Yu Jin Ko
Professor of English
Shakespearean engaged in bringing theatre and academia into greater dialogue; can also be found at home with kids or on soccer field.
My publications have centered on Shakespeare, with an emphasis on performance. My first book, Mutability and Division on Shakespeare’s Stage, appeared in 2004. I have also co-edited a book collection that brings together essays from scholars and theatre professionals: Shakespeare's Sense of Character: On the Page and From the Stage. My latest book extends my interest in Shakespeare in performance to the global stage: Shakespeare's Original Stage Conditions and their Afterlives across the Globe: From the Wooden O to the Yards of Seoul (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2024). My articles and reviews have continued to focus on Shakespeare in performance, both in the theatre and on film, and with a growing interest in productions across the globe. They include an essay on a production of Macbeth by inmates of a correctional institution ("Macbeth Behind Bars") as well as a study of A Midsummer Night's Dream in performance (“Violence and Consensual Imagination in A Midsummer Night’s Dream”). Some recent essays include: “Intercultural Intermediality: The Unspoken Text in Intercultural Film Adaptations of Shakespeare” and "The site of burial in two Korean Hamlets." In a related vein, I have also been studying the afterlives of Shakespeare's works in non-dramatic genres. A recent foray into this area is "Youth, Authenticity and Social Change from Shakespeare's Hamlet to Yoon Dong Ju." Finally, I have been putting my toes into the realm of translation, with my latest effort being a co-translator for the Korean-American artist Kim Wonsook's In the Garden: Stories of Kim Wonsook's Paintings.
I teach Shakespeare at every level—an introductory survey for non-majors, 200-level required courses for majors, and 300-level seminars on Shakespeare in performance. I have also taught a MOOC on Shakespeare with the edX consortium called "Shakespeare: On the Page and in Performance." The archived version of the course (still free and open to anyone in the world) can be found through the following link: https://www.edx.org/course/shakespeare-page-performance-wellesleyx-eng112x. Whatever the format or level of the class, I always try to involve some element of performance, whether it be attending a live performance, viewing recordings, or getting students on their feet to perform scenes. It is my belief that to bring Shakespeare's plays fully alive, we must bring literary and theatrical analysis together. I do teach authors other than Shakespeare, however. I enjoy teaching in particular introductory lecture courses (Studies in Fiction, Writers of Color across the Globe), which allow me and the students to read some wonderful novels for pure pleasure and for insights into cultures around the world.
When I am not enjoying time with my family (wife and two sons), I tend to be engaged in my other passions: watching and playing soccer (in an organized league that's aptly called The New England Over the Hill Soccer League), struggling to learn the music of my youth on guitar, and watching Korean dramas that are equal parts trashy and addictive.
Education
- B.A., Columbia University in the City of New York
- M.A., University of Cambridge
- Ph.D., Yale University
Current and upcoming courses
Topic for Spring 2025: Shakespeare in Performance Around the Globe
The globalization of Shakespeare has only accelerated in the past quarter century, generating a trove of new stage productions, films and adaptations that continue to re-imagine, challenge and revitalize Shakespeare. This course will explore some of the more striking examples, in both English and other languages, from a Korean stage version of A Midsummer Night's Dream and a Chinese film adaptation of Hamlet (The Banquet) to Spanish and Indian retellings of Othello. In the process, we will also investigate what concepts like authenticity, translation, and adaptation mean in an intercultural context. The reading list will be finalized at a later date so that local productions can be considered, but will most likely include: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and King Lear.
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A survey of American Drama that takes a journey through America’s history from the early 20th century to the present. Issues explored will include: family trauma; the American Dream; evolving ideas of race, class, gender and sexuality; and identity. Works will include: Eugene O'Neill’s classic, Long Day's Journey into Night; Edward Albee’s absurdist satire, The American Dream; Lorraine Hansberry’s story of a Black family’s struggle, A Raisin in the Sun; Sam Shepard’s dark story about secrets, Buried Child; Tony Kushner’s meditation on the AIDS era, Angels in America; Melinda Lopez’s story of Cuban emigrés, Sonia Flew; Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer winner about class, race and social inequality, Sweat; the filmed version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton; and the playwright Celine Song’s film about transcultural romance, Past Lives. (ENG 132 and THST 132 are cross-listed courses.)