our contemporary biases against trans bodies. These hitherto neglected trans films are read through the lenses of affective labor and social reparation. ::::::: To sign up, please email Gabriel Egan <gegan@dmu.ac.uk> ::::::: Your name ::::::: Your email address ::::::: The title(s) of the seminar(s) you wish to attend ::::::: ::::::: You will get an acknowledgement email, usually within 2 working days of booking. We'll then get back to you approximately 24 hours before the session begins with joining instructions for the MS Teams event.
Research Interests: Film Studies, Transgender Studies, Shakespeare, Early Modern England, Transsexuality, and 15 moreShakespeare and film, Theories of Gender and Transgender, Korean film, Korean cinema, Shakespearean Drama, Transgender, British Cinema (Film Studies), Shakespeare in Performance, Shakespeare adaptation, William Shakespeare, Non-Binary Gender, Boy Actors, Global Shakespeare, Gender Non Conforming Communities, and Shakespeare on Film
There are multiple ways to facilitate inclusion regardless of whether it’s online or in person. Alexa Alice Joubin will discuss her usage of contract grading, collaborative annotation using the Perusall social learning platform, and her... more
There are multiple ways to facilitate inclusion regardless of whether it’s online or in person. Alexa Alice Joubin will discuss her usage of contract grading, collaborative annotation using the Perusall social learning platform, and her open-access online textbook, Screening Shakespeare, an open educational resource (OER), in her classes. :::: https://instruction.gwu.edu/teaching-day :::: https://ajoubin.org/teachingday/
Research Interests:
This NEH summer institute is designed to help high school teachers integrate adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays into their curricula, with an emphasis on Hamlet and Othello. Participants will study a variety of adaptations, including... more
This NEH summer institute is designed to help high school teachers integrate adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays into their curricula, with an emphasis on Hamlet and Othello. Participants will study a variety of adaptations, including films, video games, graphic novels, stage performances, music, and young adult novels. We will emphasize diversity through pedagogical approaches that help students connect key Shakespearean themes (such as race, gender, and power) with their own lived experiences. In addition to pedagogy workshops and discussions facilitated by experts on Shakespearean adaptation, participants will also enjoy a workshop with professional actors and a play at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. :::: This Institute is funded by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. ::: https://www.yashakespeare.com/
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Film Studies, Performance Studies, Shakespeare, Critical Pedagogy, and 11 moreCritical Thinking, Critical Race Theory, Social Justice, Digital Media & Learning, Feminism, Feminism(s), Digital Pedagogy, William Shakespeare, Shakespere's Hamlet, Digital Humanites, and Global Shakespeare
The annual Asian Theatre Journal Lecture offers a unique opportunity to hear from one of the leading scholars in the field. This year we are excited to welcome Alexa Alice Joubin ::::: Is the scholarly "home turf" overrated? For all my... more
The annual Asian Theatre Journal Lecture offers a unique opportunity to hear from one of the leading scholars in the field. This year we are excited to welcome Alexa Alice Joubin ::::: Is the scholarly "home turf" overrated? For all my life, I have been looking for a place to call home. As an immigrant who engages in multidisciplinary work across different languages, throughout my life and career, I have received a number of labels, and I have called myself a few names. Depending on the context, I have been seen as an Asianist at the crossroads of performance and film studies, as a Shakespeare scholar who works across time periods and cultures, as someone who is expected to represent minority communities in some form, and as a digital humanities educator who brings critical race and gender studies to bear on each other. Born in Taiwan and now with families on both sides of the Pacific and the Atlantic, I am conscious of my position as an ancillary subject in the diaspora. Now, still looking in from the outside, I embrace my marginalized positions which enable me to have orbital perspectives in a time of hate. In this presentation, I will share how I have evolved as an educator and scholar, how I learned not to turn foreign shores into home turf and lose my edge, and how I passed through and sustained transitory spaces in my writing. ::::: The event is co-hosted by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and Association for Asian Performance :::::: https://tinyurl.com/ATHE21
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Theatre Studies, Feminist Theory, Digital Humanities, Film Studies, and 11 morePerformance Studies, Shakespeare, Critical Race Theory, Feminism, Professional Development, Interdisciplinary Studies, Multidisciplinary, Public Humanities, William Shakespeare, Global Shakespeare, and Immigration Status & Nationality
This panel will show the myriad ways institutions have benefited from supporting faculty to teach abroad though a brief overview of survey data and a presentation by a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar alumna, Alexa Alice Joubin. :::::... more
This panel will show the myriad ways institutions have benefited from supporting faculty to teach abroad though a brief overview of survey data and a presentation by a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar alumna, Alexa Alice Joubin. ::::: While many institutions actively encourage faculty to pursue international research opportunities, there is a growing tendency to withhold support for international teaching opportunities, assuming them to be poor institutional investments. Surveys of Fulbright U.S. Scholar alumni debunk this view, demonstrating sizeable long-term benefits for scholars’ home institutions. Many U.S. colleges and universities have prioritized developing their faculty’s cross-cultural competencies, yet few experiences can instill these skills and perspectives as rapidly and effectively as teaching in a foreign classroom where the instructor may for the first time feel what it is like to be an outsider. Scholars return home from teaching abroad and—applying newly acquired knowledge and perspectives—revise syllabi and develop new projects and courses. Many continue to virtually co-teach with their host-country counterparts or invite them to be visiting scholars, building “exchange” experiences for students who may be unable to participate in study abroad programs. Some establish formal and informal exchange programs for students and postdocs, and many actively recruit foreign students to apply to study at their home institution. :::: https://www.aacu.org/conferences/2022-conference-on-global-learning-redirect-page/schedule-at-a-glance
Research Interests:
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism— the demonization of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as viral origins— in the United States. ::::: Working from an archive of recent North... more
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism— the demonization of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as viral origins— in the United States. :::::
Working from an archive of recent North American screen works that implicitly and explicitly dramatize, or critique, misogynist racism, this illustrated, interactive presentation workshops key scenes and film stills with audiences. :::::
Collectively, we will form new strategies for inclusion and for identifying tacit forms of anti-Asian misogyny and racism, particularly the manifestation of the ideas of yellow peril and yellow fever. :::::
These case studies reveal that racialized thinking is institutionalized as power relations in the cultural and political life, take the form of political marginalization of minority groups, and cause emotional distress and physical harm within and beyond the fictional universe. ::::: https://ajoubin.org/monterey/
Working from an archive of recent North American screen works that implicitly and explicitly dramatize, or critique, misogynist racism, this illustrated, interactive presentation workshops key scenes and film stills with audiences. :::::
Collectively, we will form new strategies for inclusion and for identifying tacit forms of anti-Asian misogyny and racism, particularly the manifestation of the ideas of yellow peril and yellow fever. :::::
These case studies reveal that racialized thinking is institutionalized as power relations in the cultural and political life, take the form of political marginalization of minority groups, and cause emotional distress and physical harm within and beyond the fictional universe. ::::: https://ajoubin.org/monterey/
Research Interests:
TOMODACHI MetLife Women's Leadership Program was launched in 2013 in partnership with the TOMODACHI Initiative and MetLife Japan. It aims to develop the next generation of globally active women leaders. :::: Over a ten-month period, the... more
TOMODACHI MetLife Women's Leadership Program was launched in 2013 in partnership with the TOMODACHI Initiative and MetLife Japan. It aims to develop the next generation of globally active women leaders. :::: Over a ten-month period, the program provides highly motivated Japanese female university students with training sessions to hone their leadership skills. This year's program is being held virtually in Tokyo, Osaka, Naha, and Sapporo. ::::: Participants learn about women's leadership development, cross-cultural ambassadorship, and compare university experiences between Japan and the United States. :::: To expose participants to role models on their path towards becoming leaders, each student is assigned an active mid-career female professional as a mentor for one-on-one support and to develop network-building opportunities. The program is designed to develop a set of leadership competencies, identified as critical for successful leaders. :::: For the program's annual visit to Washington DC, MetLife works with public diplomacy non-profits such as Cultural Vistas and the U.S.-Japan Council to arrange site visits for the program. ::::: http://usjapantomodachi.org/programs-activities/entrepreneurship-leadership/tomodachi-womens-leadership-program/
Research Interests:
How do actors reposition their racialized and gendered bodies? Why is Asianness invisible in global film culture? Join us for this illustrated presentation on representations of race, gender, and East Asia on film and television. :::::... more
How do actors reposition their racialized and gendered bodies? Why is Asianness invisible in global film culture? Join us for this illustrated presentation on representations of race, gender, and East Asia on film and television. ::::: The global pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism, but we can enhance our strategies for inclusion by identifying tacit forms of misogynistic racism. Taking stock of East Asian adaptations of Shakespeare as well as the manifestation of the ideas of yellow peril and yellow fever in American films and television series, this presentation explores how the spectatorial aspect of racism has both fetishized Asian bodies and erased Asianness from content creators’ visual landscapes. ::::: Taking a tripartite approach to the question of self/representation, this talk explores: (1) adaptations that offer a corrective to gender ideologies within Shakespeare, such as Muni Wei’s all-female As We Like It (Taiwan, 2021), Feng Xiaogang’s The Banquet (China, 2006), Abel Ferrara’s China Girl (USA, 1987), and Sherwood Hu’s Tibetan Prince of the Himalayas (2006); these films use the Western canon to de-colonize Western knowledge about Asia; ::::: (2) films portraying racialized and gendered trans-Pacific imaginations, such as Jon M. Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Lulu Wang’s Farewell (2019), Mina Shum’s Double Happiness (1994), Debbie Lum’s Seeking Asian Female (2012), and Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari (2020); and queer films with mainstream aesthetics, such as Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet (Taiwan, 1993) and Liu Kuang-Hui’s Your Name Engraved Herein (Taiwan, 2020); ::::: (3) ornamental use of Asian motifs in dystopian science fiction films such as George Lucas’ Star Wars, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, Ridley Scott’s The Blade Runner, Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element. ::::: Professor Joubin’s research reveals deep connections among East Asian and Anglophone cinematic traditions and the new creativity the cultural exchange has made possible. ::::: These case studies reveal that racialized thinking is institutionalized as gendered power relations in the cultural and political life, take the form of political marginalization of minority groups, and cause emotional distress and physical harm within and beyond the fictional universe.
Research Interests:
This new adaptation, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, of the late medieval morality play Everyman, one of the first recorded plays in the English language, explores the meaning of life and the roles we play along the way. The performers... more
This new adaptation, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, of the late medieval morality play Everyman, one of the first recorded plays in the English language, explores the meaning of life and the roles we play along the way. The performers randomly draw lots live on stage each night to determine which actor will play which part in that evening’s performance. ::: The production is directed by Professor Matthew R. Wilson in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design of George Washington University. It will be staged at the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, 800 21st St NW Washington, DC, 20052, USA. ::: Book your ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/everybody-by-branden-jacobs-jenkins-directed-by-matthew-r-wilson-tickets-220883828477 ::: A different talkback after each performance! Join the cast and special guest as they ponder life’s questions–check it out! :::: Making Sense of Randomness – Friday, March 4: Professor of Statistics Hosam M. Mahmoud joins the cast for a post-show discussion about life, chance, and the 11,520 possible outcomes of this play. :::: Death & Taoism – Saturday, March 5: Associate Professor of Religion Xiaofei Kang joins the cast to discuss how Buddhist and Taoist teachings grapple with life and death. :::: Staging Race, Gender, and Sexuality – Sunday, March 6 at 2 pm: Professor of English Alexa Alice Joubin joins the cast to discuss how identity is performed on stage and in life.
Research Interests:
Much of the public discourse on China relates largely to the country's expanding economic and military power. The result can be that regular Americans and policymakers alike ignore the diverse arts that flourish in or come from China.... more
Much of the public discourse on China relates largely to the country's expanding economic and military power. The result can be that regular Americans and policymakers alike ignore the diverse arts that flourish in or come from China. :::: In this roundtable discussion, scholars Alexa Alice Joubin, professor at the George Washington University and Alison Friedman, Executive and Artistic Director for Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, discuss their studies and personal experiences relating to the arts and China. :::: Sign up at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rediscover-china-through-the-arts-tickets-290728676297
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Join us for a session on the Fulbright Scholar Program. Fulbright awards are available for teaching and research and can serve as a wonderful faculty development opportunity. There are over 400 unique opportunities available in over 135... more
Join us for a session on the Fulbright Scholar Program. Fulbright awards are available for teaching and research and can serve as a wonderful faculty development opportunity. There are over 400 unique opportunities available in over 135 countries awarded to over 800 scholars annually. The competition for 2023-24 awards is now open, so this is an ideal time for faculty to consider applying for an award. :::
The speaker Alexa Alice Joubin is a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador. She is Professor of English, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Literatures at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she serves as founding Co-director of the Digital Humanities Institute.
The speaker Alexa Alice Joubin is a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador. She is Professor of English, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Literatures at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she serves as founding Co-director of the Digital Humanities Institute.
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Join us to explore Fulbright opportunities in the humanities and social sciences. The event features Alexa Alice Joubin and Lisa Pinley Covert, and is hosted by Jaclyn Assarian. Register at https://apply.iie.org/portal/scholar_webinars... more
Join us to explore Fulbright opportunities in the humanities and social sciences. The event features Alexa Alice Joubin and Lisa Pinley Covert, and is hosted by Jaclyn Assarian. Register at https://apply.iie.org/portal/scholar_webinars :::: Topics covered: Overview of the Fulbright US Scholar program; Fulbright alumni experiences; how Fulbright scholars established their connection with the local hosts; how to choose a country for research project; teaching students in another country's education system; collaborating with colleagues abroad; support from the US Embassy; tips on how to apply; overview of online resources
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How do actors reposition their racialized bodies on stage and on screen? How do Sinophone cinema and feminism transform gender identities in Shakespeare? Bringing film and theatre studies together, this illustrated presentation sheds new... more
How do actors reposition their racialized bodies on stage and on screen? How do Sinophone cinema and feminism transform gender identities in Shakespeare? Bringing film and theatre studies together, this illustrated presentation sheds new light on the two major genres in a comparative context in the Sinophone world.
Shakespeare’s tragedies have inspired incredible work in the Sinophone theatres of China, Taiwan, andHong Kong. The tragedies have been reimagined as political theatre, feminist operas, Buddhist meditations, and even comedies and parodies. In particular, Chinese, Hong Kong andTaiwanese artists have used Shakespeare for socially reparative purposes.
Drawing on Joubin’s latest book, Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford University Press, 2021), this presentation explores how appropriations by politicians and artists have tapped into Shakespeare’s perceived remedial functions.
The book launch is moderated by Lily Wong, Associate Professor of Literature/Critical Race Gender and Culture Studies at American University and Communications Director for the Society of Sinophone Studies.
::::: Video recording available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z5jXZeCfM4&ab_channel=SOCIETYOFSINOPHONESTUDIES
Shakespeare’s tragedies have inspired incredible work in the Sinophone theatres of China, Taiwan, andHong Kong. The tragedies have been reimagined as political theatre, feminist operas, Buddhist meditations, and even comedies and parodies. In particular, Chinese, Hong Kong andTaiwanese artists have used Shakespeare for socially reparative purposes.
Drawing on Joubin’s latest book, Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford University Press, 2021), this presentation explores how appropriations by politicians and artists have tapped into Shakespeare’s perceived remedial functions.
The book launch is moderated by Lily Wong, Associate Professor of Literature/Critical Race Gender and Culture Studies at American University and Communications Director for the Society of Sinophone Studies.
