Spring Quarter
1. The EMC continued to host a regular discussion group that reads early modern plays together (i.e., we take turns reading a play aloud and discussing, so people do not have to prepare in advance). Starting on 4/5, we met every Tuesday from 2-3 in the Early Modern Center (South Hall 2510).
2. The EMC also hosted two trainings for the MakerLab on 5/2 and 5/30.
3. The EMC hosted our farewell event on 6/8 from 2:30-3:30 in the Early Modern Center (South Hall 2510).
4. The EMC also hosted 2023 Bliss-Zimmerman Lecture: “Hollow Men: Theater, Race, and Early Modern Blackface.” presented by Dr. Ian Smith (Lafayette College) on Wednesday, May 17, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in the IHC McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020).
Leading up to Dr. Smith’s presentation, we planned two events:
1) We hosted a discussion of Dr. Smith’s latest book, Black Shakespeare: Reading and Misreading Race, moderated by Prof. Bernadette Andrea, on May 16 at 2:00 p.m in South Hall 2510 (the Early Modern Center). Attendees read the introduction and first chapter (“The Racialized Reader”) of Dr. Smith’s book.
2) Interested graduate students were also invited to attend a lunch with Dr. Smith at noon on Wednesday, May 17, in the Early Modern Center (South Hall 2510). Graduate students will discussed their academic projects with Dr. Smith in an informal setting, and he answered questions about his own work.
For more information about our 2023 Bliss-Zimmerman Lecture, please visit this page.
Winter Quarter
1. The Early Modern Center offered a screening and discussion of Head Over Heels, a musical based on Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, set to the music of the Go-Go’s. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where the musical premiered, offers the following description on their website:
“A duke. A mysterious prophecy. Two daughters: one mobbed by suitors, the other . . . not so much. And all set to the beat of 1980s pop icons the Go-Go’s? An Elizabethan love story is turned on its head in this exuberant musical, inspired by Sir Philip Sidney’s 16th-century pastoral romance, The Arcadia. This world premiere promises a delicious mix of razor-sharp wordplay, infectious songs and romantic surprises.”
More information about Head Over Heels can be found here: https://www.headoverheelsthemusical.com. Snacks were provided at this event.
2. Additionally, the EMC hosted a regular discussion group that reads early modern plays together (i.e., we take turns reading a play aloud and discussing, so people do not have to prepare in advance). We met once in the Fall Quarter and decided to read The Witch of Edmonton this quarter. Starting on 2/7, we met every Tuesday from 1-2 in the Early Modern Center (South Hall 2510).
3. The EMC also hosted two trainings for the MakerLab on 1/27 and 2/3.
4. The EMC hosted our annual conference on 2/24 and 2/25. Our theme this year was “Back to the Future: EBBA’s 20th Anniversary.” For the conference schedule and more information about this event, please visit this page.
Fall Quarter
In addition to offereing an undergraduate course on Shakespeare and Disability Studies (taught by the EMC fellow under the supervision of the EMC director), the Early Modern Center planned the following events for the Fall Quarter:
1. On 10/20 from 3-4 in the EMC (South Hall 2510), we held our fall “meet and greet” event. We discussed the schedule for the upcoming year and introduced (or re-introduced) ourselves.
2. On 10/27, from 9:30-10:45, Alice Equestri presented on “Intellectual Disability, the English Law, and the Fools of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries.” She visited a seminar on Shakespeare and Disability Studies, but her presentation was open to the public. This was be a hybrid event (i.e., participants joined via Zoom or the EMC).
3. On 11/2, from 2-3 in the EMC (South Hall 2510), we met to discuss the possibility of a regular discussion group that reads early modern texts within the group (i.e., we take turns reading then analyzing a literary work aloud, and people do not have to prepare in advance).
EMC Fellow: Olivia Henderson