Join us as we stream the official launch of the Early Modern Scholars of Colour Network, an anti-racist network that aims to create community amongst UK-based scholars of colour in Shakespeare and Early Modern studies, while actively working towards establishing greater inclusivity and decolonial transformation in the UK academy.

Led by Professor Farah Karim-Cooper, the discussions will centre around the achievements of the network so far, upcoming plans, and future avenues for professional support, including an exciting new mentorship scheme. There will be a roundtable discussion on academic activism, early career development, and the state of Shakespeare studies, Early Modern studies and related disciplines in the UK academy.

About the Early Modern Scholars of Colour Network

In Shakespeare and Early Modern Studies there is significant underrepresentation of faculty of colour employed in permanent positions in UK universities. There are various reasons for this: institutional racism in higher education; unconscious and conscious bias in selection of candidates for study and employment; lack of opportunities for students of colour to progress to postgraduate study; lack of funding opportunities; networking and socialisation opportunities for postgraduates of colour; Shakespeare and early modern literature is not consistently presented in schools and universities as an inclusive site of enquiry.

The Early Modern Scholars of Colour Network is an anti-racist collective that will aim to address some of these challenges while working to nurture and enable students, ECR and academics of colour to develop academic and pedagogic networks; find and/or create intellectual spaces that are inclusive and progressive; and enable inclusive practices in the discipline through mentoring. It will also interrogate academic gatekeeping and provide a safe space for scholars of colour to share their work and the challenges and experiences of the predominantly white UK Shakespeare and Early Modern academy.

For more information, visit the network’s new digital home at  www.emsoc.co.uk

The Early Modern Scholars of Colour Network was founded by Professor Farah Karim-Cooper and is a joint initiative of  Shakespeare’s Globe and King’s College London.