Hello! Bonjour, 你好, salve! My name is Penelope Geng. I use the pronouns she/her/hers. I am an associate professor of English at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota (2021-present; assistant professor 2015-2021) and author of the book Communal Justice in Shakespeare’s England: Drama, Law, Emotion (2021, learn more). Additionally, I am a co-founder and co-convener of Uncommon Bodies (2019-present). At Macalester, I teach classes on Shakespeare, drama, law and literature, demonology, and disability and race. Please contact me if you have questions about my research or teaching, Renaissance or Shakespeare studies.
Sabbatical Leave 2022-2023 … But Keeping Busy
I am on sabbatical for the 2022-23 year. I presented new work at the Sixteenth Century Society & Conference (Minneapolis, Oct. 27-30, 2022), the RSA Virtual Conference (Dec. 2, 2022), the MLA conference (San Francisco, Jan. 6-8, 2023), the Mapping Inns seminar (Mar. 8, 2023), and the Shakespeare Society of America conference (Minneapolis, March 29-April 1, 2023).
Additionally, I gave a talk for the Rhodes College Pearce Shakespeare Endowment. Envisioned and organized by Stephanie Elsky (faculty page), and supported by Scott Newstock (faculty page), this wonderful spring ’23 speakers series explores new opportunities in law and literature. Thanks to its virtual format, anyone can join; more info to come. Registration can be found on the Pearce Law and Literature page.
Newly published
“Trial by Jury in Early Modern England” in The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Renaissance World. First published Dec. 2022.
Join Me for Two Events in March 2022
March 10, 2022 | I’m giving a talk for UCL’s Race, Power, and Poetics Seminar Series based on my second project. Grateful to my friend Rachel E. Holmes (@Rachel_E_Holmes) and her co-organizers for the invitation to share some unpolished work-in-progress! “Cripping Benefits in Timon of Athens” situates Shakespeare and Middleton’s play in the context of early modern disability and plague; the paper also broaches the question of the actor’s cripistemology through a discussion of Kathryn Hunter’s performance of the lead role in the RSC’s production from 2018. In act 1, Timon declares “we are born to do benefits” only to discover that in an ablenationalist state like Athens, benefits are available to the exceptional few. What lessons might we draw from the play’s bold depiction of nonnormative and nonproductive embodiment? How have recent productions (staged in this current age of ablenationalism) used casting, costume, music, and design to foreground the text’s representation of disability, race, and civic belonging? All welcome. To RSVP (it’s free), visit the UCL Events page here.
March 17, 2022 | A Book Conversation with Jessica Winston (Idaho State University) and Jessica Apolloni (Christopher Newport University) on Communal Justice in Shakespeare’s England. I’m beyond excited to be in conversation with these two brilliant and generous scholars of early modern drama and law and literature. Thank you Jackie Watson of the Mapping the Early Modern Inns Group for the idea, invitation, and for hosting the Zoom link. All welcome. To receive the Zoom link, simply email Jackie at mappinginns@gmail.com. The Mapping Inns community grew out of a fantastic 2019 conference on the early modern Inns (of Court).
Contact Me:
Email: pgeng[AT]macalester.edu
Mailing Address: English Dept. – Old Main 210 / Macalester College / 1600 Grand Ave. / St. Paul, MN 55105, USA. [Note: I am going to the office every week between Sept. 2021 and May 2022. Feel free to send mail to that address.]
Twitter: @penelope_hg
Penelope Geng ☞ Early Modern English Literature ☜ 