Drama

Because of its contingent relationship to performance, dramatic literature is almost always best understood within the context of its cultural-historical moment (even when it appears in "closet" form).  We represent a broad sweep of cultural and historical coverage in the field of dramatic literature in English, from the medieval to the early modern and modernist periods and contemporary world Anglophone drama.  Areas of expertise include medieval drama, voice and performance; Shakespeare, intellectual property and early modern print culture; the social, religious and ideological diversity of early modern audiences; and performance in relation to modernity/modernization/modernism(s).  While the primary focus of our scholarship is trained on dramatic texts, we maintain an enduring interest in performance theory and interpretive bapproaches that unsettle textual limits on meaning.

Faculty Experts