Literary canons have come under fire for perpetuating privilege and exclusion. But some artists — including William Shakespeare and Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda — show us how canons can actually build community and democracy.

Guests:

• Stephen Greenblatt, Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University and editor of the Norton edition of Shakespeare’s works and the Norton Anthology of English Literature.
• Oskar Eustis, artistic director of New York City’s Public Theatre.
• John Ray Proctor, actor and drama professor at Tulane University.
• Rory Loughnane, senior lecturer in Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent and associate editor of the New Oxford Shakespeare.

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