[Linganth] Bradd Shore on his new book, Shakespeare and Social Theory

[Ilana Gershon]

Dear Colleagues,
Bradd Shore and Rob Shore (his son) discuss Shakespeare and Social Theory
on the CaMP anthropology blog today.

You can find the interview here:
https://campanthropology.org

Best,
Ilana

Press blurb:

This book provides a bridge between Shakespeare studies and classical
social theory, opening up readings of Shakespeare to a new audience outside
of literary studies and the humanities. Shakespeare has long been known as
a “great thinker” and this book reads his plays through the lens of an
anthropologist, revealing new connections between Shakespeare’s plays and
the lives we now lead.

Close readings of a selection of frequently studied plays—*Hamlet*, *The
Winter’s Tale*, *Romeo and Juliet*, *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*, *Julius
Caesar*, and *King Lear—*engage with the texts in detail while connecting
them with some of the biggest questions we all ask ourselves, about love,
friendship, ritual, language, human interactions, and the world around us.
The plays are examined through various social theories including
performance theory, cognitive theory, semiotics, exchange theory, and
structuralism. The book concludes with a consideration of how “the new
astronomy” of his day and developments in optics changed the very idea of
“perspective,” and shaped Shakespeare’s approach to embedding social theory
in his dramatic texts.

This accessible and engaging book will appeal to those approaching
Shakespeare from outside literary studies but will also be valuable to
literature students approaching Shakespeare for the first time, or looking
for a new angle on the plays.
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