::::: Video recording available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z5jXZeCfM4&ab_channel=SOCIETYOFSINOPHONESTUDIES
Research Interests:
Friday January 28, 2022 at 5 pm Central European time on Zoom. Asian performance aesthetics have a symbiotic but uncomfortable relationship to Western epistemologies. This paper addresses the role of the Western canon, represented by... more
Friday January 28, 2022 at 5 pm Central European time on Zoom. Asian performance aesthetics have a symbiotic but uncomfortable relationship to Western epistemologies. This paper addresses the role of the Western canon, represented by Shakespeare, in East Asian cinema. Drawing on case studies of Japanese, Korean, and Hong Kong adaptations of Shakespeare’s tragedies, this paper expands the purview of postcolonial studies which tends to focus on British colonialism and Anglophone colonies. In the context of critical whiteness studies, it is racist to regard non-Western films as merely footnotes to the white canon. I seek to de-colonize the study of non- Western cultures and of the Western canon. :::: https://www.online.uni-marburg.de/okzidentalismus/index.php/en/2021/11/15/international-conference-media-aesthetics-of-occidentalism/
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The Fulbright is an international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
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The RSA Paul Oskar Kristeller Fellowships support scholarly research at the archive, collection, site, library, or other venue for scholarship.
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The Burkhardt Fellowships are generously supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
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American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) research fellowship
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Alexa Alice Joubin was named the inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award on April 7, 2023. The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association (PCA / ACA) established the award to commemorate the late feminist... more
Alexa Alice Joubin was named the inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award on April 7, 2023. The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association (PCA / ACA) established the award to commemorate the late feminist writer and activist bell hooks (1952-2021) who has authored more than 30 books. The award recognizes Joubin’s achievements in research, teaching, and service, particularly her efforts to “dismantle intersectional systems of oppression with the distinct goals of uplifting members of historically marginalized populations and striving for social justice, all while teaching compassion and love” through her public humanities work, use of generative AI tools as assistive technology in class, open-access publications (such as her own Screening Shakespeare), and inclusive pedagogies. The committee recognized the global impact of Joubin’s “groundbreaking work that speaks to our moment in history and our hope for the future” and the ways in which her “academic career is a stellar example of intersectional criticism.” :::: https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/joubin-receives-the-bell-hooks-legacy-award/
Research Interests:
The Trachtenberg award recognizes outstanding research accomplishments. It was established by George Washington University President Emeritus Stephen Joel Trachtenberg in memory of his parents. It is presented annually to a faculty. The... more
The Trachtenberg award recognizes outstanding research accomplishments. It was established by George Washington University President Emeritus Stephen Joel Trachtenberg in memory of his parents. It is presented annually to a faculty. The award is meant to honor faculty scholarship and demonstrate the University’s commitment to research and creative endeavors.
Nominators of Prof. Joubin, including the co-director of GW Humanities Center, wrote that “her research has a truly global impact. Having published four acclaimed monographs with leading presses including Columbia and Oxford University Press and (co)edited sixteen books, Prof. Joubin is doing groundbreaking work that speaks to our moment in history and our hope for the future.
“She has invested her knowledge in public outreach efforts, as evidenced by her TEDx talk and numerous interviews with such media outlets as CBC in Canada, BBC in the UK, The Economist, The Washington Post, and Voice of America. Through her work on gendered and racial otherness, she has made a palpable and positive impact on our society and academia. Her academic career is a stellar example of interdisciplinary scholarship and intersectional criticism.”
Dr. Christopher Bracey, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, wrote that “we received a record number of nominations for the award this year. After careful consideration by a multidisciplinary review committee, Prof. Joubin was selected to receive this prestigious award. We are delighted to be able to bestow this honor and formally recognize” her research accomplishments at the in-person ceremony. :::: https://ajoubin.org/trachtenberg/
Nominators of Prof. Joubin, including the co-director of GW Humanities Center, wrote that “her research has a truly global impact. Having published four acclaimed monographs with leading presses including Columbia and Oxford University Press and (co)edited sixteen books, Prof. Joubin is doing groundbreaking work that speaks to our moment in history and our hope for the future.
“She has invested her knowledge in public outreach efforts, as evidenced by her TEDx talk and numerous interviews with such media outlets as CBC in Canada, BBC in the UK, The Economist, The Washington Post, and Voice of America. Through her work on gendered and racial otherness, she has made a palpable and positive impact on our society and academia. Her academic career is a stellar example of interdisciplinary scholarship and intersectional criticism.”
Dr. Christopher Bracey, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, wrote that “we received a record number of nominations for the award this year. After careful consideration by a multidisciplinary review committee, Prof. Joubin was selected to receive this prestigious award. We are delighted to be able to bestow this honor and formally recognize” her research accomplishments at the in-person ceremony. :::: https://ajoubin.org/trachtenberg/
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin received the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, which recognizes Professor Joubin’s “contributions to social justice and inclusive excellence ” that exemplify “the ideals that Dr. King espoused,” particularly... more
Alexa Alice Joubin received the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, which recognizes Professor Joubin’s “contributions to social justice and inclusive excellence ” that exemplify “the ideals that Dr. King espoused,” particularly “community-based social justice organizing rooted in non-violence.” ::: https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/extra/joubin-receives-the-martin-luther-king-jr-award/
Research Interests:
Press release from the Modern Language Association: Alexa Alice Joubin's Chinese Shakespeares: Two Centuries of Cultural Exchange (Columbia University Press) maps new territory for the most promising project in comparative literature... more
Press release from the Modern Language Association: Alexa Alice Joubin's Chinese Shakespeares: Two Centuries of Cultural Exchange (Columbia University Press) maps new territory for the most promising project in comparative literature today. Joubin's object is the movement of cultural forms across geographical space, but she regards such movement not as mere diffusion or even as exchange. Instead she examines the way movement across geographical and geopolitical fault lines reaches into cultural forms and changes their meanings from the inside, often revealing possibilities that had lain dormant, unnoticed, or submerged in the texts' cultures of origin. Remarkable not only for its sophistication but also for its scholarly depth, Chinese Shakespeares is a landmark in the renewal of comparative literature as a discipline. :::::: Also included is the letter of congratulations from the President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Research Interests: Shakespeare, Shakespearean Drama, Chinese literature, Chinese Theatre, Taiwanese theatre, and 12 moretraditional Chinese drama, Translation during the Late Qing Period, William Shakespeare, Modern and Contemporary China, Modern China (especially late Qing and Republican history), Global Shakespeare, Diasporic and Sinophone Writing, MLA Scaglione Prize, Contemporary Taiwan, Sinophone Studies, Modern Language Association, and booker prize winning writer
Award citation: “The committee members were especially impressed by Professor Alexa Alice Joubin‘s deployment of Perusall as a powerful tool for guiding and developing students’ practices of reading critically, making observations,... more
Award citation: “The committee members were especially impressed by Professor Alexa Alice Joubin‘s deployment of Perusall as a powerful tool for guiding and developing students’ practices of reading critically, making observations, posing questions, trying out ideas, and ultimately responding to and building on each others’ and their own writing.”
“Whereas many of us turned to online tools due to the exigencies of the pandemic, her practice bears none of the hallmarks of emergency or make-do usage. Instead, it forms a foundational base for students’ writing, helping them practice key disciplinary moves in close reading, interpretation, and response, preparing them for the work of the more formal writing assignments.”
“The other discrete elements of Alexa Alice Joubin’s courses, too, are exemplary. We were especially taken by the guidance she gives on breaking down the elements of filmic and literary texts, giving students the tools they need not only to analyze film and literature independently, but to see how those analytical tools might be applied cross-field, i.e., how filmic concepts might reveal new things in a piece of literature or vice versa.”
“This seems especially critical in the field of Shakespeare studies, where texts were designed to inform visual performance in the first place.”
“Whereas many of us turned to online tools due to the exigencies of the pandemic, her practice bears none of the hallmarks of emergency or make-do usage. Instead, it forms a foundational base for students’ writing, helping them practice key disciplinary moves in close reading, interpretation, and response, preparing them for the work of the more formal writing assignments.”
“The other discrete elements of Alexa Alice Joubin’s courses, too, are exemplary. We were especially taken by the guidance she gives on breaking down the elements of filmic and literary texts, giving students the tools they need not only to analyze film and literature independently, but to see how those analytical tools might be applied cross-field, i.e., how filmic concepts might reveal new things in a piece of literature or vice versa.”
“This seems especially critical in the field of Shakespeare studies, where texts were designed to inform visual performance in the first place.”
Research Interests:
The Association for Asian Performance is an international organization of scholars and artists interested in the theatre and theatrical performance traditions of Asian regions.
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This is a CBC Radio podcast on gender roles in Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, and Taming of the Shrew, recorded live at Stratford Festival, Ontario, Canada. “Liberate your mind, said English professor Alexa Alice Joubin,... more
This is a CBC Radio podcast on gender roles in Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, and Taming of the Shrew, recorded live at Stratford Festival, Ontario, Canada.
“Liberate your mind, said English professor Alexa Alice Joubin, urging us to embrace the Bard’s open-endedness to ambiguity in his plays. This episode of CBC Radio’s Ideas series was aired on February 20, 2024, and explored gender in Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, and The Taming of the Shrew.
Take Shakespeare’s use of the double entendre in Twelfth Night — Viola in disguise as a man, and mourning her supposedly dead brother, saying “I am all the daughters of my father’s house, and all the brothers too” — a technique that scholar Alexa Alice Joubin says prompts an ambiguity that compels people to think.
“I would say we can — and should — embrace more of that open-endedness to ambiguity rather than pinning down the surface of the text,” said Joubin. “The beauty of imaginative literature, especially Shakespeare, is a lesson in ambiguity. Unfortunately, people embrace that less and less, and I’ve often told my students that’s a huge problem, especially when you approach imaginative literature with literal mindedness — you’re not willing or able to liberate your mind.”
From the Stratford Festival, IDEAS producer Philip Coulter moderates a discussion about the slippery process of interpreting Shakespeare.
Panelists Jyotsna Singh, Alexa Alice Joubin and actors Maev Beaty and Graham Abbey, along with director Jonathan Goad examine the minefields of sex and gender.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Stratford Festival, Ontario, Canada.
“Liberate your mind, said English professor Alexa Alice Joubin, urging us to embrace the Bard’s open-endedness to ambiguity in his plays. This episode of CBC Radio’s Ideas series was aired on February 20, 2024, and explored gender in Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, and The Taming of the Shrew.
Take Shakespeare’s use of the double entendre in Twelfth Night — Viola in disguise as a man, and mourning her supposedly dead brother, saying “I am all the daughters of my father’s house, and all the brothers too” — a technique that scholar Alexa Alice Joubin says prompts an ambiguity that compels people to think.
“I would say we can — and should — embrace more of that open-endedness to ambiguity rather than pinning down the surface of the text,” said Joubin. “The beauty of imaginative literature, especially Shakespeare, is a lesson in ambiguity. Unfortunately, people embrace that less and less, and I’ve often told my students that’s a huge problem, especially when you approach imaginative literature with literal mindedness — you’re not willing or able to liberate your mind.”
From the Stratford Festival, IDEAS producer Philip Coulter moderates a discussion about the slippery process of interpreting Shakespeare.
Panelists Jyotsna Singh, Alexa Alice Joubin and actors Maev Beaty and Graham Abbey, along with director Jonathan Goad examine the minefields of sex and gender.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Stratford Festival, Ontario, Canada.
Research Interests:
Good afternoon! We’ve assembled a pair of Shakespeare scholars, a stage director and two actors to discuss the question of the progress in getting Shakespeare from the page to the stage: from the meaning of what’s on the page — what the... more
Good afternoon! We’ve assembled a pair of Shakespeare scholars, a stage director and two actors to discuss the question of the progress in getting Shakespeare from the page to the stage: from the meaning of what’s on the page — what the head understands to the types of meaning we can get in performance — what the heart understands.
Featured in this show are Professor Alexa Alice Joubin Professor Jyotsna Singh, director Jonathan Goad, actors Maev Beaty and Graham Abbey, and CBC host Philip Coulter.
First up, let’s look at some scenes from Twelfth Night, a play from around 1601 that tells the story of a shipwrecked young woman, Viola, who dresses as a boy and goes to work for Duke Orsino. She quickly falls in love with him, but (a) he thinks she’s a boy, and (b) he’s in love with his neighbor Olivia who promptly falls in love with the quote unquote boy. Much hilarity ensues, but all of course ends happily.
Next, we shall explore gender roles in Troilus and Cressida. This is a play about the Trojan Wars, in which the Greek warrior Troilus falls in love with Cressida. Unfortunately, Cressida gets traded to the Greek camp, where she becomes the lover of the Greek soldier Diomedes. It’s a play about small human tragedies against the big tragedies of war. This is the scene where Troilus and Cressida are introduced to each other, where they fall in love, and swear eternal faithfulness.
Our final case study is The Taming of the Shrew, a problematic play. The impoverished charming bully Petruccio marries the brash, smart and eternally angry Katherine for her money. Determined to make her a nice subservient wife, he spends the entire play humiliating and belittling her. Katherine for her part gives as good as she gets, but somewhere in all this they find true love, and by the end, she has at least the outward appearance of the good wife. But it’s still a problem play.
Featured in this show are Professor Alexa Alice Joubin Professor Jyotsna Singh, director Jonathan Goad, actors Maev Beaty and Graham Abbey, and CBC host Philip Coulter.
First up, let’s look at some scenes from Twelfth Night, a play from around 1601 that tells the story of a shipwrecked young woman, Viola, who dresses as a boy and goes to work for Duke Orsino. She quickly falls in love with him, but (a) he thinks she’s a boy, and (b) he’s in love with his neighbor Olivia who promptly falls in love with the quote unquote boy. Much hilarity ensues, but all of course ends happily.
Next, we shall explore gender roles in Troilus and Cressida. This is a play about the Trojan Wars, in which the Greek warrior Troilus falls in love with Cressida. Unfortunately, Cressida gets traded to the Greek camp, where she becomes the lover of the Greek soldier Diomedes. It’s a play about small human tragedies against the big tragedies of war. This is the scene where Troilus and Cressida are introduced to each other, where they fall in love, and swear eternal faithfulness.
Our final case study is The Taming of the Shrew, a problematic play. The impoverished charming bully Petruccio marries the brash, smart and eternally angry Katherine for her money. Determined to make her a nice subservient wife, he spends the entire play humiliating and belittling her. Katherine for her part gives as good as she gets, but somewhere in all this they find true love, and by the end, she has at least the outward appearance of the good wife. But it’s still a problem play.
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin, professor of English, was named the inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award earlier this month. The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association (PCA / ACA) established the award to... more
Alexa Alice Joubin, professor of English, was named the inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award earlier this month. The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association (PCA / ACA) established the award to commemorate the late feminist writer and activist bell hooks, who has authored more than 30 books. The award recognizes Joubin's achievements in research, teaching and service, particularly her efforts to "dismantle intersectional systems of oppression with the distinct goals of uplifting members of historically marginalized populations and striving for social justice, all while teaching compassion and love" through her public humanities work, open-access publications (such as her own Screening Shakespeare) and inclusive pedagogies. The committee recognized the global impact of Joubin's "groundbreaking work that speaks to our moment in history and our hope for the future" and the ways in which her "academic career is a stellar example of intersectional criticism."
Research Interests:
Shakespeare's sonnet 18 "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” may appear an unusual choice for a revolutionary chant, but it was used by Chinese protestors. When they recited those lines of poetry, they partook, unknowingly or not, in... more
Shakespeare's sonnet 18 "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” may appear an unusual choice for a revolutionary chant, but it was used by Chinese protestors. When they recited those lines of poetry, they partook, unknowingly or not, in a longstanding national tradition of using Shakespeare as a symbol of political resistance in China and elsewhere. As the scholar Alexa Alice Joubin interprets in her 2021 book Shakespeare and East Asia, Lin Zhaohua's 1989 Hamlet, for example, reflects a distinctly post-Tiananmen perspective in China – a world of greater cultural uncertainty and pessimism about the prospect of change, “where everyone is Hamlet”.
