For Valerie Traub, the way Shakespeare’s sonnets are interpreted is constantly changing.

‘The way in which we interpret and understand Shakespeare’s literature changes over time as we are influenced by our changing culture,’ said Traub, the Frederick G. L. Huetwell professor of English and women’s studies and chair of the women’s studies department at the University of Michigan.

Traub, author of the award-winning book ‘The Renaissance of Lesbianism in Early Modern England,’ will deliver her lecture, ‘Shakespeare’s Sex,’ at Syracuse University on Thursday.

The lecture is part of this year’s Ray Smith Symposium, which will be based on the theme ‘Sex and Power from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment.’ Traub’s lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in the Killian Room in the Hall of Languages.

The lecture will focus on the way scholars and teachers approach the theme of sexuality in Shakespeare’s works. Traub said society’s changing views on sex affect the way scholars interpret and read Shakespeare’s sonnets.

‘The theme of sex has accompanied scholars in their studies of the sonnets since the 18th Century,’ she said, ‘Now that scholars in today’s culture are more comfortable with the idea of sexuality, it’s interesting to see how that affects the way sonnets are read.’

Traub said she hopes her lecture gets students to think about Shakespeare more historically. Traub also wants students to recognize that different cultures and people change the way they think about sex over time, she said.

‘I want students to think historically about sexual roles and practices during the time of Shakespeare,’ she said.

Qiao Zeng, a junior accounting major, said she might attend the lecture and thinks the topic will appeal to students interested in literary studies.

‘I think the topic is pretty unique and interesting,’ Zeng said. ‘It’s really important to be educated about the historical setting of authors when you’re reading books and novels from the past, and this could help students to do that.’

Traub’s lecture is the first of eight in the Ray Smith Symposium for the 2011-12 academic year, according to an Aug. 9 SU News release. The symposium is presented by the College of Arts and Sciences and is organized and presented by the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Working Group at SU, according to the release.

The speakers will specifically look at how power shapes, distorts, produces and represses sexual identities, according to the release. The symposium is named after an SU alumnus of 1921 who went on to be a highly respected teacher and administrator.

adhitzle@syr.edu

Published on September 7, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Alexandra: adhitzle@syr.edu | @LexieHitzler