Shakespeare on the shades of racism / Ruben Espinosa.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Espinosa, Ruben, 1975- author.

Series:

Spotlight on Shakespeare

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Criticism and interpretation.

Shakespeare, William.

Racism in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (124 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021.

Summary:

Shakespeare on the Shades of Racism examines Shakespeare in relation to ongoing conversations that interrogate the vulnerability of Black and brown people amid oppressive structures that aim to devalue their worth. By focusing on the way these individuals are racialized, politicized, policed, and often violated in our contemporary world, it casts light on dimensions of Shakespeare's work that afford us a better understanding of our ethical responsibilities in the face of such brutal racism. Shakespeare on the Shades of Racism is divided into seven short chapters that cast light on contemporary issues regarding racism in our day. Some salient topics that these chapters address include the murder of unarmed Black men and women, the militarization of the U.S. Mexico border, anti-immigrant laws, exclusionary measures aimed at Syrian refugees, inequities in healthcare and safety for women of color, international trends that promote white nationalism, and the dangers of complicity when it comes to racist paradigms. By bringing these contemporary issues into conversation with a wide range of plays that span the many genres in which Shakespeare wrote throughout his career, these chapters demonstrate how the widespread racism and discord within our present moment stands to infuse with urgent meaning Shakespeare's attention to the (in)humanity of strangers, the ethics of hospitality, the perils of insularity, abuses of power, and the vulnerability of the political state and its subjects. The book puts into conversation Shakespeare with present-day events and cultural products surrounding topics of race, ethnicity, xenophobia, immigration, asylum, assimilation, and nationalism as a means of illuminating Shakespeare's cultural and literary significance in relationto these issues. It should be an essential read for all students of literary studies and Shakespeare.

Contents:

Intro

Half Title

Series Information

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Vulnerable bodies

Notes

One The weight of whiteness

Two What would Shakespeare do?

Three All my pretty ones?

Four Ain't I a woman?

Five Experiences of expendability

Six The dangers of indifference

Seven Howl

Afterword I can't breathe

Further reading

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-429-59534-4

0-429-06061-0

0-429-59405-4

9780429060618

OCLC:

1247660656