The expression “The Bard” does Shakespeare and playgoers a huge disservice. The guy with the ruff and the beard is considered “too highbrow,” “out of touch,” and “stuffy.” Sometimes, however, Shakespeare is raunchy, extraordinarily violent, and witty, as reflected in numerous phrases and concepts in our language.
On Thursday, April 23 at 12:00 PM, South Carolina Humanities will host a Facebook Watch Party for “The Shakespeare You Love to Hate,” an entertaining and educational presentation by Dr. Margaret J. Oakes, Professor of English at Furman University and a scholar on SC Humanities’ Speakers Bureau program. The Watch Party will be hosted on the South Carolina Humanities Facebook page.
This presentation will explore some of the lesser produced plays such as Titus Andronicus, Coriolanus, and Troilus and Cressida to show how Shakespeare explores harsh emotion, the shock value of violence, and the cruelty of individuals as part of the range of human experience. No previous Shakespeare experience needed. The presentation is scheduled for April 23, which is widely cited as Shakespeare’s birthday and death day.
Dr. Oakes has been teaching at Furman since 1996. Her academic areas of teaching and research are English Renaissance literature, including such authors as George Herbert, William Shakespeare, John Milton, and Margaret Cavendish. Her avocational interests include British detective fiction and children’s fantasy literature, and she has published on mystery writer Dorothy Sayers and Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling. Prior to her academic career she practiced securities regulation law in Chicago. An Illinois native, she is a graduate of the University of Illinois (BA and JD) and Stanford University (PhD).
The Speakers Bureau is one of SC Humanities’ longstanding program priorities. Through this program, some of South Carolina’s finest scholars travel throughout the state to share their interests and knowledge of the humanities and to spark discussions about human values, traditions and cultures. In this time of quarantine and social distancing, SC Humanities is pleased to be bringing this particular Speakers Bureau program to a virtual audience. We hope you will join us on April 23!
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 21-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.