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Alexa Alice Joubin, a scholar of critical race theory, feminism, and performance and film studies, was named the inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award on April 7, 2023. The Popular Culture Association and American Culture... more
Alexa Alice Joubin, a scholar of critical race theory, feminism, and performance and film studies, was named the inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award on April 7, 2023. The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association (PCA / ACA) established the award to commemorate the late feminist writer and activist bell hooks (1952-2021). The award recognizes Joubin's achievements in research, teaching, and service, particularly her efforts to "dismantle intersectional systems of oppression with the distinct goals of uplifting members of historically marginalized populations and striving for social justice, all while teaching compassion and love" through her public scholarship and inclusive pedagogies.
Research Interests:
This is a GW Today news story about Alexa Alice Joubin's remarks at the 2024 Inclusive Excellence Week: Can We Talk: The Global Language of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, held at George Washington University's Elliott School of... more
This is a GW Today news story about Alexa Alice Joubin's remarks at the 2024 Inclusive Excellence Week: Can We Talk: The Global Language of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, held at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, D.C., from January 29 to February 1, 2024. Alexa Alice Joubin, Lakeisha R. Harrison (assistant dean for student services, diversity, equity and inclusion), Fatiah Touray (NYU Abu Dhabi), and Shehzad Charania (Government Communications Headquarters UK) had a conversation about how the language of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion may differ across the globe. Our shared aim of finding language to bring people together remains the same. What can we learn from different cultures about inclusive practices? There are always lessons to be learned about how things are done differently.
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Alexa Alice Joubin, a professor of English at George Washington University, said: “We have so much fun with this material because it’s part of our heritage. Shakespeare didn’t invent English but he did coin a lot of unique expressions.... more
Alexa Alice Joubin, a professor of English at George Washington University, said: “We have so much fun with this material because it’s part of our heritage. Shakespeare didn’t invent English but he did coin a lot of unique expressions. His genius was bringing words together that previously didn’t go together, like ‘green-eyed jealousy.’ A lot of people are quoting Shakespeare without knowing they are quoting Shakespeare. ‘It’s all Greek to me,’ for example, is Shakespeare.” Joubin suggested Hurly Burly as a name for Folger Library's new cafe. The word means chaos. Joubin says it is spoken by the witches in Macbeth while stirring a cauldron full of eye of newt and toe of frog. “I don’t know if the Folger will think it’s too dark, but I would like to go to a Hurly Burly Cafe.” Joubin proposed other monikers, too: Winter’s Ale Cafe, Love’s Labor’s latte, The Taming of the Brew, and Bottoms Cafe, a nod to a character from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin, Professor of English and International Affairs, was recently featured on a panel of academic excellence which was part of the celebrations for the inauguration of President Granberg. Complete with a display of recent... more
Alexa Alice Joubin, Professor of English and International Affairs, was recently featured on a panel of academic excellence which was part of the celebrations for the inauguration of President Granberg. Complete with a display of recent faculty books, the event celebrated GW faculty's achivements. Joubin defined research excellence as "a respect for and understanding of words, especially in the era of artificial intelligence.” People may think AI suggests a battle between humans and machines, but “it’s really humans versus humans” and humans with humans acting through their corporations and technology.
Research Interests:
In 2023, we welcomed a new university president, unveiled an inspirational new moniker, and were invited to join the Association of American Universities (AAU), the most prestigious group of research universities in North America. In... more
In 2023, we welcomed a new university president, unveiled an inspirational new moniker, and were invited to join the Association of American Universities (AAU), the most prestigious group of research universities in North America. In 2023, a number of GW faculty were recognized as exceptional scholars. Alexa Alice Joubin was the inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award, which commemorates the late feminist writer and activist bell hooks.
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin, a professor of English and a Columbian College of Arts & Sciences Faculty Administrative Fellow working on a project about AI in higher education, said she helps faculty struggling to identify cheating with AI tools by... more
Alexa Alice Joubin, a professor of English and a Columbian College of Arts & Sciences Faculty Administrative Fellow working on a project about AI in higher education, said she helps faculty struggling to identify cheating with AI tools by developing assignments that aren’t compatible with the technology and sharing ways to use the technology positively. Joubin said faculty are “incredibly frustrated” because the online AI detection tools designed to help instructors check for AI-generated work can’t reliably catch instances of the academic dishonesty. She said academic integrity cases related to AI don’t often escalate because suspecting faculty lack “hard evidence.”
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin, co-director of the Digital Humanities Institute, said she started using AI tools in her classroom in 2021 to help students with their writing assignments and design research questions. She said regenerative AI — which... more
Alexa Alice Joubin, co-director of the Digital Humanities Institute, said she started using AI tools in her classroom in 2021 to help students with their writing assignments and design research questions. She said regenerative AI — which responds to changing situations — is often subject to “hype” in the media and academics that makes it seem capable of writing entire papers, when in reality AI is still at a “very basic” stage. “It’s a tool,” Joubin said. “But it can accomplish only very limited tasks, not discursive tasks.” Joubin said she asked an AI system to design a frequently asked questions section for her syllabus. She added that she uses AI with students to help them refine their research questions to be more open ended, instead of yes-no questions or questions that might not suit research topics. Joubin said students should disclose when they use AI as a tool for writing, akin to how researchers disclose what scientific equipment they use to complete experiments. Joubin said she has her class complete multiple discussion boards instead of a midterm paper and converted her final exam into a two-minute film project to ensure her students produce “meaningful” and “personal” assignments. Joubin said she partly made the change to prevent cheating using ChatGPT because she feels students won’t outsource work they are passionate about to AI. ::: https://gwhatchet.com/2023/09/11/professors-to-add-ai-exercises-to-courses-syllabi/
Research Interests:
When ChatGPT was launched, Alexa Alice Joubin realized it was here to stay. She views it as her responsibility to teach students how to use it responsibly, not as a shortcut. “This technology is going to be with us, and students need... more
When ChatGPT was launched, Alexa Alice Joubin realized it was here to stay. She views it as her responsibility to teach students how to use it responsibly, not as a shortcut. “This technology is going to be with us, and students need employable skills in terms of curation, editorial repackaging and prompt engineering,” Joubin said. “They need to be able to formulate good queries—the quality of their queries is really important in this search-driven culture.” The skill to search for information and the ability to evaluate it are important assets in the job market and in life in general, Joubin said. “In our inquiry-driven culture, we need to know how to retrieve information through queries,” Joubin said. “Further, democratic society needs good question-askers as much as good problem-solvers. Asking key questions helps to advance scholarly fields, and students develop editorial, curatorial and critical questioning skills that are employable skills and the foundation of civil society in an era of ChatGPT.”
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin was recently interviewed by GW Today on the opportunities and danger that AI may present in higher education. In a recent panel discussion, Joubin noted that ChatGPT can "encourage mistaking synthesis for critical... more
Alexa Alice Joubin was recently interviewed by GW Today on the opportunities and danger that AI may present in higher education. In a recent panel discussion, Joubin noted that ChatGPT can "encourage mistaking synthesis for critical thinking", but also "encourage students to apply high-level editorial and curatorial skills" to generated material. ::: https://elliott.gwu.edu/new-research
Research Interests:
This is an excerpt of an interview with Alexa Alice Joubin about her intellectual journey, the idea of "foreignness," and her perspective on invisible and visible racial identities. Also discussed in the interview are her recent books,... more
This is an excerpt of an interview with Alexa Alice Joubin about her intellectual journey, the idea of "foreignness," and her perspective on invisible and visible racial identities. Also discussed in the interview are her recent books, Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford University Press) and Race (Routledge). She examines Shakespearean adaptation across the globe in small and in large ways. This is an excerpt of a longer interview with Joubin on global Shakespeare, pedagogies, social reparation, transgender theory, and representing disability in film. Prof. Thomas Dabbs (Aoyama Gakuin University) interviews Alexa Alice Joubin as part of the Japanese Ministry of Education's "Speaking of Shakespeare" series. :::: https://youtu.be/q6XzZvR4cQk
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All the world’s a stage, but the irony is the rest of the globe often has an easier time understanding William Shakespeare than English speakers. “English audiences are at a disadvantage because the language has evolved and is more and... more
All the world’s a stage, but the irony is the rest of the globe often has an easier time understanding William Shakespeare than English speakers. “English audiences are at a disadvantage because the language has evolved and is more and more distant. They need footnotes, props and staging to understand,” said Alexa Alice Joubin, a Shakespeare scholar at George Washington University. ::: http://www.stahome.org/quarto
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Alexa Alice Joubin said she has “embraced” AI in the classroom and taught students “prompt engineering,” a way of designing the most suitable prompt to provide the most ideal answer with ChatGPT to build on skills like designing research... more
Alexa Alice Joubin said she has “embraced” AI in the classroom and taught students “prompt engineering,” a way of designing the most suitable prompt to provide the most ideal answer with ChatGPT to build on skills like designing research questions. “AI is no different than when the calculator was first invented,” she said. “It was disruptive, but it didn’t kill math. The typewriter was invented and was disruptive, but it did not kill writing. AI is just another tool. I think overhyping it is really unhealthy because all those people who are doing the fearmongering have never spent time with this.” Joubin said ChatGPT would provide enhanced learning opportunities in her English classes through exercises where students can critique AI essays without the “uncomfortable” elements of critiquing another student’s writing in class.
Research Interests:
Advances in Artificial Intelligence, such as ChatGPT, brought GW faculty together for the first of many planned looks at the challenges—and opportunities. ::: Alexa Alice Joubin Joubin sees both danger and opportunity in the new software... more
Advances in Artificial Intelligence, such as ChatGPT, brought GW faculty together for the first of many planned looks at the challenges—and opportunities. ::: Alexa Alice Joubin Joubin sees both danger and opportunity in the new software — one of the dangers being the way ChatGPT can encourage mistaking synthesis for critical thinking. On the plus side, it can encourage students to apply high-level editorial and curatorial skills to material generated by ChatGPT. :::
“AI text is actually very repetitive at this point in time,” Joubin said, while noting that it can be expected to improve. ChatGPT may also not be reliable for current events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the technology is not going away, and the discussion of its use in the classroom will be ongoing.
“AI text is actually very repetitive at this point in time,” Joubin said, while noting that it can be expected to improve. ChatGPT may also not be reliable for current events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the technology is not going away, and the discussion of its use in the classroom will be ongoing.
Research Interests:
On the occasion of the premiere of Thomas Ostermeier’s Le roi Lear at Comedie Française in Paris (September 2022-February 2023), Agence France-Presse interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin on a topic pertaining to global Shakespeare. All... more
On the occasion of the premiere of Thomas Ostermeier’s Le roi Lear at Comedie Française in Paris (September 2022-February 2023), Agence France-Presse interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin on a topic pertaining to global Shakespeare.
All the world’s a stage but the irony is the rest of the globe often has an easier time understanding William Shakespeare than English speakers “who are at a disadvantage because the language has evolved and is more and more distant,” said Alexa Alice Joubin at George Washington University.
Foreign versions of Shakespeare have more freedom to update the language. Shakespeare’s global popularity shows that the plays are just as powerful without the original words. “There’s something innate in the characterisation and the way the stories are told that is iconic and unique,” said Joubin.
“Romeo and Juliet” is so popular, she said, not just for the language, but its fast pacing — rare for a tragedy.
The interview is also available on France24, ABS-CBN, Buenos Aires Times, and other media outlets worldwide.
All the world’s a stage but the irony is the rest of the globe often has an easier time understanding William Shakespeare than English speakers “who are at a disadvantage because the language has evolved and is more and more distant,” said Alexa Alice Joubin at George Washington University.
Foreign versions of Shakespeare have more freedom to update the language. Shakespeare’s global popularity shows that the plays are just as powerful without the original words. “There’s something innate in the characterisation and the way the stories are told that is iconic and unique,” said Joubin.
“Romeo and Juliet” is so popular, she said, not just for the language, but its fast pacing — rare for a tragedy.
The interview is also available on France24, ABS-CBN, Buenos Aires Times, and other media outlets worldwide.
Research Interests:
NexStar TV interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin for ABC-8 News on a new quarter coin. Asian American actress Anna May Wong will be featured on the quarter as part of a new series focused on celebrating important women in U.S. history.... more
NexStar TV interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin for ABC-8 News on a new quarter coin. Asian American actress Anna May Wong will be featured on the quarter as part of a new series focused on celebrating important women in U.S. history.
George Washington University Professor Alexa Alice Joubin is excited about the new coins: “Having this symbol of U.S. commitment to diversity is really important to our community.”
Anna May Wong’s time as an actress was marked by discrimination. She often faced bias and was cast in stereotypical roles, which she vocally fought against. Joubin reminded us that the racism against Asian Americans that Wong faced isn’t only in the past. “This is an occasion for us to remember that some of these problems persist,” Joubin said.
George Washington University Professor Alexa Alice Joubin is excited about the new coins: “Having this symbol of U.S. commitment to diversity is really important to our community.”
Anna May Wong’s time as an actress was marked by discrimination. She often faced bias and was cast in stereotypical roles, which she vocally fought against. Joubin reminded us that the racism against Asian Americans that Wong faced isn’t only in the past. “This is an occasion for us to remember that some of these problems persist,” Joubin said.
