Dr. Paul Budra | The Shakespeare Conspiracy

2020, PFL 2019-2020, Arts + Culture, Media + Information, President's Faculty Lectures

William Shakespeare lived in an era of conspiracy. Plots were laid against both the monarchs who reigned during Shakespeare’s lifetime and his plays depict conspiracies both murderous and comic. We live in an era of conspiracy theories: vaccinations, 911, and even the shape of our planet have been subject to elaborate and often paranoid belief systems. Shakespeare himself, unique among world authors, is the subject of such a conspiracy theory. The contrast between that theory and the conspiracies in Shakespeare’s age and plays can, I will argue, provide insight into the rhetoric and strategies of the modern conspiratorial imagination.

Tue, 10 Mar 2020

7:00 p.m. (PT)

Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
6450 Deer Lake Ave
Burnaby, BC

We respectfully acknowledge that this event takes place on the Unceded, Traditional, Ancestral Territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Kwikwetlem First Nations.

The President’s Faculty Lectures shine a light on the research excellence at Simon Fraser University. Hosted by the SFU president, these free public lectures celebrate cutting-edge research and faculty that engage with communities and mobilize knowledge to make real-world impacts.

Paul Budra is professor of English at SFU where he teaches Shakespeare and early modern literature. He has published six books and numerous articles on Renaissance literature and contemporary popular culture. He is a past chair of the English Department, a former Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and he has served as the president of the Pacific Northwest Renaissance Society. He is the winner of the SFU Excellence in Teaching Award for 2004 and he is the director of SFU Publications. Dr. Budra delivers a series of public lectures at Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach Shakespeare festival every summer.

Event Recording

Listen to The Shakespeare Conspiracy on CBC Ideas (March 31, 2020)

What Shakespeare can teach us about conspiracy theories today — CBC Radio (March 31, 2020)

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Dr. Paul Budra | The Shakespeare Conspiracy

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English professor Dr. Paul Budra explores the contrasts between the conspiracy theories rampant both in William Shakespeare's time and in our own era (including theories about Shakespeare himself), providing insight into our modern conspiratorial imagination.

Read More →