Francesca Royster By Anthony Radek
"Shakespearian Renaissance" is
a term that conjures up thoughts of grand plays, noble culture and
a higher level of intellect. However, Francesca Royster believes these
old world notions can be thoroughly related to modern society.
Dr. Francesca Royster is an Associate Professor at DePaul University,
teaching Renaissance literature, Shakespeare and cultural studies.
She is also a passionate speaker on the subject of pop culture, race
and media. It is her fascination with Shakespeare that properly ties
the two subjects together, making for an interesting discussion. |
Image from academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu
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“Shakespeare can cross a lot of classes,” says Royster. “There
is a lot of potential to relate Shakespeare to many current issues we
face today.”
In her lectures and discussions, Royster likes to point out the relationship
between Shakespeare and modern popular culture, linking drama to everyday
life.
“Pop culture provides a lens to make sense of our lives,”
she says. “Shakespeare reflected what people were going through
at the time, it shows art and lives and how they [interact].”
She also points out that Shakespeare can be related to post-9/11 violence.
People may read Shakespeare and understand the his history of plays to
understand modern violence, “the war on terror" and the scapegoating
of racial and religious others in post 9/11 society.
On top of her deep understanding of Shakespearian culture, she is also
an advocate for improved positive images of African Americans in media
and pop culture and is on the Board of Directors for “Beyond Media”,
an organization that teaches women and girls about media. She likes to
tie her scholarship to activism.
“I talk about black women in popular film," she says. “I
survey recent images and stereotypes in popular film and techniques of
critical analysis.”
In her novel, “Becoming Cleopatra: The Shifting Image of an Icon”,
she provides such analysis on the similarities between Cleopatra and Queen
Latifah’s character, properly named, Cleopatra "Cleo"
Sims in the 1990s film “Set It Off”.
Still, she finds the most rewarding part of her career teaching and leading
scholarly discussions.
“I first wanted to be a teacher because I liked engaging with people,”
says Royster. “The writing [aspect] is challenging because you are
so isolated, but it is fun when you present it to people.”
Literature has always been a fascination for Royster. Growing up as the
daughter of a professor at University of Illinois at Chicago, she was
in wonder of the illusive “idea”.
“When I first started teaching I wanted to be a psychologist because
I was interested in idea,” she said. “Literature gets to talk
about the history of ideas.”
Royster is one of the speakers available to be booked
through Voices Exchange.
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