Research Interests:
You are cordially invited to visit https://ajoubin.org/ where you can find my publications
Research Interests: Critical Theory, Gender Studies, Theatre Studies, Feminist Theory, Globalization, and 13 moreFilm Studies, Performance Studies, Shakespeare, Critical Race Theory, Race and Ethnicity, East Asian Studies, Feminism, Renaissance drama, Shakespearean Drama, Sinophone Literature, William Shakespeare, Global Shakespeare, and Diasporic and Sinophone Writing
Literary translation is a love affair, says Alexa Alice Joubin, the author of Shakespeare in East Asia. A translator has to reach beyond the words to access the ideas and emotions contained in a text, and try to reconfigure them in a new... more
Literary translation is a love affair, says Alexa Alice Joubin, the author of Shakespeare in East Asia. A translator has to reach beyond the words to access the ideas and emotions contained in a text, and try to reconfigure them in a new language. :::::
CBC Radio-Canada interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin in this episode. “Through a translation, we can learn a great deal about how others think about the same topics or stories, and we can find kindred spirits. We can actually also rediscover ourselves through translations,” said Joubin. In translation, Hamlet has the potential to become a more politically-charged play, she said. “In English language traditions, people tend to think it’s about procrastination.” :::::
Joubin says translation offers a new way to think about Shakespeare — as well as about the world we live in. “The world is rich and beautiful. Very often people are more entrenched, maybe because of linguistic and cultural limitations. They simply stand at the same spot and look at the world,” she said. “[Then] they figure, maybe I can move an inch. What would it look like from this point of view?” :::::
Guests in this episode:
Alexa Alice Joubin is professor of English, Theatre, International Affairs and East Asian Languages and Cultures at George Washington University. At MIT, she is co-founder and co-director of the open access Global Shakespeares digital performance archive, which includes Shakespeare performances in translation from around the world. :::::
Alberto Manguel is an Argentine-Canadian translator and writer, and a former director of the National Library of Argentina. He now leads the Center for Research into the History of Reading in Lisbon. :::::
Irena Makaryk is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Ottawa. She studies how different cultures and periods reinterpret, revise, transform, and employ Shakespeare’s work, especially in times of political upheaval such as the Russian Revolution, World War Two and the war in Afghanistan. ::::: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/how-translating-shakespeare-s-plays-reveals-new-ideas-from-china-to-afghanistan-1.6234629
CBC Radio-Canada interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin in this episode. “Through a translation, we can learn a great deal about how others think about the same topics or stories, and we can find kindred spirits. We can actually also rediscover ourselves through translations,” said Joubin. In translation, Hamlet has the potential to become a more politically-charged play, she said. “In English language traditions, people tend to think it’s about procrastination.” :::::
Joubin says translation offers a new way to think about Shakespeare — as well as about the world we live in. “The world is rich and beautiful. Very often people are more entrenched, maybe because of linguistic and cultural limitations. They simply stand at the same spot and look at the world,” she said. “[Then] they figure, maybe I can move an inch. What would it look like from this point of view?” :::::
Guests in this episode:
Alexa Alice Joubin is professor of English, Theatre, International Affairs and East Asian Languages and Cultures at George Washington University. At MIT, she is co-founder and co-director of the open access Global Shakespeares digital performance archive, which includes Shakespeare performances in translation from around the world. :::::
Alberto Manguel is an Argentine-Canadian translator and writer, and a former director of the National Library of Argentina. He now leads the Center for Research into the History of Reading in Lisbon. :::::
Irena Makaryk is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Ottawa. She studies how different cultures and periods reinterpret, revise, transform, and employ Shakespeare’s work, especially in times of political upheaval such as the Russian Revolution, World War Two and the war in Afghanistan. ::::: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/how-translating-shakespeare-s-plays-reveals-new-ideas-from-china-to-afghanistan-1.6234629
Research Interests:
https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/podcasts/shakespeare-alive/ :::: "Alexa talks to Anjna about her fascinating research and new book, Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford, 2021). Covering everything from Romeo and Juliet in... more
https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/podcasts/shakespeare-alive/ :::: "Alexa talks to Anjna about her fascinating research and new book, Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford, 2021). Covering everything from Romeo and Juliet in Singlish, to Japanese productions of King Lear, Alexa offers a crucial and much-needed insight into the political as well as cultural significance of Shakespeare across East Asia. She also chooses a coveted delight from our collection, and makes a superb suggestion for a Singaporean addition to our archive." Transcript https://shakespearealive.buzzsprout.com/1438858/8469929-shakespeare-and-east-asia-with-alexa-alice-joubin https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/podcasts/shakespeare-alive/
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Globalization, Film Studies, Performance Studies, Transgender Studies, and 13 moreShakespeare, Critical Race Theory, East Asian Studies, Diaspora Studies, Adaptation (Film Studies), Accents, Hamlet, Shakespeare in Performance, King Lear, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Global Shakespeare, and intercultural adaptations of Shakespeare
How might we de-colonize hegemonic knowledge production about East Asia and its relationship with the West? This interview with Alexa Alice Joubin draws on new perspectives on cultural exchange in her book, Shakespeare and East Asia... more
How might we de-colonize hegemonic knowledge production about East Asia and its relationship with the West? This interview with Alexa Alice Joubin draws on new perspectives on cultural exchange in her book, Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford University Press, 2021), which promotes treatment of Asian performing arts as original epistemologies rather than footnotes to the white, Western canon and theory. We also present her latest thinking on multidisciplinarity. Her work, including Race (Routledge, 2019), has sought to deconstruct what she calls "compulsory realpolitik"-the conviction that the best way to understand non-Western cultures is by interpreting their engagement with pragmatic politics. In tandem with Anglo-Eurocentrism, she argues, compulsory realpolitik leads to the habitual privileging of the nation-state as a unit to organize knowledge. :::::
In August 2021, David Kenley and William Sewell met with Alexa Alice Joubin to discuss her recent book. At the time of their meeting, Americans were experiencing the fourth surge in COVID-19 cases, Taiwan had started administering its own homegrown vaccine, and Japan was recovering from its just-completed “pandemic Olympics.” Anti-Asian racism was frighteningly prevalent in the United States and Sinophobic attitudes were on the rise throughout much of East Asia. At the same time, venues were struggling to reopen to bring both live theater as well as cinematic productions back to the public. Joubin’s work on race and gender across cultures is all the more relevant in the current political climate, and our conversation touched on how promoting understanding Asian cultures can help fight anti-Asian racism. :::: ISSN: 21660042
In August 2021, David Kenley and William Sewell met with Alexa Alice Joubin to discuss her recent book. At the time of their meeting, Americans were experiencing the fourth surge in COVID-19 cases, Taiwan had started administering its own homegrown vaccine, and Japan was recovering from its just-completed “pandemic Olympics.” Anti-Asian racism was frighteningly prevalent in the United States and Sinophobic attitudes were on the rise throughout much of East Asia. At the same time, venues were struggling to reopen to bring both live theater as well as cinematic productions back to the public. Joubin’s work on race and gender across cultures is all the more relevant in the current political climate, and our conversation touched on how promoting understanding Asian cultures can help fight anti-Asian racism. :::: ISSN: 21660042
Research Interests:
What will the next 75 years of the Fulbright Association bring? We asked Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors to respond to several Big Talk questions about Fulbright and its future. We asked Alexa Alice Joubin: Tell us about the one thing that... more
What will the next 75 years of the Fulbright Association bring? We asked Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors to respond to several Big Talk questions about Fulbright and its future. We asked Alexa Alice Joubin: Tell us about the one thing that you shared about yourself or your community during your Fulbright experience that added to the host community’s understanding of what it means to be “American.” She said “During my Fulbright year in London, we discussed, in the classroom and in various workshops, how the British and Americans use different vocabularies to talk about racial relationships. As an Asian American woman, I hope my presence enabled British students of color to feel represented, and inspired them both to examine exclusionary practices in our own times and to reevaluate Shakespeare as a gender-inclusive and anti-racist canon.”
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Shakespeare’s plays enjoy a great deal of popularity across the world, yet most of us study Shakespeare’s local productions. Alexa Alice Joubin‘s Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford 2021) addresses this gap through a wide-ranging analysis... more
Shakespeare’s plays enjoy a great deal of popularity across the world, yet most of us study Shakespeare’s local productions. Alexa Alice Joubin‘s Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford 2021) addresses this gap through a wide-ranging analysis of stage and film adaptations related to Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the US and UK, including Asian American works.
This book focuses on post-1950 adaptations that were distributed across or associated with the Sinophone world and East Asia. She identifies a quartet of characteristics that distinguish these adaptations: innovations in form, the use of Shakespeare for social critiques, the questioning of gender roles, and the development of multilingual patterns of circulation.
The adaptations are alternately funny, dramatic, and thought-provoking, but never boring.
Podcast: https://newbooksnetwork.com/shakespeare-and-east-asia
This book focuses on post-1950 adaptations that were distributed across or associated with the Sinophone world and East Asia. She identifies a quartet of characteristics that distinguish these adaptations: innovations in form, the use of Shakespeare for social critiques, the questioning of gender roles, and the development of multilingual patterns of circulation.
The adaptations are alternately funny, dramatic, and thought-provoking, but never boring.
Podcast: https://newbooksnetwork.com/shakespeare-and-east-asia
Research Interests:
The Tsikinya-Chaka Centre supports researchers, teachers and arts practitioners whose work is informed by historical and/or contemporary translation, adaptation and appropriation beyond the narrow national and linguistic confines of... more
The Tsikinya-Chaka Centre supports researchers, teachers and arts practitioners whose work is informed by historical and/or contemporary translation, adaptation and appropriation beyond the narrow national and linguistic confines of ‘English’ Shakespeare.
Research Interests:
During the 2021 SCREENSHOT: Asia Film Festival, the As We Like It, directed by Muni Wei and Chen Hung-i, was screened. The Taiwanese film is a youthful and modern taken on Shakespeare’s play that critiques exclusion of women from... more
During the 2021 SCREENSHOT: Asia Film Festival, the As We Like It, directed by Muni Wei and Chen Hung-i, was screened. The Taiwanese film is a youthful and modern taken on Shakespeare’s play that critiques exclusion of women from Shakespearian classics. ::: Charles Exley of the University of Pittsburgh interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin, Professor of English, Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, East Asian Languages and Literatures, and international Affairs at George Washington University, about the significance of Shakespeare as a global text to Asia. ::: YouTube https://youtu.be/0c_2Poxomgk ::: film festival https://screenshot.pitt.edu/
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Join us in April as we toast the Bard and chat with creatives about the ways in which Shakespeare has inspired our stories, passion projects, and careers. :::: Hosted by the HARK Journal
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Maia Silbe, "A new show imagines a punk rock Shakespeare — the latest of our many fantasies about the bard." Washington Post, July 7, 2017 /////// Alexa Alice Joubin, a professor of English and Shakespeare scholar at George Washington... more
Maia Silbe, "A new show imagines a punk rock Shakespeare — the latest of our many fantasies about the bard." Washington Post, July 7, 2017 ///////
Alexa Alice Joubin, a professor of English and Shakespeare scholar at George Washington University, says that representations of the writer’s life fall into three categories. There are parodies, such as the BBC Two sitcom “Upstart Crow,” which imagines Shakespeare as a hapless Stratford dad with a daughter who rolls her eyes at his puns. Then there are dramas, such as Roland Emmerich’s film “Anonymous” (tagline: “Was Shakespeare a fraud?”), which draw on fringe academic theories about Shakespeare’s authorship. And finally, there are fantasies, such as the Academy Award-winning movie “Shakespeare in Love,” which imagine a Shakespearean life as full of romance and tragedy as a Shakespearean play.
Though these categories employ different means — mockery, conspiracy, romanticization — all aim to show that “Shakespeare’s not the person he appears to be,” Joubin says. Or rather that he, the source of those lines so familiar as to seem originless, is a person at all.
Alexa Alice Joubin, a professor of English and Shakespeare scholar at George Washington University, says that representations of the writer’s life fall into three categories. There are parodies, such as the BBC Two sitcom “Upstart Crow,” which imagines Shakespeare as a hapless Stratford dad with a daughter who rolls her eyes at his puns. Then there are dramas, such as Roland Emmerich’s film “Anonymous” (tagline: “Was Shakespeare a fraud?”), which draw on fringe academic theories about Shakespeare’s authorship. And finally, there are fantasies, such as the Academy Award-winning movie “Shakespeare in Love,” which imagine a Shakespearean life as full of romance and tragedy as a Shakespearean play.
Though these categories employ different means — mockery, conspiracy, romanticization — all aim to show that “Shakespeare’s not the person he appears to be,” Joubin says. Or rather that he, the source of those lines so familiar as to seem originless, is a person at all.
Research Interests:
Shakespeare Week 2017 celebration, organized by the US Department of State and US-UK Fulbright Commission
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Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford, 2021) explores distinctive themes in post-1950s Asian-themed performances and adaptations of Shakespeare. In this Snapshot, Alexa Alice Joubin discusses the book and the importance of wider research into... more
Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford, 2021) explores distinctive themes in post-1950s Asian-themed performances and adaptations of Shakespeare. In this Snapshot, Alexa Alice Joubin discusses the book and the importance of wider research into Global Shakespeares.
Research Interests:
https://shakespeareargentina.org/en/congratulations-message-from-alexa-alice-joubin/ ::::: "We share and appreciate the warm message of greeting and congratulations to the directors of the Fundación Shakespeare Argentina for the tenth... more
https://shakespeareargentina.org/en/congratulations-message-from-alexa-alice-joubin/ ::::: "We share and appreciate the warm message of greeting and congratulations to the directors of the Fundación Shakespeare Argentina for the tenth anniversary of our institution sent by Alexa Alice Joubin, member of our International Advisory Council."
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"This #WomensHistoryMonth we’re highlighting some of the impressive women we have in our Elliott School community! Today, we’re celebrating Alexa Alice Joubin, Professor of English, Theatre, International Affairs, East Asian Languages and... more
"This #WomensHistoryMonth we’re highlighting some of the impressive women we have in our Elliott School community! Today, we’re celebrating Alexa Alice Joubin, Professor of English, Theatre, International Affairs, East Asian Languages and Cultures, and affiliated faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies."
Research Interests:
When did you know you wanted a career in academia? For all my life, I have been looking for a place to call home, which is why I became interested in how narratives are transformed when they move across boundaries of all kinds. I have... more
When did you know you wanted a career in academia?
For all my life, I have been looking for a place to call home, which is why I became interested in how narratives are transformed when they move across boundaries of all kinds. I have always longed to travel, and a career in the academia is a ticket to the wider world. Story-telling makes us human because it helps us understand the human condition in different contexts. It is a privilege and a unique responsibility to teach globalization in downtown Washington, D.C. I am proud to have answered my calling to tell stories and to show others how to listen for silenced voices.
For all my life, I have been looking for a place to call home, which is why I became interested in how narratives are transformed when they move across boundaries of all kinds. I have always longed to travel, and a career in the academia is a ticket to the wider world. Story-telling makes us human because it helps us understand the human condition in different contexts. It is a privilege and a unique responsibility to teach globalization in downtown Washington, D.C. I am proud to have answered my calling to tell stories and to show others how to listen for silenced voices.
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin's book Race is quoted in a post about race by Scholarly Kitchen: “Race often brings to mind people who are not white, while whiteness remains unmarked and serves as a benchmark category‚ as if white is not a race. … The... more
Alexa Alice Joubin's book Race is quoted in a post about race by Scholarly Kitchen: “Race often brings to mind people who are not white, while whiteness remains unmarked and serves as a benchmark category‚ as if white is not a race. … The construction of race is a process that emphasizes subjection and responsiveness to the demands of others.”
Research Interests:
How did Shakespeare go viral around the globe? Join us in this Wondros podcast to find out. https://youtu.be/Qa62rj7XNjc
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin is a professor of English, women's, gender and sexuality studies, theatre, international affairs, and East Asian languages and literatures. She co-founded and currently co-directs the GW Digital Humanities Institute. An... more
Alexa Alice Joubin is a professor of English, women's, gender and sexuality studies, theatre, international affairs, and East Asian languages and literatures. She co-founded and currently co-directs the GW Digital Humanities Institute. An award-winning researcher and writer, she is an expert on race and gender in film and theatre, particularly global performances of Shakespeare. ::: https://mediarelations.gwu.edu/arts-entertainment-experts ::: https://mediarelations.gwu.edu/humanities-experts
Research Interests:
http://www.thegranitetower.com/ :::: Ji Su Oh interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin on strategies to fight anti-Asian racism and misogyny in the United States. The interview appeared in the Granite, published by Korea University, Seoul, South... more
http://www.thegranitetower.com/ :::: Ji Su Oh interviewed Alexa Alice Joubin on strategies to fight anti-Asian racism and misogyny in the United States. The interview appeared in the Granite, published by Korea University, Seoul, South Korea :::::: Race, like many identity markers, is social shorthand for articulating differences. Re-thinking racialized discourses estranges what is taken for granted. We study race historically not only to find roots of modern racism, but also to discover other views that may have been obscured by more dominant ideologies such as colonialism. :::: Popular media often portray the Asian community as perpetual foreigners who are defined by their inscrutable languages and food. On the other hand, the media also spin stereotypes about Asian-Americans as a model minority who are hard-working and assimilate well into North American society. However, these seemingly positive stereotypes are harmful by rendering an entire community politically invisible. Further, films and television programming either lack Asian representation or focus only on negative portrayal of Asian characters, such as the idea that Asian women are either dolls or cunning femme fatale.
