From their origins in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Shakespeare’s plays and poems have been co-opted into discussions and movements across the political spectrum. This panel reconsiders Shakespeare—the man, his works, and the “brand”—in our present sociopolitical moment, reflecting on how Shakespeare’s works speak to—and invite questioning of—issues as varied as racial justice, sex and gender, political violence, free speech, and addiction. Ultimately, the panel asks whether—and why—Shakespeare remains a vital cultural and political touchstone in the twenty-first century.

Panelists:

• Heather James is Professor of English, Comparative Literature, and Classics at USC. She has served as President of the Shakespeare Association of America. Her most recent book is Ovid and the Liberty of Speech in Shakespeare's England (Cambridge UP, 2021).
• Rebecca Lemon is Professor of English, Comparative Literature, and History at the University of Southern California, where she serves as the Divisional Dean of the Humanities and Director of the Levan Institute for the Humanities. Her award-winning writing on Shakespeare, law, political philosophy, and the history of medicine includes three books: Addiction and Devotion in Early Modern England (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018; paperback 2024); Shakespeare’s King Richard III: Language and Writing (Bloomsbury Press, 2018); and Treason by Words: Literature, Law, and Rebellion in Early Modern England (Cornell University Press, 2006; paperback 2009), as well as two edited collections and the forthcoming collection Shakespeare and Ecological Crisis (Edinburgh University Press).
• Ian Smith holds the Leo S. Bing Chair in English and American Literature at the University of Southern California. His most recent monograph is Black Shakespeare: Reading and Misreading Race (2022). His work on Shakespeare, premodern critical race studies, and queer studies has also appeared in several journals and anthologies. He is the recipient of multiple fellowships and most recently held the Los Angeles Times Chair in the History and Culture of the Americas at the Huntington Library (2022–23). He is also a past President of the Shakespeare Association of America (2023–24).
• Harry R. McCarthy (moderator) is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Southern California. He is the author of the introduction to Titus Andronicus for Oxford World’s Classics (2025) and of Shakespeare’s Stages (Cambridge, 2025), Boy Actors in Early Modern England: Skill and Stagecraft in the Theatre (Cambridge, 2022), and Performing Early Modern Drama Beyond Shakespeare: Edward’s Boys (Cambridge, 2020).

This panel is part of the 2026 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.