Woke Shakespeare: Rethinking Shakespeare for a New Era

Shakespeare's plays have always been embroiled in political and cultural debates. From the Elizabethan/Jacobean stage to modern classrooms, his works provoke conversation, challenge conventions, and ignite controversy. Nonetheless, Shakespeare's central position in the traditional cultural establishment is facing renewed scrutiny as some critics start to question whether his works should still occupy a prime position on the syllabus and the stage. Debates about "woke" ideology-emerging in part out of the earlier "culture wars"-have stimulated renewed interest in the role of various schools of critical enquiry, ranging from feminism and gender to queer theory, postcolonialism and race to cultural materialism, global studies to eco-criticism, social class to social justice. The essays in this new collection provide a forum for more diverse voices and debates, seeking to explore how to engage with modern social and political issues in transformative ways:

• How can we navigate new thinking about the struggle for social justice while reimagining Shakespeare's role in a rapidly changing political cultural landscape?
• How does Shakespeare's work intersect with modern political anxieties such as the politics of "woke" and cultural panic?
• In terms of rethinking identity and human agency, what do Shakespeare's characters reveal or obscure about today's debates on race, gender, and social justice?
• With regard to censorship, safety, and emancipation how should educators approach potentially sensitive content in a way that respects both free speech and inclusivity?
• To what extent does working with Shakespeare involve global perspectives and postcolonial insights that might contribute to decolonizing the curriculum?
• How do new platforms, social media conversations, and digital adaptations shape our engagement with Shakespearean texts?

Featuring feminist reinterpretations, queer temporalities, global perspectives and postcolonial adaptations/appropriations, WOKE SHAKESPEARE challenges readers to reconsider Shakespeare's current contribution to twenty-first-century culture. It is an essential resource for educators, performers, and scholars who wish to grapple with Shakespeare's contested legacy and explore innovative approaches to his works in an era of political struggle and social transformation.
Whether embracing, resisting, or reinterpreting "woke" ideologies, this book aims to foster a civilized and critical dialogue about Shakespeare's enduring influence in a world that is constantly redefining itself in line with controversial new ideas about social justice.

"deftly catapults works of The Great Bard into our current historical moment shaped by the notion of "wokeness" and the identity politics of political correctness. Exploring topics ranging from eco-criticism, postcolonialism, queer theory, global studies, social justice, cultural materialism, and more, this book will radically re-shape the myriad ways in which we read Shakespeare today. Required reading for those interested in drawing thematic and ideological threads from Shakespeare's words and time into the dawning of our precarious 21st century."
--- Dr Rahul K Gairola, Krishna Somers Senior Lecturer in English and Postcolonial Literature (Murdoch University, Australia); Principal Fellow of the Indo-Pacific Research Centre (IPRC).

"Woke Shakespeare is a diligent, well-researched exploration of the contested anti-woke discourse, advocating for reclaiming Woke Studies as a form of critical scholarship. ... A compelling and necessary call to rethink diversity and inclusion in contemporary Shakespearean discourse."
--- Dr. Shantanu Siuli, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Swami Vivekananda University.