Research Interests:
Prof. Thomas Dabbs (Aoyama Gakuin University) interviews Alexa Alice Joubin as part of the Japanese Ministry of Education's "Speaking of Shakespeare" series. The project, Digital Studies in Early Modern Drama and Digital Outreach, is... more
Prof. Thomas Dabbs (Aoyama Gakuin University) interviews Alexa Alice Joubin as part of the Japanese Ministry of Education's "Speaking of Shakespeare" series. The project, Digital Studies in Early Modern Drama and Digital Outreach, is sponsored by the Kaken C grant of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. https://youtu.be/LfGWxAjTMDE ::::: Highlights 0:01:55 Shakespeare and East Asia 0:11:30 Alexa’s cultural background 0:23:20 Global Shakespeare 0:27:30 Alexa’s American experience and racial identity 0:42:20 Decolonizing Shakespeare 0:49:40 The ethics of Shakespearean appropriation 0:58:15 Concrete examples of Shakespearean appropriation 1:06:38 Shakespeare in translation 1:11:35 MIT Global Shakespeares
Research Interests:
Asian Americans have been spat on, verbally assaulted and physically attacked in more than a thousand race-related incidents in the United States as a result of fear evoked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Alexa Alice Joubin, professor of... more
Asian Americans have been spat on, verbally assaulted and physically attacked in more than a thousand race-related incidents in the United States as a result of fear evoked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alexa Alice Joubin, professor of English and international affairs, women’s studies and East Asian languages and cultures, provided a historical context for the discussion. She said connecting the language of disease to racism is not a new phenomenon. For example, it was seen in an 1886 soap advertisement “for kicking the Chinese out of the U.S.,” she said, and dubbed “yellow fever” in reference to white men who have a fetish for Asian women.
Joubin said the language is associated with a history of discrimination against Chinese that made it into U.S. law, including the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Cable Act that prevented Chinese from becoming citizens even when they married U.S. citizens.
It will take all of our cognitive ability, analytical reasoning “to concentrate and harness our resources to combat disinformation,” she said, “Our greatest fight is about fear.”
Alexa Alice Joubin, professor of English and international affairs, women’s studies and East Asian languages and cultures, provided a historical context for the discussion. She said connecting the language of disease to racism is not a new phenomenon. For example, it was seen in an 1886 soap advertisement “for kicking the Chinese out of the U.S.,” she said, and dubbed “yellow fever” in reference to white men who have a fetish for Asian women.
Joubin said the language is associated with a history of discrimination against Chinese that made it into U.S. law, including the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Cable Act that prevented Chinese from becoming citizens even when they married U.S. citizens.
It will take all of our cognitive ability, analytical reasoning “to concentrate and harness our resources to combat disinformation,” she said, “Our greatest fight is about fear.”
Research Interests:
With her new book, Race (in Routledge’s New Critical Idiom series), Alexa Alice Joubin offers readers a guide to understanding the concept of race in historical and contemporary legislative, medical, and political contexts. The book also... more
With her new book, Race (in Routledge’s New Critical Idiom series), Alexa Alice Joubin offers readers a guide to understanding the concept of race in historical and contemporary legislative, medical, and political contexts. The book also takes readers beyond the US to understand nuances of racial discourses in other parts of the world. To celebrate the publication, Professor Joubin offered additional insight on Race:
Research Interests:
Penta is a subsidiary of the Barron's magazine ///// Alexa Alice Joubin, who teaches at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., says “So much of China negotiating with Western culture is about negotiating power,” she says.... more
Penta is a subsidiary of the Barron's magazine ///// Alexa Alice Joubin, who teaches at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., says “So much of China negotiating with Western culture is about negotiating power,” she says. “Shakespeare is always caught up in that.” Observing that the Shakespeare replicas will be part of a development called Sanweng (literally “Three Masters”), which also pays tribute to the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes and the Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu (who died in 1616, the same year as Shakespeare), Joubin argues the project is partly about asserting Chinese culture on the global stage. “It’s definitely two-way. It’s about saying to the world, ‘Hey, our culture is a global culture, the equal of yours,’ ” she says.
Research Interests:
Like many countries, China had a busy schedule of Shakespeare-themed celebrations in 2016, 400 years after his death. There were plays, lectures and even plans announced for the rebuilding of his hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, at... more
Like many countries, China had a busy schedule of Shakespeare-themed celebrations in 2016, 400 years after his death. There were plays, lectures and even plans announced for the rebuilding of his hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, at Sanweng-upon-Min in Jiangxi province.
The anniversary of Shakespeare’s death is now over, but officially inspired adulation of Tang carries on (a musical about him premiered in September in Fuzhou, his birthplace—see picture). Chinese media say that a recent hit song, “The New Peony Pavilion”, is likely to be performed at the end of this month on state television’s annual gala which is broadcast on the eve of the lunar new year. It is often described as the world’s most-watched television programme. Officials want to cultivate pride in Chinese literature, and boost foreign awareness of it. It is part of what they like to call China’s “soft power”.
The anniversary of Shakespeare’s death is now over, but officially inspired adulation of Tang carries on (a musical about him premiered in September in Fuzhou, his birthplace—see picture). Chinese media say that a recent hit song, “The New Peony Pavilion”, is likely to be performed at the end of this month on state television’s annual gala which is broadcast on the eve of the lunar new year. It is often described as the world’s most-watched television programme. Officials want to cultivate pride in Chinese literature, and boost foreign awareness of it. It is part of what they like to call China’s “soft power”.
Research Interests:
Alexa Alice Joubin’s new book offers a global and historic understanding of the term race. The book argues that the concept of race is entangled with empirical knowledge, misinformation and ideology that seek to justify and sustain... more
Alexa Alice Joubin’s new book offers a global and historic understanding of the term race. The book argues that the concept of race is entangled with empirical knowledge, misinformation and ideology that seek to justify and sustain particular beliefs and is often articulated in the form of stereotypes that condense perceived behavioral patterns with biological features. Race becomes notable when groups have come into contact with other groups.
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The op-ed quoted Alexa Alice Joubin's congressional briefing on "Globalization and the Humanities in the Twenty-first Century" -- "In our age of globalization, understanding other peoples’ stories means the difference between being a... more
The op-ed quoted Alexa Alice Joubin's congressional briefing on "Globalization and the Humanities in the Twenty-first Century" -- "In our age of globalization, understanding other peoples’ stories means the difference between being a window shopper and being an informed decision maker in international arenas."
https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/extra/globalization-and-the-humanities-in-the-twenty-first-century/
https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Humanities-Must-Go-on-the/247673?key=ru53T2OqzfFxl6vyxrUoEXDVPeLeNrBbxW8i0NgVvNE0-SpcsN4KPaHDyRomiA_aZWdsWVBuRDJ5WGZ2Tno3bFJlckJ4X3JvOHYxVVg3dHV0VmtLc2xSbENJZw&fbclid=IwAR1OJVzICGZ9pMymdZ8D2F5T8eFSg8rsP8Ua1Y-SNtFOfp7RyDCQTxsHf0E
https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/extra/globalization-and-the-humanities-in-the-twenty-first-century/
https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Humanities-Must-Go-on-the/247673?key=ru53T2OqzfFxl6vyxrUoEXDVPeLeNrBbxW8i0NgVvNE0-SpcsN4KPaHDyRomiA_aZWdsWVBuRDJ5WGZ2Tno3bFJlckJ4X3JvOHYxVVg3dHV0VmtLc2xSbENJZw&fbclid=IwAR1OJVzICGZ9pMymdZ8D2F5T8eFSg8rsP8Ua1Y-SNtFOfp7RyDCQTxsHf0E
Research Interests:
Published by George Washington University Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, October 2019 https://columbian.gwu.edu/gw-arts-sciences-magazine If race is a central part of human identity, can one own or disown one’s race? To which... more
Published by George Washington University Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, October 2019
https://columbian.gwu.edu/gw-arts-sciences-magazine
If race is a central part of human identity, can one own or disown one’s race? To which community would a multiracial person, immigrant, or diasporic subject belong? What future is there for race as a viable concept? Professor of English Alexa Alice Joubin breaks new ground in critical race studies by placing “race” at the intersections of gender, class, whiteness, blackness, and “invisible races” in South Africa, Israel, India, Western Europe, US, East Asia, and Asian America. From Black Lives Matter to #MeToo movements, the book close reads a wide array of cases of racialized language from the Middle Ages to Renaissance to the twentieth century and demonstrates that race is profoundly constituted by language and narratives.
https://columbian.gwu.edu/gw-arts-sciences-magazine
If race is a central part of human identity, can one own or disown one’s race? To which community would a multiracial person, immigrant, or diasporic subject belong? What future is there for race as a viable concept? Professor of English Alexa Alice Joubin breaks new ground in critical race studies by placing “race” at the intersections of gender, class, whiteness, blackness, and “invisible races” in South Africa, Israel, India, Western Europe, US, East Asia, and Asian America. From Black Lives Matter to #MeToo movements, the book close reads a wide array of cases of racialized language from the Middle Ages to Renaissance to the twentieth century and demonstrates that race is profoundly constituted by language and narratives.
Research Interests:
Alexa’s publications cross several disciplines. The following profile focuses only on Alexa’s contribution to Asian studies and omits her work in early modern and Shakespeare studies. Alexa’s latest book is entitled Race... more
Alexa’s publications cross several disciplines. The following profile focuses only on Alexa’s contribution to Asian studies and omits her work in early modern and Shakespeare studies.
Alexa’s latest book is entitled Race (https://www.routledge.com/Race/Orkin-Joubin/p/book/9781138904699). It is part of Routledge’s Critical Idiom series. Co-authored with postcolonial theorist Martin Orkin, this is a major new work in the field, because it draws on culturally and historically diverse materials, particularly non-North American and non-Western European case studies at the intersections of gender, disability, and race. If race is a central part of human identity, can one own or disown one’s race? To which community would a multiracial person, immigrant, or diasporic subject belong? How do ideas of race intersect with gender? What future is there for race as a viable analytical concept? The book argues that ideas about race rely on epistemologies of otherness—the location-specific formation and dissemination of knowledge. From Israel, South Africa, Germany, France, South American colonial history, India and British expatriate culture to Asian-American history and Japanese and Chinese mythologies; from Black Lives Matter movements to #MeToo movements, the book close reads a wide array of examples from the Middle Ages to Renaissance to the twentieth century.
Alexa’s latest book is entitled Race (https://www.routledge.com/Race/Orkin-Joubin/p/book/9781138904699). It is part of Routledge’s Critical Idiom series. Co-authored with postcolonial theorist Martin Orkin, this is a major new work in the field, because it draws on culturally and historically diverse materials, particularly non-North American and non-Western European case studies at the intersections of gender, disability, and race. If race is a central part of human identity, can one own or disown one’s race? To which community would a multiracial person, immigrant, or diasporic subject belong? How do ideas of race intersect with gender? What future is there for race as a viable analytical concept? The book argues that ideas about race rely on epistemologies of otherness—the location-specific formation and dissemination of knowledge. From Israel, South Africa, Germany, France, South American colonial history, India and British expatriate culture to Asian-American history and Japanese and Chinese mythologies; from Black Lives Matter movements to #MeToo movements, the book close reads a wide array of examples from the Middle Ages to Renaissance to the twentieth century.
Research Interests:
Interview about Alexa Alice Joubin's new book on "Race" (Routledge Critical New Idiom series). Alexa Alice Joubin published a new book, Race, in Routledge’s New Critical Idiom series. Co-authored with postcolonial theorist Martin... more
Interview about Alexa Alice Joubin's new book on "Race" (Routledge Critical New Idiom series).
Alexa Alice Joubin published a new book, Race, in Routledge’s New Critical Idiom series. Co-authored with postcolonial theorist Martin Orkin, this is a major new work in the field, because it draws on culturally and historically diverse materials to examine the intersections of race and gender, whiteness, blackness in a global context and race in South Africa, Israel, India, Europe, the United States, East Asia and Asian America. From Black Lives Matter movements to #MeToo movements, the book close reads a wide array of examples from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance to the 20th century.
If race is a central part of human identity, can one own or disown one’s race? To which community would a multiracial person, an immigrant or a diasporic subject belong? What future is there for race as a viable analytical concept? The book argues that race is profoundly constituted by language and narratives. Race is a signifier that accumulates meaning by a chain of deferral to other categories of difference such as gender and class.
Co-writing a book involves both singing side by side and ventriloquism. This book started its life in Martin’s notebook. After Martin fell ill, Alexa took over the project but tried to preserve both voices.
In the United States, race often brings to mind people who are not white, while whiteness remains unmarked and serves as a benchmark category—as if white is not a race. The second feature in American racial discourses is the alignment of a race-based social group with innate or inner qualities rather than class. Third, the focus on black and white sometimes obscures other groups within the United States, such that Hispanics, Latinos, Chicanos, Asian Americans and Native Americans often fall under the rubric of ethnicities rather than “race.”
Alexa Alice Joubin published a new book, Race, in Routledge’s New Critical Idiom series. Co-authored with postcolonial theorist Martin Orkin, this is a major new work in the field, because it draws on culturally and historically diverse materials to examine the intersections of race and gender, whiteness, blackness in a global context and race in South Africa, Israel, India, Europe, the United States, East Asia and Asian America. From Black Lives Matter movements to #MeToo movements, the book close reads a wide array of examples from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance to the 20th century.
If race is a central part of human identity, can one own or disown one’s race? To which community would a multiracial person, an immigrant or a diasporic subject belong? What future is there for race as a viable analytical concept? The book argues that race is profoundly constituted by language and narratives. Race is a signifier that accumulates meaning by a chain of deferral to other categories of difference such as gender and class.
Co-writing a book involves both singing side by side and ventriloquism. This book started its life in Martin’s notebook. After Martin fell ill, Alexa took over the project but tried to preserve both voices.
In the United States, race often brings to mind people who are not white, while whiteness remains unmarked and serves as a benchmark category—as if white is not a race. The second feature in American racial discourses is the alignment of a race-based social group with innate or inner qualities rather than class. Third, the focus on black and white sometimes obscures other groups within the United States, such that Hispanics, Latinos, Chicanos, Asian Americans and Native Americans often fall under the rubric of ethnicities rather than “race.”
Research Interests:
This is part of a series of interviews with working Shakespeareans, how they got started in the field, and their ongoing interests. This month, Jeffrey Kahan spoke with Alexa Alice Joubin at George Washington University in Washington,... more
This is part of a series of interviews with working Shakespeareans, how they got started in the field, and their ongoing interests. This month, Jeffrey Kahan spoke with Alexa Alice Joubin at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Alexa is the co-founder and co-director of that university’s Digital Humanities Institute. Alexa spoke candidly about how she was shipwrecked on a foreign shore when she was born, and how Shakespeare showed her a path to embodiment. She shared tips for graduate students as well as her thoughts on the state of the profession. She said that “We are on borrowed time, and we don’t have the luxury of living someone else’s dream. When my time is up, I want to be able to say that I have pursued a full life, a life that is raw, passionate, and not scripted.” What are your dreams?
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This is the second of a two-part interview with Alexa Alice Joubin on global Shakespeare and pedagogy. We spoke to her on a range of topics, including how best to incorporate the issues of globalization into the standard undergraduate... more
This is the second of a two-part interview with Alexa Alice Joubin on global Shakespeare and pedagogy. We spoke to her on a range of topics, including how best to incorporate the issues of globalization into the standard undergraduate Shakespeare course.
Alexa said that “Global Shakespeare as a curricular component answers the competing demands of internationalizing education to prepare our next generation for a complex world and of sustaining traditional canons. There are many ways to incorporate issues of politics, reception, and aesthetics raised by global Shakespeare into standard undergraduate Shakespeare courses.” We can “teach familiar texts in estranged settings” because slow reading has many benefits. “Different cultural frameworks and translations slow us down and compel us to rethink what we assume to be familiar.”
Alexa said that “Global Shakespeare as a curricular component answers the competing demands of internationalizing education to prepare our next generation for a complex world and of sustaining traditional canons. There are many ways to incorporate issues of politics, reception, and aesthetics raised by global Shakespeare into standard undergraduate Shakespeare courses.” We can “teach familiar texts in estranged settings” because slow reading has many benefits. “Different cultural frameworks and translations slow us down and compel us to rethink what we assume to be familiar.”
Research Interests:
Artificial intelligence is a feminist issue, and technologies often have colonial implications. In fact, technologies as disruptive agents are inherently queer. This course examines the long history of technologies leading up to the... more
Artificial intelligence is a feminist issue, and technologies often have colonial implications. In fact, technologies as disruptive agents are inherently queer. This course examines the long history of technologies leading up to the public release of ChatGPT. We will chart the Western societies’ apprehension of and faith in, as the case may be, technologies of masculinist representation practices, as evidenced by science fiction, philosophical writing, and film culture.
