Thanks to a generous bequest from the late Dr. Iris Annette Pearce, Rhodes enjoys a range of Shakespeare-related resources unique among American liberal arts colleges. The Pearce Shakespeare Endowment was established in 2007 to enrich courses in Shakespeare and support events for the entire campus.
Funds generated by Dr. Pearce’s gift aid Shakespeare studies through lectures by visiting scholars; conferences and symposia; support for research; productions of plays; periods of residence by performing artists; and other innovative programming to enhance Shakespeare at 51 and in the greater Memphis community. Key institutional partnerships have helped bring these events to a wide range of audiences.
'Students at 51 are granted singular access to the world of Shakespeare through the Pearce Endowment. Academics and artists come together to collaborate with different faculty, enhancing their classroom discussions. The programming acts in tandem with coursework, allowing students to delve deeper into their studies and to understand how Shakespeare’s work has shaped our modern world. The Pearce Endowment is essential in cultivating thoughtful, curious scholars; I find these lessons constantly relevant in my work!" — ’21, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator,
Whose Shakespeare is it anyway?
(London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art)
Thursday, October 29; 5:30–7:00 p.m.
In-person (Dorothy C. King Hall), $40
When we talk about a Shakespeare play what do we actually mean? How have these plays come down to us across the centuries, and how faithful are modern editions to the originals? This interactive, entertaining and enlightening lecture discusses how we approach a Shakespearean text, where it comes from, and how modern editors reedit them, frequently mistakenly. It examines the difference between Folio and Quartos, the only sources we have for the plays, and from them to modern editions, looking along the way at Henry V at Harfleur; Benedict kissing Beatrice; Viola’s Ring speech, the ending of King Lear, and many more. Class size: minimum of 5 students, maximum 20.
Pearce Shakespeare Endowment Lecture
(Yale University), TBA
Thursday, April 8, 6pm (location TBA)
Dr. Nicholson is Professor of English at Yale University. She is the author of (Penn Press, 2014) and (Princeton UP, 2020), as well as numerous academic essays and articles. She is also a contributor to the London Review of Books, the New York Review of Books, and other publications. She will be talking about Shakespeare and her new project tentatively entitled “The Renaissance Before Reading.”
Registration information forthcoming.
Keep in Touch
If you would like to be added to the Pearce Shakespeare Endowment e-mail list, please fill out this form. We will send you email announcements only a few times a year.