Phyllis Rackin, Professor Emerita of English at the University of Pennsylvania, will present selections from her book,
Shakespeare and Women (available from Oxford University Press). The book stems from Rackin’s belief that we’ve been overestimating the degree of women’s subordination, both in Shakespeare’s plays and in the world where they were first produced. She will focus on the chapter entitled “Our Canon, Ourselves,” which argues that the plays we choose to emphasize nowadays may tell us more about our own assumptions about women than they do about those of Shakespeare and his original audiences; and, within that chapter, she will focus on the discussion of
The Taming of The Shrew, a play which has been extremely popular in recent years but may not have been so popular when it was first performed. There will also be plenty of time for your questions and comments.
Phyllis Rackin, Professor Emerita of English at the University of Pennsylvania and a former President of the Shakespeare Association of America, has published numerous scholarly articles on Shakespeare and related subjects as well as five books on Shakespeare:
Shakespeare's Tragedies, Stages of History, Engendering a Nation, Shakespeare and Women, and an anthology of essays on
The Merry Wives of Windsor. Her awards include a Lindback award for distinguished teaching.
The program will be held over
Zoom Conferencing. Please let us know in advance if you need assistance installing Zoom.
This program is free of charge for Penn’s Village members, volunteers and donors. Guests are welcome to attend up to three programs before being required to join and/or volunteer with Penn’s Village. If you attend as a guest, there is a $10 fee for each program. To register email info@pennsvillage.org or call (215) 925-7333. Please cancel if you are unable to make your reservation so there will be room for others.
Penn’s Village supports and actively encourages a diverse and inclusive community of members, staff, Board of Directors, and volunteers. Diversity and inclusiveness means excluding no one because of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical abilities, religious beliefs, or political beliefs.