Why English audiences have the toughest time with Shakespeare

Why English audiences have the toughest time with Shakespeare

(Paris, AFP)      All the world’s a stage but the irony is the rest of the globe often has an easier time understanding William Shakespeare than English speakers. Thanks to frequently updated translations that dispense with the archaic Renaissance language, foreign audiences often find the Bard easier to follow. Take “King Lear”, a new version…

New Books Network Podcast

New Books Network Podcast

Shakespeare’s plays enjoy a great deal of popularity across the world, yet most of us study Shakespeare’s local productions. Alexa Alice Joubin‘s Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford 2021) addresses this gap through a wide-ranging analysis of stage and film adaptations related to Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the US and UK, including Asian American works….

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back!

 Dear English Department students,  Welcome back, and a special welcome to first-year and newly declared English majors just joining us for the first time! It feels exciting (and a bit intimidating) to contemplate gathering again in our classrooms for the first time since the pandemic erupted. As we’ve prepared to re-open our suite on the…

The Roots of Anti-Asian Racism in the U.S.: The Pandemic and “Yellow Peril”

The Roots of Anti-Asian Racism in the U.S.: The Pandemic and “Yellow Peril”

COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism—the demonization of a group of people based on their perceived social value—in the United States in the cultural and political life.       Professor Alexa Alice Joubin recently published an article that analyzes the language of racism and misogyny. Her article also offers strategies for inclusion during and after the…

Familiar Ambiguity: The Value of the Humanities in a Globalized World

Familiar Ambiguity: The Value of the Humanities in a Globalized World

In Professor Alexa Alice Joubin‘s recent op-ed, she championed the value of the humanities in a globalized world. The world needs good question askers as much as it needs good problem solvers. Before solving problems, we need to first identify the problems.  Great stories are often strangers at home. The best of them defamiliarize banal…

Visiting Speaker: T. Kira Madden

Visiting Speaker: T. Kira Madden

On February 16th, author T Kira Madden hosted a conversation and Q&A with Professor Annie Liontas’ Creative Nonfiction writing workshop class. Her debut memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls was a New York Times Editor’s Choice selection and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize. Student April Mihalovich created an alternate cover for the…

Visiting Speakers: Cameron LeBrun & Joey Garber

Visiting Speakers: Cameron LeBrun & Joey Garber

    In early December, alumni Cameron LeBrun and Joey Garber dropped in on Professor Annie Liontas’ Nonfiction Workshop. The GW graduates collaborated on their new and innovative podcast Double Feature: Hear Me & Drinking with Ghosts. The 11-episode podcast is a humorous and fresh take on “true” crime, that investigates the murder of Alaska Curtis from…