Thanks to a generous bequest from the late Dr. Iris Annette Pearce, Rhodes enjoys a range of Shakespeare-related resources unique among American liberal arts colleges. The Pearce Shakespeare Endowment was established in 2007 to enrich courses in Shakespeare and support events for the entire campus.
Funds generated by Dr. Pearce’s gift aid Shakespeare studies through lectures by visiting scholars; conferences and symposia; support for research; productions of plays; periods of residence by performing artists; and other innovative programming to enhance Shakespeare at Rhodes and in the greater Memphis community. Key institutional partnerships have helped bring these events to a wide range of audiences.
"The Pearce Endowment provides a wonderful set of resources for Shakespeare studies at Rhodes. The events that it supports both on and off campus bring together world-class scholars and performers to speak to each other and, even more importantly, to students. Because these lectures, symposia, and performances are integrated with ongoing coursework, Rhodes students have the opportunity to think about Shakespeare — and their own work — beyond the boundaries of the classroom." — Andrew Miller, ′11
2023 Pearce Law and Literature Speaker Series
The 2023 Pearce Law and Literature Speaker series will bring Renaissance scholars working on the cutting edge of law and literature studies to share their current work with us – and with each other. All speakers will be present at each session to create a dynamic conversation and continuity across the semester. Speakers will address topics such as race, disability, human rights, equity, and the politics of majority rule.
This speaker series is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Please REGISTER in advance for each virtual event using the links below. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Schedule
Thursday, Jan. 26, 12:30-1:45 CST
Cassander Smith (The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa), “Black Legend as Legal Rhetoric in Early British Encounters with Sub-Saharan Africa”
Register in advance for this meeting.
Thursday, Feb. 23, 12:30-1:45 CST
Penelope Geng (Macalester College), “Disabled by Law: Property and Ablenationalism in Seventeenth-Century Law and Literature”
Bernadette Meyler (Stanford University), “Coriolanus and the History of Majoritarianism”
Register in advance for this meeting.
Tuesday, March 28, 12:30-1:45 CST:
Penelope Anderson (Indiana University Bloomington), “A Poetics of Human Rights: The Case of Cymbeline”
Alison Chapman (The University of Alabama at Birmingham), “‘For with his own laws he can best dispense’: Equity and Interpretation in Samson Agonistes”
Register in advance for this meeting.
Thursday, April 13, 12:30-1:45 CST:
Keynote Address: Lorna Hutson (Merton Professor of English Literature, Merton College, Oxford University), “Neptune’s Sway: Law in the ‘Island Nation’ Fiction, 1550-1700”
Register in advance for this meeting.
Co-Sponsored by the Department of English, the Office of Academic Affairs, and the University of Memphis Humphreys School of Law