Symposium: New Directions for Shakespeare and Psychoanalytic Studies

Shakespeare Drawing
February 29th, 2020
Sigmund Freud

Location: Bellflower Hall Room 102, 11427 Bellflower Road

The discipline of Shakespeare studies has always been deeply intertwined with the study of the mind. The founding of psychoanalysis can be dated to Sigmund Freud’s reading of Hamlet in 1897, and psychoanalytic theorists continued to draw examples from Shakespeare as they expanded upon Freud’s initial concepts throughout the century that followed. Likewise, psychoanalytic theory provided the foundation for many of the major works of twentieth-century Shakespearean criticism.

Please join us for a unique symposium, bringing together both literary scholars and therapeutic practitioners, to consider what is next for the study of Shakespeare and psychoanalysis. We expect a vibrant discussion about the points of contact between the study of Shakespeare and of clinical practice. Together, we hope to consider the current status of Shakespeare in psychoanalytic studies, the place of psychoanalysis in Shakespeare studies, and the future of both disciplines.

This event is co-sponsored by the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center.

Program Schedule 

9-10:30 am –
Panel: New Directions for Reading Hamlet
Panel Chair: Luke Reader
• Russ Bodi, Owens Community College: “Shakespeare’s Festive Violence: Incongruities in Hamlet 5.2”
• Kasey Evans, Northwestern University:
“Out of joint: Hamlet Speaks to the Dead”
• Gabriel Rieger, Concord University:
“‘Crawling between earth and heaven’: Psychoanalysis, Sadomasochism, and Subjectivity in Early Modern Tragedy”

10:30-10:45 am –
Coffee break

10:45 am – Noon
Plenary Speech
“Reading to recover: a project for a literary psychoanalysis”
Vera Camden, Kent State University and Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center.

12-1:00 pm – Break for lunch.

1-2:00 pm
Panel: New Directions for Reading Adaptation
Panel Chair: Denna Iammarino
• James Newlin, Case Western Reserve University: “Uncanny Fidelity: The Master’s White Caliban”
• Christian Smith, Independent Scholar:
“King Lear on the IRT: Shakespearean Adaptation in Philip Roth’s Sabbath’s Theater”

2-2:15 pm – Coffee break.

2:15-3:15 pm
Panel: New Approaches Toward Gender Panel Chair: Megan Griffin
• Laura Evers, Case Western Reserve University:
“‘Tis with him in standing water:” Reimagining the Eunuch Disguise on Stage in Twelfth Night”
• James J. Marino, Cleveland State University:
“If Oedipus Were a Woman: The Winter’s Tale”

3:15-3:30 pm – Coffee break

3:30-4:45 pm –
Plenary Speech
“Shakespeare, Richardson, Nabokov and the Question of the Posthumous”
Richard Burt, University of Florida

4:45-5:00 – Closing remarks.

Event is free and open to the public.