In a recent CBC article, University of British Columbia professor Dennis Britton discusses the challenges around teaching Shakespeare’s plays, several of which represent race in harmful ways. Britton describes Shakespeare’s use of colour symbolism and negative references to Black skin, but says that it may be possible to adapt the plays to remove problematic parts as they are not usually integral to the plot. Britton says that plays can be adapted to include Black actors and celebrate Black excellence, but says that there should be discussions of how new voices can be added to curriculum. “Shakespeare should equally be on the chopping block,” says Britton. “You can’t make room for new voices without getting rid of some of the old.” CBC Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.
Top Ten News
UBC Professor adapts Shakespeare to address anti-Black racism
CBC
| CBC
| CBC