Students learn in a hands-on environment and conduct individual research projects. From generative AI as assistive technologies to long-standing humanistic questions of agency, identity, and mind and body, critical theory provides essential tools to participate in current cultural discourses.
Through the lens of social justice, this course equips students with critical AI literacy as well as fluency in posthumanism, feminism, trans/ queer studies, and critical race theory.
Students learn in a hands-on environment and conduct individual research projects. From generative AI as assistive technologies to long-standing humanistic questions of agency, identity, and mind and body, critical theory provides essential tools to participate in current cultural discourses.
Through the lens of social justice, this course equips students with critical AI literacy as well as fluency in posthumanism, feminism, trans/ queer studies, and critical race theory.
Research Interests:
Screening Shakespeare by Alexa Alice Joubin covers four key aspects of filmmaking: mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound and music, and film theory. It draws on film adaptations of Shakespeare as case studies to explain these concepts,... more
Screening Shakespeare by Alexa Alice Joubin covers four key aspects of filmmaking: mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound and music, and film theory. It draws on film adaptations of Shakespeare as case studies to explain these concepts, beginning with formal and cultural analysis of film as a medium. Supported by the George Washington University Adapting Course Materials for Equity Faculty Grant (news story) and the Online Course Development grant, GW Digital Humanities Institute, and GW Coders, Screening Shakespeare is an openly licensed, open-access, online textbook with interactive learning modules. This web-based textbook is designed with the principle of equitable redundancy and multimodal access, providing multiple, curated and self-guided, pathways to the contents. You are cordially invited to “roam around” and chart your own path through the lesson units (presented as “tiles”) which are designed to be read in any order. Click one of the thematic “tiles” on the homepage to access the contents in a non-linear fashion. You can also navigate this site in a more traditional manner. The drop-down menus that replicate the experience of leafing through a codex book. :::: https://screenshakespeare.org/
Research Interests:
In the era of #BlackLivesMatter and #MeTo, how do we engage with classical texts that are traditionally associated with colonial and patriarchal practices? :::: Through the lenses of critical race and gender theories, this intensive... more
In the era of #BlackLivesMatter and #MeTo, how do we engage with classical texts that are traditionally associated with colonial and patriarchal practices? :::: Through the lenses of critical race and gender theories, this intensive seminar examines cinematic representations of Shakespeare’s plays, with a focus on strategies to “decolonize” the canon. :::: This seminar will equip you with pedagogical strategies and critical tools to de-colonize Shakespeare’s plays. Taking an intersectional approach, we will examine theories of race, gender, sexuality, and disability, that are most relevant to our contemporary cultural life, and apply these theories to Shakespearean films.
:::: In particular, we will focus on racialized bodies, performance of gender and sexuality, disability narratives, feminist interventions, religious fault lines, class struggle, and intersectional identities. Collectively we will reflect on our embodied vulnerability. :::: Middlebury College Summer Institute in Global Humanities, part of Bread Loaf School of English MA Program, Monterey, California
:::: In particular, we will focus on racialized bodies, performance of gender and sexuality, disability narratives, feminist interventions, religious fault lines, class struggle, and intersectional identities. Collectively we will reflect on our embodied vulnerability. :::: Middlebury College Summer Institute in Global Humanities, part of Bread Loaf School of English MA Program, Monterey, California
Research Interests:
How does literature function in civil society? This course introduces students to major schools of critical theory and to new ways of asking questions about culture and literature through a carefully curated selection of key writing—from... more
How does literature function in civil society? This course introduces students to major schools of critical theory and to new ways of asking questions about culture and literature through a carefully curated selection of key writing—from influential, classic articulations to more current works. Students will gain fluency in the conceptual frameworks associated with structuralism, ecocriticism, psychoanalytic criticism, Marxism, post-colonialism, and feminism, with an emphasis on critical race, gender, sexuality, queer, and disability studies.
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More importantly, students will learn how to apply theoretical tools to literary works in the interest of producing scholarship that instigates changes. Taking an intersectional approach, we will examine modern theoretical perspectives, a body of knowledge that continues to evolve in new directions.
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More importantly, students will learn how to apply theoretical tools to literary works in the interest of producing scholarship that instigates changes. Taking an intersectional approach, we will examine modern theoretical perspectives, a body of knowledge that continues to evolve in new directions.
Research Interests:
Through the lenses of critical race and gender studies, this seminar examines cinematic representations of 16th- and 17th-century events, personalities, and plays from Queen Elizabeth I to Johannes Vermeer and Thomas Middleton. These... more
Through the lenses of critical race and gender studies, this seminar examines cinematic representations of 16th- and 17th-century events, personalities, and plays from Queen Elizabeth I to Johannes Vermeer and Thomas Middleton. These narratives have been screened--projected on the silver screen and filtered by various ideologies—since 1899. We will focus on the vicissitudes of racialized bodies, performance of gender and sexuality, disability narratives, feminist interventions, religious fault lines, class struggle, and intersectional identities in popular culture.
Films may include Elizabeth I (Shekhar Kapur), Revengers Tragedy (Alex Cox), Doctor Faust (Nevill Coghill), Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes), Much Ado About Nothing (Kenneth Branagh), Shakespeare in Love (John Madden), Titus (Julie Taymor), Henry V (Kenneth Branagh), Richard III (Richard Loncraine), Jew of Malta (Douglas Morse), The Maori Merchant of Venice (Don Selwyn), Girl with a Pearl Earring (Peter Webber), Stage Beauty (Richard Eyre), King Lear (Richard Eyre), Ran (Akira Kurosawa), The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper), and Anonymous (Roland Emmerich).
Students have the opportunity to publish in a major reference work.
Films may include Elizabeth I (Shekhar Kapur), Revengers Tragedy (Alex Cox), Doctor Faust (Nevill Coghill), Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes), Much Ado About Nothing (Kenneth Branagh), Shakespeare in Love (John Madden), Titus (Julie Taymor), Henry V (Kenneth Branagh), Richard III (Richard Loncraine), Jew of Malta (Douglas Morse), The Maori Merchant of Venice (Don Selwyn), Girl with a Pearl Earring (Peter Webber), Stage Beauty (Richard Eyre), King Lear (Richard Eyre), Ran (Akira Kurosawa), The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper), and Anonymous (Roland Emmerich).
Students have the opportunity to publish in a major reference work.
Research Interests:
A general education course that introduces students to Shakespeare’s romance play, histories, tragedies, and comedies and their adaptations on screen. We will explore themes such as travel, race, gender, sexuality, colonialism. Students... more
A general education course that introduces students to Shakespeare’s romance play, histories, tragedies, and comedies and their adaptations on screen. We will explore themes such as travel, race, gender, sexuality, colonialism. Students will acquire essential tools for enjoying Shakespeare's plays as both dramatic works and films. This course is for everyone. No prior knowledge is required.
Research Interests:
Race, gender, class, religion, class, disability and other identity markers intersect to shape stories we tell about ourselves. Racialized gender stereotypes and gendered racial representations are part of the distribution of power in... more
Race, gender, class, religion, class, disability and other identity markers intersect to shape stories we tell about ourselves. Racialized gender stereotypes and gendered racial representations are part of the distribution of power in societies. This seminar explore the identity politics in select Shakespearean comedies, histories, romance plays, and tragedies on page and on screen.
Research Interests:
Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted for the cinema since 1899 in multiple film genres, including silent film, film noire, Western, theatrical film, and Hollywood films. This course examines Shakespeare’s romance play, histories,... more
Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted for the cinema since 1899 in multiple film genres, including silent film, film noire, Western, theatrical film, and Hollywood films.
This course examines Shakespeare’s romance play, histories, tragedies, and comedies, including the lesser-known plays, and their adaptations on screen, with a focus on the themes of race, gender, sexuality, and colonialism.
PLAYS & FILMS
• Love’s Labour’s Lost (comedy; Branagh)
• King John (history; Dickson & Dando, 1899)
• Henry V (history; Olivier; Branagh)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (comedy;
Hoffman; Reinhaardt; Taymor)
• Titus Andronicus (tragedy; Taymor)
• Othello (tragedy; Oliver Parker; Pier Paolo
Pasolini)
• Richard III (history; Richard Loncraine)
• Winter’s Tale (romance; Howell; Rohmer)
This course examines Shakespeare’s romance play, histories, tragedies, and comedies, including the lesser-known plays, and their adaptations on screen, with a focus on the themes of race, gender, sexuality, and colonialism.
PLAYS & FILMS
• Love’s Labour’s Lost (comedy; Branagh)
• King John (history; Dickson & Dando, 1899)
• Henry V (history; Olivier; Branagh)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (comedy;
Hoffman; Reinhaardt; Taymor)
• Titus Andronicus (tragedy; Taymor)
• Othello (tragedy; Oliver Parker; Pier Paolo
Pasolini)
• Richard III (history; Richard Loncraine)
• Winter’s Tale (romance; Howell; Rohmer)
Research Interests:
SEMINAR # 1: Shakespeare on Film: Theory and Practice ///// Shakespeare has been screened—projected on the silver screen and filtered by various ideologies—since 1899. We will examine the adaptation of Shakespeare as a historical and... more
SEMINAR # 1: Shakespeare on Film: Theory and Practice /////
Shakespeare has been screened—projected on the
silver screen and filtered by various ideologies—since
1899. We will examine the adaptation of Shakespeare as a historical and colonial practice and conclude with contemporary case studies. Theories covered include postcolonial criticism, disability studies, cultural materialism, gender theories, critical race studies, film and auteur theories, and performance theories.
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SEMINAR # 2: Global Shakespeare ////
What is the secret of Shakespeare’s wide appeal? Has Shakespeare always been a cultural hero? The course
considers how ideologies about race, gender, and class
shape Shakespeare’s plays and how world cultures
shape the plays’ afterlives.
The course introduces students to the English-subtitled theater works and films of directors from Kuwait, France, South Africa, Japan, Germany, Singapore, China, New Zealand, Brazil, the U.K., and U.S. All videos have English subtitles.
Shakespeare has been screened—projected on the
silver screen and filtered by various ideologies—since
1899. We will examine the adaptation of Shakespeare as a historical and colonial practice and conclude with contemporary case studies. Theories covered include postcolonial criticism, disability studies, cultural materialism, gender theories, critical race studies, film and auteur theories, and performance theories.
////
SEMINAR # 2: Global Shakespeare ////
What is the secret of Shakespeare’s wide appeal? Has Shakespeare always been a cultural hero? The course
considers how ideologies about race, gender, and class
shape Shakespeare’s plays and how world cultures
shape the plays’ afterlives.
The course introduces students to the English-subtitled theater works and films of directors from Kuwait, France, South Africa, Japan, Germany, Singapore, China, New Zealand, Brazil, the U.K., and U.S. All videos have English subtitles.
Research Interests:
This course explores the engendering of gender and racial differences in English Renaissance drama. Key critical idioms introduced in this course include: race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, identity politics, globalization,... more
This course explores the engendering of gender and racial differences in English Renaissance drama. Key critical idioms introduced in this course include: race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, identity politics, globalization, imperialism and representation. Through analytical exercises that engage an exciting range of cultural and visual materials, students will become familiar with a number of critical terms used in literary analysis and be able to recognize their preconceptions and prejudices.
Research Interests:
For many reasons, Shakespearean texts have been used as test cases in continuing philosophical debates over the nature of the humanistic enterprise. This graduate seminar examines the dynamics of early modern criticism, concentrating on... more
For many reasons, Shakespearean texts have been used as test cases in continuing philosophical debates over the nature of the humanistic enterprise. This graduate seminar examines the dynamics of early modern criticism, concentrating on particular Shakespeare plays in relation to important theoretical developments, including the bourgeoning field of critical race studies propelled by a renewed awareness of the importance of religion in the period and in our post-9/11 world.
A second focus of the course is major philosophers' engagement with Shakespeare, including Hegel, Karl Marx, Freud, Lacan, and Derrida. In addition to theoretical texts, we will work with a group of core play texts.
There will be ample opportunity to relate the course to any of your prior or developing interests or to work in original languages if you like. While an emphasis is placed on theoretical implications of various modes of confrontation with "Shakespeare," seminar members are encouraged to contribute to the reading list.
A second focus of the course is major philosophers' engagement with Shakespeare, including Hegel, Karl Marx, Freud, Lacan, and Derrida. In addition to theoretical texts, we will work with a group of core play texts.
There will be ample opportunity to relate the course to any of your prior or developing interests or to work in original languages if you like. While an emphasis is placed on theoretical implications of various modes of confrontation with "Shakespeare," seminar members are encouraged to contribute to the reading list.
Research Interests: Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, Ethics, Marxism, New Historicism, and 25 moreLiterature, Postcolonial Studies, Max Horkheimer, Hegel, Roland Barthes, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Postmodernism, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Fredric Jameson, Shakespearean Drama, Performance Theory, Performance criticism, Karl Marx, Hayden White, Presentism, Voltaire, Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare Studies, Richard II, The Winter's Tale, Schegel, Alan Sinfield, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, and Global Shakespeare
This seminar introduces students to theories of literature. We will ground the discussion of theories in selected films and literary masterpieces. Among other topics, we will explore the dialectics between the contingencies of history... more
This seminar introduces students to theories of literature. We will ground the discussion of theories in selected films and literary masterpieces.
Among other topics, we will explore the dialectics between the contingencies of history and universalizing theories, between textuality and visuality, between formalist and ideological approaches to cultural phenomena, and between print culture and new media.
A second area of emphasis will be on globalization. Critical theories travel far and wide across geo-political borders and are themselves products of traveling critics. As we study how to read across cultures and world literature, we will also explore the ways in which theories reflect the critics’ own experience abroad and will read canonical Western theorists along with critics from other cultures.
Among other topics, we will explore the dialectics between the contingencies of history and universalizing theories, between textuality and visuality, between formalist and ideological approaches to cultural phenomena, and between print culture and new media.
A second area of emphasis will be on globalization. Critical theories travel far and wide across geo-political borders and are themselves products of traveling critics. As we study how to read across cultures and world literature, we will also explore the ways in which theories reflect the critics’ own experience abroad and will read canonical Western theorists along with critics from other cultures.
Research Interests:
What is at stake in scholarly research is not simply finding answers to a question, but formulating conceptually articulated and rich questions. Digital and communication technologies are transforming humanities research and helping... more
What is at stake in scholarly research is not simply finding answers to a question, but formulating conceptually articulated and rich questions. Digital and communication technologies are transforming humanities research and helping scholars ask new questions.
This graduate seminar explores the history of digital humanities, theoretical issues it raises, and major methodological debates.
No computer skills beyond basic familiarity with word processing and Internet access are required
GOALS:
Develop the skills and vocabulary necessary for working at, and engaging with, the intersection of the humanities (particularly literary and cultural studies) and technology
Grasp major theoretical developments
Examine existing digital humanities projects
Situate your own research interests within the larger context of digital humanities theories and practice
Highlights
Historicize and theorize DH practices
Curate your scholarly and digital presence
Participate in GW's inaugural Digital Humanities Symposium, Jan. 24-26, 2013; www.gwu.edu/~acyhuang/DH2013.shtml
Guest speakers to cover medieval, early modern, nineteenth- and twentieth-century British and American drama, poetry, and fiction: Janelle Jenstad (Univ. of Victoria via Skype), Chris Sten (GW), Jeffrey Cohen (GW), Margaret Soltan (GW)
Topics
Theories of epistemology
Access and inclusion
Challenges of working with and against multiple media
(In)visible histories of race, gender, and avenues of access
Disability, cultural difference, and linguistic diversity
Visual and print cultures, embodiment, archiving the ephemeral
Canon formation, close and distant reading strategies
Questions about the values, methods, and goals of humanistic inquiries at the intersection of digital media and theory
This graduate seminar explores the history of digital humanities, theoretical issues it raises, and major methodological debates.
