Facultad de Letras
A play whose roots are to be found in a popular Italian narrative, Shakespeare’s Othello has, through a variety of different artistic media, left a lasting trace on modern European culture. As part of a broader aim to reconstruct the documentary bases and commemorations of Shakespeare’s presence in Europe, the combined research teams “The Reception of Shakespeare’s Work in Spanish and European Culture” and “Shakespeare and the 20th Century: War, Cultural Memory and New Media” are organizing a symposium to chart the continental reception of Othello. “Reception” is understood here in the broadest sense: critical-scholarly responses, but also translations, adaptations, performances, commemorations and various digital interventions which have, from the standpoint of their specific local contexts, contributed significantly to the consolidation of Othello as an integral part of Europe’s cultural heritage. Contributions are invited on any of the following aspects:
Ø Criticism and analysis of Othello from the 17th century to the present
Ø Translating Othello into other European languages: the importance and impact of those translations in the target culture
Ø Different versions (adaptations, rewrites, appropriations, updates) of Othello and their relation to the original
Ø Othello in European theatrical, operatic, film and TV performance
Ø Othello in today’s digital environments and new media
Ø The ‘Europeanness’ of Othello within a globalized world
We particularly welcome contributions which reconstruct the documentary bases of Othello from its beginnings and which relate particular interventions (artistic or otherwise) to broader national or transnational concerns and to the history of Shakespeare’s reception in these contexts.
Keynote speakers who have already confirmed their attendance include:
Manfred Draudt, University of Vienna
Ayanna Thompson, George Washington University
Douglas Lanier, University of New Hampshire