Professor Amrita Dhar (OSU, English) will share her work examining the stakes of engaging with Shakespeare in regions that were once under European colonial rule. Given the massive continued presence of Shakespeare everywhere that colonialism reached, especially British colonialism, she'll explore the reality of 21st-century Shakespeare in geographies of postcolonial inheritance, such as South Asia. Thinking about the “Post” Colonies offers us a framework to recognize that the violence of colonialism is such that there can be no truly post-colonial state, only a neo-colonial one. Dhar studies what the postcolonial/post-colonial/“post” colonial presence of Shakespeare means for our world of strange mobilities and borders, estrangements and loyalties, distinct identities and shared commitments. Her main questions engage issues of race, caste, gender, sexuality, adaptation, performance, multilingualism, and indigeneity.
Live and in-person.
Sponsored by the South Asian Studies Initiative (SASI).
This event is free and open to the public.