No computer skills beyond basic familiarity with word processing and Internet access are required
GOALS:
Develop the skills and vocabulary necessary for working at, and engaging with, the intersection of the humanities (particularly literary and cultural studies) and technology
Grasp major theoretical developments
Examine existing digital humanities projects
Situate your own research interests within the larger context of digital humanities theories and practice
Highlights
Historicize and theorize DH practices
Curate your scholarly and digital presence
Participate in GW's inaugural Digital Humanities Symposium, Jan. 24-26, 2013; www.gwu.edu/~acyhuang/DH2013.shtml
Guest speakers to cover medieval, early modern, nineteenth- and twentieth-century British and American drama, poetry, and fiction: Janelle Jenstad (Univ. of Victoria via Skype), Chris Sten (GW), Jeffrey Cohen (GW), Margaret Soltan (GW)
Topics
Theories of epistemology
Access and inclusion
Challenges of working with and against multiple media
(In)visible histories of race, gender, and avenues of access
Disability, cultural difference, and linguistic diversity
Visual and print cultures, embodiment, archiving the ephemeral
Canon formation, close and distant reading strategies
Questions about the values, methods, and goals of humanistic inquiries at the intersection of digital media and theory
Research Interests:
Ideologies about race, gender, and class shape Shakespeare's plays and their afterlife on stage and on screen. We will do close readings of racial tensions and gendered representations in the plays and select performances. The class will... more
Ideologies about race, gender, and class shape Shakespeare's plays and their afterlife on stage and on screen. We will do close readings of racial tensions and gendered representations in the plays and select performances. The class will reflect on the meanings of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, identity formation, nationalism, and the distribution of power in societies.
Research Interests:
Voodoo Macbeth? Heir apparent of the Denmark Corporation in Manhattan? A pair of star-crossed lovers from feuding families selling chicken rice in Singapore? Shakespeare is the most frequently performed playwright in the world. In the... more
Voodoo Macbeth? Heir apparent of the Denmark Corporation in Manhattan? A pair of star-crossed lovers from feuding families selling chicken rice in Singapore? Shakespeare is the most frequently performed playwright in the world. In the past century, stage, film, and television adaptations of Shakespeare have emerged in the U.K., U.S., Canada, and the performance cultures of Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Asia/Pacific, Africa, Latin America, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and far-flung corners of the globe. In fact, the history of global performance dates back to Shakespeare's lifetime.
What is the secret of Shakespeare’s wide appeal? Has Shakespeare always been a cultural hero? How do directors around the world interpret such timeless tragedies as Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet?
This course examines the aesthetics and techniques of interpreting Shakespeare, with an emphasis on the tensions between claims for originality and poetic license, and globalization and nationalism.
What is the secret of Shakespeare’s wide appeal? Has Shakespeare always been a cultural hero? How do directors around the world interpret such timeless tragedies as Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet?
This course examines the aesthetics and techniques of interpreting Shakespeare, with an emphasis on the tensions between claims for originality and poetic license, and globalization and nationalism.
Research Interests:
Introduction to Shakespeare’s romance play, histories, tragedies, and comedies and their adaptations on screen. Explore themes such as travel, race, gender, sexuality, colonialism. This course is for everyone. No prior knowledge is... more
Introduction to Shakespeare’s romance play, histories, tragedies, and comedies and their adaptations on screen. Explore themes such as travel, race, gender, sexuality, colonialism. This course is for everyone. No prior knowledge is required.
Research Interests:
The 2012 London Olympics will usher in a Shakespeare festival on an unprecedented scale. Why does Shakespeare's legacy matter to us? Shakespeare has been screened-projected on the silver screen or filtered by different beliefs--for... more
The 2012 London Olympics will usher in a Shakespeare festival on an unprecedented scale. Why does Shakespeare's legacy matter to us? Shakespeare has been screened-projected on the silver screen or filtered by different beliefs--for centuries. What critical resources might we bring to the task of interpreting performances on stage, on screen, and in other media? What are the roles of local and global spectators? More importantly, what is the task of criticism as it deals with the transformations of classical texts?
This graduate seminar examines the phenomenon of adaptation, beginning with an overview of “appropriation” as a historical and colonial practice and concluding with contemporary case studies, with particular consideration given to the cultural history of the Shakespearean corpus— performed, adapted, revised, parodied, and translated.
Theories
• Postcolonial criticism
• Cultural materialism
• (New) Historicism
• Presentism
• Gender theories
• Critical race studies
• Film / auteur theory
• Translation and globalization theories
• Performance theories
This graduate seminar examines the phenomenon of adaptation, beginning with an overview of “appropriation” as a historical and colonial practice and concluding with contemporary case studies, with particular consideration given to the cultural history of the Shakespearean corpus— performed, adapted, revised, parodied, and translated.
Theories
• Postcolonial criticism
• Cultural materialism
• (New) Historicism
• Presentism
• Gender theories
• Critical race studies
• Film / auteur theory
• Translation and globalization theories
• Performance theories
Research Interests:
The English doctoral program at the George Washington University welcomes applications for its concentration in medieval and early modern studies. All PhD students receive tuition remission, monthly stipend, mentorship in research and... more
The English doctoral program at the George Washington University welcomes applications for its concentration in medieval and early modern studies. All PhD students receive tuition remission, monthly stipend, mentorship in research and teaching, and the chance to develop an individualized course of study with our internationally acclaimed faculty.
Research Interests:
All of Shakespeare’s plays, followed by the Sonnets, have had long histories of translation. Within Shakespeare’s plays, the figure of translation looms large. It is fitting that the Shakespearean oeuvre has been translated into numerous... more
All of Shakespeare’s plays, followed by the Sonnets, have had long histories of translation.
Within Shakespeare’s plays, the figure of translation looms large. It is fitting that the Shakespearean oeuvre has been translated into numerous languages over the centuries.
This workshop explores creative ways to incorporate “translational moments” within Shakespeare and the global history of translating Shakespeare.
Within Shakespeare’s plays, the figure of translation looms large. It is fitting that the Shakespearean oeuvre has been translated into numerous languages over the centuries.
This workshop explores creative ways to incorporate “translational moments” within Shakespeare and the global history of translating Shakespeare.
Research Interests:
Why does literary and cultural criticism frequently draw and even rely upon paradigms developed in other fields such as political or social theories--now part of a lingua franca of humanities? What are the roles of literary and cultural... more
Why does literary and cultural criticism frequently draw and even rely upon paradigms developed in other fields such as political or social theories--now part of a lingua franca of humanities? What are the roles of literary and cultural critics today?
This seminar surveys literary and cultural theories from Romanticism to the present in a global context (paired with films and literary works), with emphases on the dialectics between the contingencies of history and universalizing theories, between textuality and visuality, between formalist and ideological approaches to cultural phenomena, and between print and new media.
This seminar surveys literary and cultural theories from Romanticism to the present in a global context (paired with films and literary works), with emphases on the dialectics between the contingencies of history and universalizing theories, between textuality and visuality, between formalist and ideological approaches to cultural phenomena, and between print and new media.
Research Interests: Comparative Literature, Aesthetics, Digital Humanities, Globalization, Human Rights, and 12 moreDigital Media, Deconstruction, Digital Culture, Literary Theory, Structuralism/Post-Structuralism, Auteur Theory, Comparative Literary Criticism, Reader-Response Theory, Orientalism, Mediatization (Communication Studies), Humor Theory, and History of Philosophy
This is an introductory course on world cinema. This course compares narrative and artistic techniques employed by literature and film in portraying different social and cultural environments, which will range widely around the globe --... more
This is an introductory course on world cinema. This course compares narrative and artistic techniques employed by literature and film in portraying different
social and cultural environments, which will range widely around the globe -- American short story, Brazilian novel, English Renaissance drama, Chinese novella, Asian-American literature, and films from Korea, Hong Kong, France, Italy, and elsewhere.
social and cultural environments, which will range widely around the globe -- American short story, Brazilian novel, English Renaissance drama, Chinese novella, Asian-American literature, and films from Korea, Hong Kong, France, Italy, and elsewhere.
Research Interests: American Literature, Film Studies, Film Theory, French Cinema, Shakespeare, and 12 moreAsian American Studies, Korean Studies, Italian Cinema, Hong Kong Cinema, Korean cinema, Brazilian Cinema, English Renaissance Literature, Hong Kong, Chinese literature, Asian American Literature, World Cinema, and American Short Story
This graduate seminar examines the phenomenon of adaptation, beginning with an overview of " appropriation " as a historical and colonial practice and concluding with contemporary case studies, with particular consideration given to the... more
This graduate seminar examines the phenomenon of adaptation, beginning with an overview of " appropriation " as a historical and colonial practice and concluding with contemporary case studies, with particular consideration given to the cultural history of the Shakespearean corpus— adapted, revised, parodied, and translated. Specifically, the seminar considers both cross-cultural and cross-genre adaptations. In order to understand the very idea of " Shakespeare " and cultural appropriation produced according to various discourses and exigencies, we will read and discuss critical theories and film performance theories in addition to plays by Shakespeare and his re-writers.
Research Interests:
What is "literature"? How do literature and criticism relate to other aspects of culture such as gender, race, class, and nation? Students in this senior seminar will study diverse tools for analyzing literary and cultural texts,... more
What is "literature"? How do literature and criticism relate to other aspects of culture such as gender, race, class, and nation? Students in this senior seminar will study diverse tools for analyzing literary and cultural texts, particularly theories of literature and methods of comparative study. We will work through different ideas of literary interpretation in selected readings: locating the limits of each particular approach and tracing the connections between disparate theoretical paradigms.
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Psychoanalysis, Gender Studies, New Media, Translation Studies, and 25 moreDigital Humanities, Film Studies, New Historicism, Postcolonial Studies, Digital Media, Poststructuralism, Asian American Studies, Literary Criticism, Brazilian Studies, Translation theory, Historicism, Race and Ethnicity, Literary Theory, Walter Benjamin, Franz Kafka, Sigmund Freud, Michel Foucault, Linguistics, Brazilian Cinema, Karl Marx, Edgar Allan Poe, Ethinic Studies, Chinua Achebe, Kate Chopin, and David Henry Hwang
The forces of globalization, war and terrorism, as well as commodity culture place special pressures on the (re)production of dramatic works. This graduate seminar examines the transformations of drama and performance in an age of global... more
The forces of globalization, war and terrorism, as well as
commodity culture place special pressures on the (re)production of dramatic works. This graduate seminar examines the transformations of drama and performance in an age of global digital culture.
Goals
1. Contextualized understanding of key theories, and debates within which they emerged.
2. Acquire critical thinking, writing, and presentational
skills to meaningfully engage performances in a global context in theory and practice.
3. Build a sustainable intellectual community.
commodity culture place special pressures on the (re)production of dramatic works. This graduate seminar examines the transformations of drama and performance in an age of global digital culture.
Goals
1. Contextualized understanding of key theories, and debates within which they emerged.
2. Acquire critical thinking, writing, and presentational
skills to meaningfully engage performances in a global context in theory and practice.
3. Build a sustainable intellectual community.
Research Interests:
This course explores the engendering of gender and racial differences in narrative instances in Anglo-European, African and Asian films and literary texts. Key critical idioms introduced in this course include: race, ethnicity, class,... more
This course explores the engendering of gender and racial differences in narrative instances in Anglo-European, African and Asian films and literary texts. Key critical idioms introduced in this course include: race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, acculturation, cultural citizenship, diaspora, identity politics, globalization, imperialism and representation.
Through analytical exercises that engage an exciting range of cultural and visual materials, students will become familiar with a number of critical terms used in literary analysis and be able to recognize their preconceptions and prejudices.
Through analytical exercises that engage an exciting range of cultural and visual materials, students will become familiar with a number of critical terms used in literary analysis and be able to recognize their preconceptions and prejudices.
Research Interests:
Our time is characterized by a crisis of representational practice, fuelled by unprecedented technological and economic changes on a global level. Narrative, therefore, takes a wide variety of forms. This course examines the aesthetics... more
Our time is characterized by a crisis of representational
practice, fuelled by unprecedented technological and economic changes on a global level. Narrative, therefore, takes a wide variety of forms. This course examines the aesthetics and techniques of film and literature from around the world, and analyses the masters of each art form. Through short stories and plays, we will study different ways a story can be told and the many exciting ways embedded "narratives" (or discourses) can be framed. Similarly, through films and film adaptations of great literary masterpieces, we will study how visual elements challenge the reader's imagination.
Specifically, we examine the relationship between meaning
and narrative structure. The course considers the tensions
between claims for originality and poetic license, between
producers and audiences, between fiction and reality, narrative and history, memory and representation. We will study representative theorists of narratology, such as J. Hillis Miller, Wolfgang Iser and Hayden White. Cutting-edge scholarship on film and the new media will also be introduced, such as Seymour Chatman, Rey Chow, as well as Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin's Remediation. In addition to becoming familiar with major issues in film studies and East-West comparative studies, students will acquire a working knowledge of narrative theory.
practice, fuelled by unprecedented technological and economic changes on a global level. Narrative, therefore, takes a wide variety of forms. This course examines the aesthetics and techniques of film and literature from around the world, and analyses the masters of each art form. Through short stories and plays, we will study different ways a story can be told and the many exciting ways embedded "narratives" (or discourses) can be framed. Similarly, through films and film adaptations of great literary masterpieces, we will study how visual elements challenge the reader's imagination.
Specifically, we examine the relationship between meaning
and narrative structure. The course considers the tensions
between claims for originality and poetic license, between
producers and audiences, between fiction and reality, narrative and history, memory and representation. We will study representative theorists of narratology, such as J. Hillis Miller, Wolfgang Iser and Hayden White. Cutting-edge scholarship on film and the new media will also be introduced, such as Seymour Chatman, Rey Chow, as well as Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin's Remediation. In addition to becoming familiar with major issues in film studies and East-West comparative studies, students will acquire a working knowledge of narrative theory.
Research Interests:
This course examines modern and cutting-edge forms of cultural production in the Chinese-speaking world. Materials will be available in English. Readings and screenings will cover several artistic modes including formalism,... more
This course examines modern and cutting-edge forms of cultural production in the Chinese-speaking world. Materials will be available in English. Readings and screenings will cover several artistic modes including formalism, historiography, documentary, period drama, and experimental works. The individual units within the course will be structured so that students can develop a historical perspective to understand the cultural contexts that have inspired the creative works under study.
By examining films in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong with attention to changing cultural settings, students will investigate such topics as the relation between social institutions and the individual, the formation and expression of identity, changing gender roles and family structures, the impact of technological and economic trends on social structure, and changing climates of censorship and freedom of expression.
Class work includes some lecture but emphasizes guided discussions, writing exercises, and some student presentations. This participatory approach is intended to deepen students' understanding of value systems that may differ from those predominant in western cultures, and to assist students in developing both analytical and expressive abilities.
By examining films in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong with attention to changing cultural settings, students will investigate such topics as the relation between social institutions and the individual, the formation and expression of identity, changing gender roles and family structures, the impact of technological and economic trends on social structure, and changing climates of censorship and freedom of expression.
Class work includes some lecture but emphasizes guided discussions, writing exercises, and some student presentations. This participatory approach is intended to deepen students' understanding of value systems that may differ from those predominant in western cultures, and to assist students in developing both analytical and expressive abilities.
