The Shakespeare Multiverse: Fandom as Literary Praxis

The Shakespeare Multiverse: Fandom as Literary Praxis explores how fandom provides new models for a twenty-first-century reading practice that embraces affective pleasure and subjective self-positioning to understand a text. It suggests that fannish contributions to Shakespeare should be seen as a multiverse, encompassing different worlds that consolidate various perspectives. The book employs an intertextual reading strategy called cyborg reading to accommodate the diverse elements of identity, politics, culture, sexuality, and race that shape Shakespeare exploration and appropriation within fannish reading communities. It challenges hegemonic authority and recognizes the value of a joyfully speculative critical praxis.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 236 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The Shakespeare Multiverse: Fandom as Literary Praxis presents a compelling argument that fandom offers innovative models for a twenty-first-century reading practice that embraces the pursuit of affective pleasure and subjective self-positioning as a means of comprehending a text. This multifaceted work functions as both a critical study and a valuable resource, suggesting that fannish contributions to the ongoing expansion of Shakespeare's legacy can be best envisioned as a multiverse, encompassing diverse worlds that harmonize the various perspectives brought by different fans.

Our understanding of the multiverse redefines Shakespeare not as a singular body of work but as a space where a process of inquiry and cultural memory is influenced and shaped by the technologies available to the reader. Fandom is characterized by an intertextual reading strategy known as cyborg reading, which accommodates the diverse elements of identity, politics, culture, sexuality, and race that shape the ways in which Shakespeare is explored and appropriated within fannish reading communities.

The Shakespeare Multiverse seamlessly intersects literary theory, fan studies, and popular culture, traversing Shakespeare fandom from the 1623 Folio to the age of the Internet. It delves into the intricate textures of fan affect, encompassing individuals who firmly uphold fidelity to the text and those who exist on the periphery of fandom, teetering on the brink of crossing over into Shakespearean anti-fandom. By recognizing the literary value of fandom, The Shakespeare Multiverse offers a fresh perspective on literary criticism that challenges the boundaries of hegemonic authority and embraces the value of a joyfully speculative critical praxis.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032114453