Rethink the Role of the Humanities
752 views · Published 3 July 2014 · 3:46 · Indexed 6 October 2026
Channel: The Aspen Institute · 2014 · Nonprofits & Activism
Occupy Shakespeare On the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, what is the role of Shakespeare (the plays, the icon, the brand), in today's world? Who "owns" Shakespeare? The 1%? The 99%? And why? There was a time when Shakespeare's plays were not considered serious enough, or appropriate for, study in libraries or universities. And there was a time, a slightly later time, when Shakespeare's plays were considered the special property of the learned class. Today the plays are part of contemporary culture, in popular music, advertising, and journalistic headlines; and they are also part of literary culture, the culture of "the humanities." In fact, for many people, Shakespeare is the humanities, quoted, misquoted, cited, and sung as an authority on philosophy, statecraft, character, love and death. Professor Marjorie Garber explores what the story of "Shakespeare" in the last hundred years can tell us about the future of the humanities in the 21st century.
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