Step into the tempestuous world of Shakespeare's King Lear and explore its profound relevance to our modern climate challenges! No work of English literature speaks more directly to human vulnerability in the face of climate disruption than Shakespeare's King Lear. The old king, thrust into the storm, feels his environmental weakness to his skin. This round-table conversation is led by renowned Shakespearean scholar Steve Mentz. Speakers will include David Sterling Brown, a CT native who currently teaches at Trinity College in Hartford, and actor, writer, and teacher Tara Bradway.
Tempests of the Mind: Exploring Climate Change, Shakespeare, and the Human Experience
Ideas Unleashed
Steve Mentz
Steve Mentz teaches Shakespeare and the environmental humanities at St. John's University in New York City. His most recent book, Sailing without Ahab, entwines the global trajectory of Melville's Moby Dick with his own ocean swimming on the Connecticut Shoreline. He is also the author of numerous other books, including An Introduction to the Blue Humanities (2023) and Ocean (2020). He lives in Short Beach, Branford.
Dr. David Sterling Brown
A lifelong Connecticut resident and Associate Professor of English at his undergraduate alma mater, Trinity College (Hartford, CT), Dr. David Sterling Brown is an award-winning Shakespeare and critical race studies scholar whose research, teaching and public speaking interests include African-American literature, dramatic literature, mental health, gender, performance, sexuality and the family. His book, Shakespeare’s White Others, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2023. The book is available as an audiobook, narrated by the author. Brown is creator of the 3D/virtual-reality David Sterling Brown Gallery and he is curator of the gallery’s first exhibition “Visualizing Race Virtually,” a visual complement to his Shakespeare’s White Others.
Tara Bradway
Tara Bradway is a performer, director, and writer who has acted, produced, or directed more than fifty productions of Shakespeare. Noteworthy performances include the title roles in productions of Hamlet and Richard II, as well as Portia in The Merchant of Venice and Cassius in Julius Caesar.. She holds a PhD in English with a concentration in performance and Shakespeare studies. She also writes historical fiction, rescues dogs, and lives in upstate New York with her husband.
