SEAS discuss Shakespeare in Key Largo

Image by Amanderson2, courtesy of Creative Commons.

Maria Britos/Staff Writer

As almost every lecture takes place within the borders of the University, one school at the Biscayne Bay Campus is set to redefine that trend.

The School of Environment, Art and Societies is hosting their fifth lecture on Shakespearean literature and its connection to the ocean.

The venue is part of the Ocean Life series, a series of lectures put together by the school which brings celebrated researchers and academics to the island of Key Largo. The lecture is part of a series of seven lectures of the spring semester.

Elaine Pritzker, the coordinator of the event at the school says the series began as an “effort to share with the residents of the Keys the research FIU has been doing in the area for years.”

“Shakespeare is often thought of as one of the foundations of western culture and his writings have influenced us in ways that we often take for granted,” said Pritzker.

James Sutton, associate professor  and chair from the department of English is set to host the lecture on Friday, Feb. 21. He is said to be a Renaissance and Shakespearean scholar, and will discuss the relationship that playwright Shakespeare created with his literature and the seas.

Sutton was no available to comment by press time.

Shakespeare’s works has the recurring theme of the sea as a “motif, mechanism and metaphor,” according to the event description on the SEAS website.

Some of Shakespeare’s works that use the sea as a theme are The Tempest, Hamlet, Othello, and Antony and Cleopatra.

“As a society, our relationship with the ocean has been a fundamental part of our culture since the beginning of time,” said Pritzker.

The school is also partnering with Friends of the Key Largo Cultural Center, who will provide the venue, named Murray E. Nelson Government Center, where the event will take place.

As part of the Ocean Life series, the Friends of the Key Largo Cultural Center is helping the school spread the word about the lecture in hopes for a larger audience in the island and “to educate, entertain, and inspire audiences of all ages,” said Pritzker.

The event includes a meet and greet with Sutton followed by the lecture. The event is free of charge to anyone attending.

 

-bbc@fiusm.com