Finding the method in the madness of modern conspiracy theories through Shakespeare

Professor Paul Budra looks at conspiracy theories through Shakespearean lens at SFU President’s Faculty Lecture

Contact:
Ian Bryce, University Communications and Marketing, 236-880-2187, ian_bryce@sfu.ca

Simon Fraser University English professor Paul Budra will share his latest research on conspiracy theories as a literary form through the lens of Shakespeare’s age and plays as part of SFU’s President’s Faculty Lecture Series on Tuesday, March 10.

WHAT:

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.

In an era of conspiracy theories—vaccinations, 9/11, and even the shape of the 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.

Budra will argue that the contrast between that theory and the conspiracies in Shakespeare’s age and plays can provide insight into the rhetoric and strategies of the modern conspiratorial imagination.

WHEN:

• Tuesday, March 10, 2020
• 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

WHERE:

• Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
• 6450 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby

ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY:

As Canada’s engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today’s problems. With campuses in British Columbia’s three largest cities – Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey – SFU has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 35,000 students. The university now boasts more than 160,000 alumni residing in 143 countries.

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