Tuesday Talk - November 10, 2020

Shakespeare in a Divided America

Speakers: James Shapiro, Larry Miller Professor of English and Comparative Literature

James Shapiro spoke about his latest book, Shakespeare in a Divided America. Shapiro recently explained why he wrote this book to Columbia News reporter Eve Glasberg: "In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election, I found myself struggling to understand this country. Since Shakespeare is what I know best, I thought I’d use his plays as a way of revisiting some of the issues that have riven America, including race, immigration, same-sex marriage and political assassination. What really catalyzed the book for me was advising a brilliant modern-dress production of Julius Caesar that was staged by the Public Theater in 2017 at the outdoor Delacorte Theater in Central Park—with a Trump look-alike playing Caesar."