The English Miscellany

    Includes my chapter in Part II. 9. Border Crossings: Foucault, Philosophy and Fiction (Ian McCormick) Description A cross-cultural study that explores and redefines what philosophy, philosophizing, and philosophers are through the lens of literature. The academic discipline of philosophy may tell us, too rigidly, what a philosopher is or should be; but fictional narration often upholds the core conundrums of humankind in which philosophy germinates. This collection of essays explores whether a study of 'philosophers' at a planetary scale, or at least on a broad cross-cultural spectrum, can decouple philosophy from its academic aspect and lend it a more inclusive domain. Contributors to this volume play with three conceptual poles, making them interact with each other and get modified through this interaction: 'fiction', 'narrative' and 'philosopher'. How do these three terms get semantically modified and broadened in scope when we speak of the figure...

  “ There are over 50,000 deaf children in the UK and Shakespeare is the only named author that all children are required to study by the national curriculum. However, there is a lack of resources for deaf students studying Shakespeare in school.” In this context, Braidwood Trust School for the Deaf (Birmingham, UK) has collaborated with Dr Abigail-Woodall from the University of Birmingham and Tracy Irish from the RSC Theatre. The ‘Signing Shakespeare Project’ involved the creation of online resources and activities to support teachers teaching Shakespeare to Deaf pupils.  On 18 July 2024, this group of students from the Braidwood school performed their adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Rep Theatre, Birmingham UK. This was part of the Signing Shakespeare project, which involved working alongside a professional deaf actor: Mia Ward (Prospero). In this performance, Prospero’s long delivery of the backstory (which can be slightly tedious in some prod...

  Mourning in Testopolis Anxiously, the English students joined the exam queue behind an ostentatious Fronted Adverbial, setting the scene. Angry clouds scudded across a melancholy sky. Sometimes a shaft of Sibilance pierced the gloom. Something sparkly was lurking beside a Colon: showy, shimmering, and seductive. Was it success? Indeed, the Semantic Field of Testopolis was strewn with Pathetic Fallacies and hot-headed Personifications; it was a Gothic graveyard where dead Metaphors haunted the graves of highly sophisticated and profoundly erudite scholars; they snoozed forever in a bed of sleepy Semi-colons. Sometimes a bitter sweet Oxymoron leapt out of a coffin and boldly bashed a passing Plosive. Tension was rising as the Pace quickened. Splatter! Lady Allegory had lifted the long lance of Hyperbolic Alliteration and skewered the deadliest of Superlative orthographic monsters: the dreaded Onomatopoeia . What a premature climax! Clatter! Or was it buzzing of ...

  Shakespeare’s plays have never been far from political and cultural controversy. Today, Shakespeare still sits at the centre of the cultural establishment. However, this canonical status is under renewed attack from critics and detractors. Is it time to jettison Shakespeare from the syllabus and the stage, making way for new voices? Alternatively, what are the opportunities and strengths of working/woking with Shakespeare’s texts? This new edited volume aims to explore some of the most recent conversations about teaching and performing Shakespeare in the age of woke cultural politics and poetics. In the context of media hostility and panic, what are the challenges faced by new audiences and learners? How should Shakespeare be positioned in the twenty-first century cultural landscape? Is it still possible to have a civilized conversation about Shakespearean scholarship, pedagogy and performance? Contributors are invited to consider the following (indicative) topics for discuss...