Research Interests:
Masterpieces of East Asian poetry, novel, and drama This course introduces students to the classical an modern literatures of East Asia. Students will learn essential literary terms and study how literary works represent gender... more
Masterpieces of East Asian poetry, novel, and drama
This course introduces students to the classical an
modern literatures of East Asia. Students will learn essential literary terms and study how literary works
represent gender identities, nature, national consciousness, and spirituality. Many of these influential texts revolve around fundamental issues played out by both literary and historical women and men in remarkably gripping ways. We will investigate how literature has been mobilized to represent specific versions of Asian cultures.
This course introduces students to the classical an
modern literatures of East Asia. Students will learn essential literary terms and study how literary works
represent gender identities, nature, national consciousness, and spirituality. Many of these influential texts revolve around fundamental issues played out by both literary and historical women and men in remarkably gripping ways. We will investigate how literature has been mobilized to represent specific versions of Asian cultures.
Research Interests:
This multimedia-enhanced course introduces students to the dramas and theatrical genres of East Asia in both their traditional and contemporary iterations, including the works of such playwrights as Tang Xianzu, Zeami Motokiyo, Gao... more
This multimedia-enhanced course introduces students to the dramas and theatrical genres of East Asia in
both their traditional and contemporary iterations, including the works of such playwrights as Tang Xianzu, Zeami Motokiyo, Gao Xingjian, and Stan Lai, and such
directors as O T’aesok, Ninagawa Yukio, Lin Zhaohua, Lee Kuo-hsiu, Wu Hsing-kuo, Suzuki Tadashi, and Lee
Yung-t’aek. The mutual influence between East Asian and Western theatres will also be discussed.
Through dramaturgical and critical analyses of the plays in their historical and performative contexts, students will develop the skills as both practitioners and critics, and gain a foundation in East Asian performance idioms and dramatic motifs.
both their traditional and contemporary iterations, including the works of such playwrights as Tang Xianzu, Zeami Motokiyo, Gao Xingjian, and Stan Lai, and such
directors as O T’aesok, Ninagawa Yukio, Lin Zhaohua, Lee Kuo-hsiu, Wu Hsing-kuo, Suzuki Tadashi, and Lee
Yung-t’aek. The mutual influence between East Asian and Western theatres will also be discussed.
Through dramaturgical and critical analyses of the plays in their historical and performative contexts, students will develop the skills as both practitioners and critics, and gain a foundation in East Asian performance idioms and dramatic motifs.
Research Interests:
Provides an examination of modern Chinese history and culture through the lens of different media, including fiction, film, theater, music and popular culture. In addition to works from mainland China, this course will also expose... more
Provides an examination of modern Chinese history and culture through the lens of different media, including fiction, film, theater, music and popular culture. In addition to works from mainland China, this course will also expose students to cultural texts from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and overseas Chinese communities.
The aims of the course are to introduce key figures, movements, and major works to students and strengthen their analytic skills through close analysis of texts and exploration into deeper theoretical issues at work in modern Chinese history and culture.
The aims of the course are to introduce key figures, movements, and major works to students and strengthen their analytic skills through close analysis of texts and exploration into deeper theoretical issues at work in modern Chinese history and culture.
Research Interests:
Lincoln College Oxford Bread Loaf School of English (Middlebury College) ////// From Lu Xun, the founding father of modern Chinese literature, to Mo Yan, the latest Nobel laureate in literature, modern China has given the world a... more
Lincoln College Oxford Bread Loaf School of English (Middlebury College) //////
From Lu Xun, the founding father of modern Chinese literature, to Mo Yan, the latest Nobel laureate in literature, modern China has given the world a treasure trove of artistic creativity.
This independent study course introduces graduate students to modern Chinese literature, drama, and film with an emphasis on the formation of Chinese and Sinophone identities in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese diaspora in the West.
The seminar prepares students for independent research in advanced degree programs in Chinese and comparative literature.
The course explores the Chinese aesthetics and key literary moments, including the major genres of poetry, historical writing, fiction, and drama.
In order to understand Chinese literary traditions in their present and pre-modern formations, we will read and discuss writings produced in a variety of contexts and forms (including Hong Kong and Taiwanese literatures), with particular consideration given to the representation of desire, emotions, religious attachments, (trans)nationalism, and racial discourses.
From Lu Xun, the founding father of modern Chinese literature, to Mo Yan, the latest Nobel laureate in literature, modern China has given the world a treasure trove of artistic creativity.
This independent study course introduces graduate students to modern Chinese literature, drama, and film with an emphasis on the formation of Chinese and Sinophone identities in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese diaspora in the West.
The seminar prepares students for independent research in advanced degree programs in Chinese and comparative literature.
The course explores the Chinese aesthetics and key literary moments, including the major genres of poetry, historical writing, fiction, and drama.
In order to understand Chinese literary traditions in their present and pre-modern formations, we will read and discuss writings produced in a variety of contexts and forms (including Hong Kong and Taiwanese literatures), with particular consideration given to the representation of desire, emotions, religious attachments, (trans)nationalism, and racial discourses.
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Chinese Studies, Literary Theory, East Asian Studies, Taiwan Studies, and 12 moreHong Kong Cinema, Mainland Chinese Film, Modern Chinese History, Chinese poetry, Chinese Cinema, Hong Kong, Taiwanese Literature, Chinese Modern Literature, Modern China, Modern and Contemporary China, Taiwanese Cinema, and Contemporary Taiwanese Fiction
Classical Chinese is a language that took shape in the latter half of the first millennium B.C. It is still a living medium of expression today among Chinese speakers. Knowledge of Classical Chinese is very important to understand modern... more
Classical Chinese is a language that took shape in the latter half of the first millennium B.C. It is still a living medium of expression today among Chinese speakers. Knowledge of Classical Chinese is very important to understand modern Chinese texts, which make frequent use of classical allusions and constructs.
Moreover, the cultural values expressed in the ancient texts have played an important role in shaping Chinese families, culture and society.
This course covers the basic grammar and vocabulary of Classical Chinese. Students will study abbreviated philosophical and historical narratives, set phrases (chengyu), poems, and short stories from the pre-Qin era to the Tang and Song dynasties.
Our goal is to learn how to read Classical Chinese and attain knowledge of ancient Chinese culture, society, and history.
With this knowledge and training, students will also become a more skilled user of modern Chinese.
Moreover, the cultural values expressed in the ancient texts have played an important role in shaping Chinese families, culture and society.
This course covers the basic grammar and vocabulary of Classical Chinese. Students will study abbreviated philosophical and historical narratives, set phrases (chengyu), poems, and short stories from the pre-Qin era to the Tang and Song dynasties.
Our goal is to learn how to read Classical Chinese and attain knowledge of ancient Chinese culture, society, and history.
With this knowledge and training, students will also become a more skilled user of modern Chinese.
Research Interests:
When: Friday, April 14, 10am to 4:30 pm. In-person event. :::: Where: University Student Center 309 (800 21st St. NW) :::: Generative Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) tools have the potential to alter profoundly the ways... more
When: Friday, April 14, 10am to 4:30 pm. In-person event. ::::
Where: University Student Center 309 (800 21st St. NW) ::::
Generative Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) tools have the potential to alter profoundly the ways we work, create, think, and behave. They raise such questions as:
What makes humans distinctive? Can machines have consciousness? What is intelligence? Are the methods used to create A.I. tools ethical?
In this symposium, we hope to open a discussion on the philosophical, ethical, political, and cultural, challenges that A.I. poses for our society. :::: Alexa Alice Joubin is serving as one of the chairs and commentators :: Register at https://forms.gle/7zyX96qUHn5PLom67
Where: University Student Center 309 (800 21st St. NW) ::::
Generative Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) tools have the potential to alter profoundly the ways we work, create, think, and behave. They raise such questions as:
What makes humans distinctive? Can machines have consciousness? What is intelligence? Are the methods used to create A.I. tools ethical?
In this symposium, we hope to open a discussion on the philosophical, ethical, political, and cultural, challenges that A.I. poses for our society. :::: Alexa Alice Joubin is serving as one of the chairs and commentators :: Register at https://forms.gle/7zyX96qUHn5PLom67
Research Interests:
The documentary couplet Lesbian Factory and Rainbow Popcorn, shot by migrant worker activists in Taiwan, follows a group of Filipina migrant worker organizers and their tumultuous same-sex love relationships. The films bring together... more
The documentary couplet Lesbian Factory and Rainbow Popcorn, shot by migrant worker activists in Taiwan, follows a group of Filipina migrant worker organizers and their tumultuous same-sex love relationships. The films bring together migrant labor activism with queer love to unpack the multi-layered texture of our globalized moment.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the directors of the movie, Jingru Wu and Teri Silvio. Light refreshments will be available. This event is on the record and open to the media.
Monday, November 19, 2018 6:00 PM – 8:40 PM
Lindner Commons (6th floor)
Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University
1957 E St NW
Washington, DC 20052
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the directors of the movie, Jingru Wu and Teri Silvio. Light refreshments will be available. This event is on the record and open to the media.
Monday, November 19, 2018 6:00 PM – 8:40 PM
Lindner Commons (6th floor)
Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University
1957 E St NW
Washington, DC 20052
Research Interests:
Chaucer and Shakespeare, the global literary icons, play a major role in the digital world. This cross-disciplinary symposium puts the legacies of Chaucer and Shakespeare in conversation with each other. Speakers will explore the... more
Chaucer and Shakespeare, the global literary icons, play a major role in the digital world. This cross-disciplinary symposium puts the legacies of Chaucer and Shakespeare in conversation with each other. Speakers will explore the intersections and connections between the afterlives of Chaucer and Shakespeare in world cultures.
Research Interests:
See conference report at... more
See conference report at http://www.theshakespearestandard.com/global-shakespeares-symposium-george-washington-university-24-25-jan-2014-great-feast-languages/?fb_action_ids=10203015618741178&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210203015618741178%22%3A638209319573477}&action_type_map={%2210203015618741178%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map
William Shakespeare was interested in the larger world when he wrote his plays 400-years ago, naming his theatre The Globe. The “Global Shakespeares” symposium at George Washington University seeks to explore Shakespeare through the lenses of world markets and archives. Performances of Shakespeare in different cultural contexts are changing the ways we think about scholarship and globalization. In this symposium, practitioners and scholars will challenge audience members to approach the postnational spaces and fluid cultural locations in many global Shakespeares.
Presentations will explore the promise and perils of political articulations of cultural differences and suggest new approaches to performances in marginalized or polyglot spaces.
Featured speakers include film director Julie Taymor, actor Harry Lennix, and leading scholars in the field including Thomas Cartelli, Ayanna Thompson, Adele Seeff, Sujata Iyengar, Christy Desmet, Eric Johnson, Richard Burt, Jeffrey Butcher, Kendra Leonard, Alexa Huang, and Amanda Bailey.
The Symposium is co-sponsored by the George Washington University Medieval and Early Modern Studies Institute, Digital Humanities Institute, Dean's Scholars in Shakespeare Program, Department of English, and the Gelman Library.
William Shakespeare was interested in the larger world when he wrote his plays 400-years ago, naming his theatre The Globe. The “Global Shakespeares” symposium at George Washington University seeks to explore Shakespeare through the lenses of world markets and archives. Performances of Shakespeare in different cultural contexts are changing the ways we think about scholarship and globalization. In this symposium, practitioners and scholars will challenge audience members to approach the postnational spaces and fluid cultural locations in many global Shakespeares.
Presentations will explore the promise and perils of political articulations of cultural differences and suggest new approaches to performances in marginalized or polyglot spaces.
Featured speakers include film director Julie Taymor, actor Harry Lennix, and leading scholars in the field including Thomas Cartelli, Ayanna Thompson, Adele Seeff, Sujata Iyengar, Christy Desmet, Eric Johnson, Richard Burt, Jeffrey Butcher, Kendra Leonard, Alexa Huang, and Amanda Bailey.
The Symposium is co-sponsored by the George Washington University Medieval and Early Modern Studies Institute, Digital Humanities Institute, Dean's Scholars in Shakespeare Program, Department of English, and the Gelman Library.
Research Interests:
Digital humanities is a vibrant field that uses digital technologies to study the interactions between cultural artifacts and society. In our second decade of the twenty-first century, we face a number of questions about the values,... more
Digital humanities is a vibrant field that uses digital technologies to study the interactions between cultural artifacts and society. In our second decade of the twenty-first century, we face a number of questions about the values, methods, and goals of humanistic inquiries at the intersection of digital media and theory.
Research Interests:
Suzanne Conklin Akbari: Translating the Past: World Literature in the Medieval Mediterranean /// Marcy North: Parrots in Translation: The Amerindian Contribution to the European Pet /// Barbara Fuchs: Return to Sender: "Hispanicizing"... more
Suzanne Conklin Akbari: Translating the Past: World Literature in the Medieval Mediterranean ///
Marcy North: Parrots in Translation: The Amerindian Contribution to the European Pet ///
Barbara Fuchs: Return to Sender: "Hispanicizing" Cardenio ///
Christina Lee: Imagining China in a Golden Age Spanish Epic ///
Peter Donaldson: The King's Speech: Shakespeare, Empire and Global Media ///
Margaret Litvin: What Can Arab Shakespeares Teach the Field of World Literature?
Marcy North: Parrots in Translation: The Amerindian Contribution to the European Pet ///
Barbara Fuchs: Return to Sender: "Hispanicizing" Cardenio ///
Christina Lee: Imagining China in a Golden Age Spanish Epic ///
Peter Donaldson: The King's Speech: Shakespeare, Empire and Global Media ///
Margaret Litvin: What Can Arab Shakespeares Teach the Field of World Literature?
Research Interests:
Organized as Vice President of the Association for Asian Performance. The AAP was founded in 1987 as a California Public Benefit Corporation. It is also an affiliate of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. (ATHE). The Asian... more
Organized as Vice President of the Association for Asian Performance. The AAP was founded in 1987 as a California Public Benefit Corporation. It is also an affiliate of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. (ATHE). The Asian Theatre Journal is the official scholarly publication of the organization and the Association newsletter is the principal internal means of communication.
Research Interests:
Organized as Vice President of the Association for Asian Performance. The AAP was founded in 1987 as a California Public Benefit Corporation. It is also an affiliate of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. (ATHE). The Asian... more
Organized as Vice President of the Association for Asian Performance. The AAP was founded in 1987 as a California Public Benefit Corporation. It is also an affiliate of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. (ATHE). The Asian Theatre Journal is the official scholarly publication of the organization and the Association newsletter is the principal internal means of communication.
Research Interests:
Cultural translation has come to shape the world we live in. Encompassing a broad range of cultural and artistic activities taking place in the contact zones, cultural translation defines the time and space between different historical... more
Cultural translation has come to shape the world we live in. Encompassing a broad range of cultural and artistic activities taking place in the contact zones, cultural translation defines the time and space between different historical moments of the same culture, between national spaces, or between genres and forms of expression including textual and visual cultures.
How do ideas and genres migrate across these boundaries? What driving forces are at work behind the formation of the culture of translation and the translation of cultures? This interdisciplinary conference will bring together specialists of East Asian humanities to explore the issues of identity formation, localization and globalization, and transnational cultural flows in both pre modern and postmodern times.
How do ideas and genres migrate across these boundaries? What driving forces are at work behind the formation of the culture of translation and the translation of cultures? This interdisciplinary conference will bring together specialists of East Asian humanities to explore the issues of identity formation, localization and globalization, and transnational cultural flows in both pre modern and postmodern times.
Research Interests: Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, World Literatures, Translation Studies, Digital Humanities, and 15 moreLanguages and Linguistics, Globalization, Performance Studies, Digital Media, Shakespeare, Literary Theory, East Asian Studies, Confucianism, Taiwanese Literature, Cultural Translation, Cultural Globalization, Neo-Confucianism, Contemporary Taiwanese Fiction, Global Shakespeare, and Southeast Asian Culture-Performing Arts
MAR-AAS, Penn State University, October 22-23, 2010: "Sustainable Asia: Challenges and Opportunities." Organized as Vice President of MAR-AAS