‘Now is the winter of our discontent’ (Richard III, Act I, Scene 1).
Shakespeare’s works, with their intricate political tensions, power struggles, religious fractures, and profound ethical dilemmas, offer a timeless reflection on the nature of leadership and the vulnerabilities of societies. They resonate with unsettling clarity in our own era, marked by deepening polarization and cultural fragmentation. Far from belonging solely to the past, Shakespeare’s plays continue to illuminate the challenges of the present, making them more relevant than ever.
It is in this context—at a moment when political, social, and cultural divisions are reaching unprecedented levels—that Waseda University, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute and the Université Libre de Bruxelles, is hosting this international conference. Our shared aim is to explore the role and raison d’être of literature and the arts in a world increasingly defined by division.
The conference focuses on how Shakespeare’s works, along with their many interpretations and creative reimaginings, might help us understand and perhaps mitigate the political and social fractures that threaten the foundations of democratic societies and a rules‑based international order.
Our point of departure is the idea that literary texts function as “narratives which connect the present with the past, on the one hand, and with utopian futures, on the other,” thereby fostering human solidarity. Throughout these sessions, we will seek to identify the shared values and common ground embedded in Shakespeare’s plays—and in the diverse interpretations they have inspired across cultures and centuries—that may offer pathways toward overcoming today’s polarization.
Over the coming days, we invite you to reflect, debate, and exchange ideas on how Shakespeare’s works—through their complexity, their humanity, and their capacity to speak across time—may help us imagine more cohesive, more inclusive futures..
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