Shall We Be or Not Be: Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Anxieties of Arab Nationalism

Margaret Litvin, assistant professor of Arabic and comparative literature at Boston University, discussed Arab appropriations of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' and what they reveal about the history of Arab political culture over the past half-century, February 28, 2008, in Cornell's White Hall. Litvin specializes in modern Arabic drama and political culture. Her book manuscript,<em>Hamlet's Arab Journey</em>, examines the many reworkings of Shakespeare's Hamlet in postcolonial Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. Her articles and reviews have appeared in<em>Critical Survey</em>, the<em>Journal of Arabic Literature</em>, and<em>Shakespeare Bulletin</em>. Introduction by Shawkat M. Toorawa, associate professor of Arabic literature and Islamic studies at Cornell.