Most scholars say that Shakespeare’s identity is “beyond doubt.” Yet, mystery has always surrounded the works known as Shakespeare’s. More importantly though, what does it mean for the study of knowledge–and history–to declare that something is “beyond doubt” especially when there are so many doubters? What are the downstream effects for academic freedom and pedagogy?

My new book The Shakespeare Authorship Question and Philosophy seeks to look past the claims and counterclaims about this or that candidate to instead examine this debate in terms of external criteria, in the form of theories of knowledge, truth, and rhetoric. The results will, I hope, shed new light on one of the most enduring of academic taboos.

Find out more at my book launch on November 30th, 2023!