Shakespeare and Cultural Appropriation pushes back against two intertwined binaries: the idea that appropriation can only be either theft or gift, and the idea that cultural appropriation should be narrowly defined as an appropriative contest between a hegemonic and marginalized power. In doing so, the contributions to the collection provide tools for thinking about appropriation and cultural appropriation as spectrums constantly evolving and renegotiating between the poles of exploitation and appreciation.
This collection argues that the concept of cultural appropriation is one of the most undertheorized yet evocative frameworks for Shakespeare appropriation studies to address the relationships between power, users, and uses of Shakespeare. By robustly theorizing cultural appropriation, this collection offers a foundation for interrogating not just the line between exploitation and appreciation, but also how distinct values, biases, and inequities determine where that line lies. Ultimately, this collection broadly employs cultural appropriation to rethink how Shakespeare studies can redirect attention back to power structures, cultural ownership and identity, and Shakespeare’s imbrication within those networks of power and influence. Throughout the contributions in this collection, which explore twentieth and twenty-first century global appropriations of Shakespeare across modes and genres, the collection uncovers how a deeper exploration of cultural appropriation can reorient the inquiries of Shakespeare adaptation and appropriation studies.
This collection will be of great interest to students and scholars in theatre and performance studies, Shakespeare studies, and adaption studies.
"Contributors Bio Acknowledgement Foreword by Valerie M. Fazel and Louise Geddes Introduction: Shakespeare and Cultural Appropriation in the Third Millennium Vanessa I. Corredera, L. Monique Pittman, and Geoffrey Way Appropriation Conversation #1 with Sujata Iyengar Chapter 1. Romanian Hamlet: Translated Shakespeare as Soft Power for the Post-Communist Nation Ingrid Radulescu and L. Monique Pittman Chapter 2. Taking Centre Stage: Shakespearean Appropriations on Spanish Television in Franco’s Spain Elena Bandín Chapter 3. Rescuing Othello: Early Soviet Stage and Cultural Authority Natalia Khomenko Appropriation Conversation #2 with Ruben Espinosa Chapter 4. ""Othello Was a Lie"": Wrestling with Shakespeare’s Othello Ambereen Dadabhoy Chapter 5. Prospero in Prison: Adaptation and Appropriation in Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed Elizabeth Charlebois Chapter 6. Motherhoods and Motherlands: Gender, Nation, and Adaptation in We That Are Young Taarini Mookherjee Appropriation Conversation #3 with Ayanna Thompson Chapter 7. Hijacking Shakespeare: Archival Absences, Textual Accidents, and Revisionist Repair in Aditi Brennan Kapil’s Imogen Says Nothing Kathryn Vomero Santos Chapter 8. ""Fortune reigns in gifts of the world"": Appropriation and Power in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s International Collections Helen A. Hopkins Chapter 9. Remediating White, Patriarchal Violence in Caridad Svich’s Twelve Ophelias Katherine Gillen Appropriation Conversation #4 with Joyce Green MacDonald Chapter 10. Remedial Uses of Shakespeare: An Afterword Alexa Alice Joubin and Elizabeth Rivlin Index"
Vanessa I. Corredera is Chair of and Associate Professor in the Department of English at Andrews University, USA. L. Monique Pittman is Professor of English and Director of the J. N. Andrews Honors Program at Andrews University, USA. Geoffrey Way is the Manager of Publishing Futures for the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Arizona State University, USA.
