Shakespeare’s works continue to inhabit what Stephen Greenblatt calls a “circulating energy system,” an ever-renewing sphere in which texts, performances, and interpretations travel across borders and epochs, sustaining the playwright’s presence in world culture. Tiffany Stern’s seminal research further reminds us that Shakespeare should be understood not as a fixed authorial entity but as an ongoing “process”—a dynamic constellation of scripts, fragmentary documents, performance traces, and editorial interventions that resist the notion of a stable text. Michael Dobson likewise observes that modern Shakespeare is the product of centuries of reinvention, shaped not only by actors and editors but also by national agendas, pedagogical traditions, and global readerships. Alexa Alice Joubin argues cogently that all performances of Shakespeare are in fact global: “Performances become global when they travel to or depict other places and when they invite external forces in to their social spaces, such as cross-historical or cross-cultural references.”

To broaden participation across historical periods, this conference extends its scope to explore Shakespeare from the 16th century to the 21st century, inviting scholars of Renaissance literature, Long Eighteenth Century studies, Victorian/19th-century reception, Modernism and Modern Shakespeare, and contemporary adaptation, digital humanities, cultural studies, and global circulation. We welcome papers addressing Shakespeare’s influence, reception, resonance, reinvention, translation, and remediation across five centuries of literary, historical, philosophical, and media transformations.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Shakespeare in the 16th-17th centuries: Text, Stage, Print Culture

• 18th-Century Shakespeare: Restoration, Editing, Enlightenment Thought

• 19th-Century Shakespeare: Romantic Aesthetics, Victorian Reception, Global Expansion

• 20th-Century Shakespeare: Modernism, Film, Politics, Theory, Pedagogy

• 21st-Century Shakespeare: AI, Digital Humanities, New Media & VR Performance

• Shakespeare Translation across Centuries

• Global Shakespeare & Cross-Cultural Circulation

• Shakespeare in Asia / Taiwan

• Adaptation Across Media (stage/film/music/game/opera)

• Shakespeare in Classroom and Curriculum Innovation

• Canon Formation & Cultural Memory

• Posthuman, Ecocritical, Anthropocene Shakespeare

• Sonnets and Contemporary Poetic Rewriting

• Shakespeare and Empire, Mobility, Migration

• Shakespeare and Law / Ethics / Gender / Affect

• Shakespeare and Performance Studies, Festival Cultures

Submission Guidelines:

• Abstract length: 250-300 words

• Please include a brief bio (80 words):

education, position, publications and email account

• Please submit abstracts to: [email protected]

• Email subject line: Submission to the 2026 Wenshan x TSA International Conference

• Contact person: Ms. Mehadi Huang

Important Dates:

• Submission deadline: March 10, 2026

• Notification of acceptance: April 10, 2026

• Membership required: November 8, 2026

• Conference date: November 29, 2026 (Sunday)

We cordially invite fellow scholars to join us at the foot of Mt. Wenshan to explore Shakespeare’s immortal legacy across time and cultures. This conference is organized by the Department of English at National Chengchi University (NCCU), in partnership with the Taiwan Shakespeare Association (TSA), the EARN (Enlightenment and Romanticism Network), and The Wenshan Review of Literature and Culture, a special issue of which will feature selected papers delivered at the conference.

Keynote Speakers:

• Professor Tiffany Stern, FBA (Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham)

• Professor Alexa Alice Joubin (George Washington University)

NOTES:

Presenters must hold valid membership in the Taiwan Shakespeare Association (TSA). Please complete the membership registration by November 8, 2026, after receiving the acceptance notice for your abstract. For international presenters or those who are unable to become members, a conference registration fee is required: NTD 3,000 for general participants and NTD 2,000 for students (valid for two years). Membership registration info at the conference website: 2026 Wenshan x TSA International Conference (https://2026wenshanxtsa.wordpress.com/).

Name of organization:

NCCU Department of English National Chenhchi University, Taiwan Shakespeare Association

Contact email:

[email protected]