Shakespeare and Geek Culture

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From fantasy and sci-fi to graphic novels, from boy scouts to board games, from blockbuster films to the cult of theatre, Shakespeare is everywhere in popular culture. Where there is popular culture there are fans and nerds and geeks. The essays in this collection on Shakespeare and Geek Culture take an innovative approach to the study of Shakespeares cultural presences, situating his works, his image and his brand to locate and explore the nature of that geekiness that, the authors argue, is a vital but unrecognized feature of the world of those who enjoy and are obsessed by Shakespeare, whether they are scholars, film fans, theatre-goers or members of legions of other groupings in which Shakespeare plays his part. Working at the intersections of a wide range of fields including fan studies and film analysis, cultural studies and fantasy/sci-fi theory the authors demonstrate how the particularities of the connection between Shakespeare and geek culture generate new insights into the plays, poems and their larger cultural legacy in the 21st century.

Author Bio

Andrew James Hartley is the Robinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA. He is the author of various scholarly books including The Shakespearean Dramaturg, Shakespeare and Political Theatre, a performance history of Julius Caesar, and essay collections on Shakespeare on the University stage and Shakespeare in Millennial fiction. He is an honorary fellow of the University of Central Lancashire, UK. Peter Holland is the McMeel Family Professor of Shakespeare Studies and Associate Dean for the Arts at the University of Notre Dame, USA. He was Director of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon and is a past president of the Shakespeare Association of America. He is Chair of the International Shakespeare Association.