Ewan Fernie is a British scholar and writer. He is professor,

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

and chair of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Studies at the

Shakespeare Institute The Shakespeare Institute is a centre for postgraduate study dedicated to the study of William Shakespeare and the literature of the English Renaissance. It is part of the University of Birmingham, and is located in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Ins ...

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. He is also director of the pioneering 'Everything to Everybody' Project, a collaboration between the

and

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Birmingham has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropo ...

. Fernie is Academic Director o
‘Culture Forward - University of Birmingham’
which is bringing the University into closer and more meaningful collaborations with culture in the city.

Background and career

Fernie won the James Elliott prize for his 1994

first-class degree The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, where he was also awarded a medal in

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

, the Horsliehill-Scott Bursary in Philosophy and a number of other prizes. He took his PhD from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

and afterwards lectured at the

Queen's University of Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

and

Royal Holloway Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

before joining the

in 2011. Shortly after taking up his chair at the

, Fernie pioneered the Shakespeare and Creativity MA programme. In 2005, he was named one of the world's six best

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

scholars under 40. Fernie believes in the politics of culture, as evinced by his ''Redcrosse'' project promoting a civic liturgy for

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the Calendar of saints, feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities of which he is the Patronages of Saint George, patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bu ...

and his advocacy of Shakespeare as European Laureate. He is centrally involved in the

's five-year collaboration with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

at its newly reopened studio theatre, The Other Place. He also has a developing interest in the way in which an enthusiasm for

played into the radical reformation of industrial

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

; and he has been a keen campaigner to save the

Library of Birmingham The Library of Birmingham is a public library in Birmingham, England. It is situated on the west side of the city centre at Centenary Square, beside the Birmingham Rep (to which it connects, and with which it shares some facilities) and Baske ...

from impending cuts. Fernie travels worldwide giving lectures at various educational institutions and events. He has been a visiting scholar at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, and an International Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Studies, LMU,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

; he has presented his work at the

University of Verona The University of Verona () is a university located in Verona, Italy. It was founded in 1982 and is organized in 12 Departments. The Italian business newspaper ''Il Sole 24 Ore'' ranked it as the best non-private university in Italy in 2014, 2015 ...

, the Sorbonne,

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association, the World Shakespeare Congress, the Shakespeare Association of America,

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

, the

Rose Theatre The Rose was an Elizabethan playhouse, built by theatre entrepreneur Philip Henslowe in 1587. It was the fifth public playhouse to be built in London, after the Red Lion in Whitechapel (1567), The Theatre (1576) and the Curtain (1577), both i ...

, etc. Fernie was a visiting professor at the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions in Australia in April 2015. In 2017, he gave a keynote at the Swiss Association of University Teachers of English meeting in Neuchâtel and was a Lloyd Davis Memorial Visiting Professor at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. He addressed the Société Française Shakespeare in Paris in 2018. Engagements in 2019 include addressing the

Shakespeare Association of America The Shakespeare Association of America (SAA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1972 of professional and independent scholars for the advanced academic study of William Shakespeare's plays and poems and their cultural and theatrical contexts. ...

in Washington, D.C., participation in a ‘Citizen Shakespeare’ Symposium at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and a key-note address at

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

Work

Fernie's critical work is characterised by passionate intellectual engagement and the belief that art and literature can really connect with and even shape personal, political and religious life. His main area of specialism is

but his interests extend to European writers and philosophers, among them

Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influenti ...

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

Mann Mann may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Mann'' (film), a 1999 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama * Mann (chess), a variant chess piece * ''Mann'' (magazine), a Norwegian magazine * Mann (rapper), Dijon Shariff Thames (born 19 ...

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

, Luther and others, as evidenced in his critically acclaimed ''The Demonic: Literature and Experience'' (2012). He is also the author of ''Shame in Shakespeare'' and editor of ''Spiritual Shakespeares''. With Simon Palfrey, he is editor of the Arden ''Shakespeare Now!'' series of minigraphs on various urgent topics in contemporary Shakespeare studies. Fernie believes in experimenting with and testing the possibilities of critical form. As a creative writer, he has written a novel called ''Macbeth, Macbeth'' with Simon Palfrey, which is based on

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' and inspired by

's ''

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' ( rus, Братья Карамазовы, Brat'ya Karamazovy, ˈbratʲjə kərɐˈmazəvɨ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly ...

'' and was published in 2016. He was Principal Investigator of 'The Faerie Queene Now: Remaking Religious Poetry for Today's World' and leader of 'The Faerie Queene Liturgy Project', the major outcome of which was the ''Redcrosse''

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

for contemporary England. This was performed in major cathedrals, attracted a BNP protest, and was published by Bloomsbury, before being adopted by the

. The project was initially funded by AHRC/ESRC and was further supported by

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

, LCACE, Awards for All, the PRS Foundation for Music and the

Church Urban Fund Church Urban Fund is a national charity working with local leaders, churches and other faith groups all over England. Its local partners are committed to serving and strengthening the community where they live. Origins CUF was set up by the C ...

. Fernie has also written poetry for the acclaimed

Ex Cathedra Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

choir's Candlelight concerts in Birmingham, London and other places. Fernie's recent work includes a

volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

and

edited with Tobias Döring, and a new play called ''Marina'', based on

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

and written with Katharine Craik. Fernie's latest authored book is ''Shakespeare for Freedom: Why the Plays Matter'', published by CUP in 2017. He has recently published ''New Places: Shakespeare and Civic Creativity'', co-edited with Paul Edmondson of the

Shakespeare Birthplace Trust The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) is an independent registered educational charity based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, that came into existence in 1847 following the purchase of William Shakespeare's birthplace for preser ...

. Fernie also contributed to the British Council's project 'Shakespeare Lives' in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death in 2016 where he addressed large audiences especially in Belgrade and Budapest. His biggest project to date is an ambitious collaboration with

. Th
'Everything to Everybody' Project
aims to use Birmingham's forgotten past to inspire our future and to unlock the world's first people's Shakespeare Library for all. Its patron is the renowned Birmingham-born-and-bred actor,

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey on 14 August 1968) is a British actor. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the London stage, an ...

. In 2024, Ewan Fernie travelled to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

where he gave a lecture on the only

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

in Australia and its links to Birmingham's pioneering

culture.Shakespeare’s First Folio: State Library of NSW takes the Bard’s ‘radical’ 400-year-old book out of the vault, The Guardian
/ref> Professor Ewan Fernie was one of the foremost Shakespeare experts interviewed in the recent BBC programm
‘Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius’
alongside Dame

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

, Professor James S. Shapiro and others.

Publications

* (as co-editor with Tom Epps) ''Forgotten Treasures: The World’s First Great Shakespeare Library'', West Midlands History Ltd (2022), * (as co-editor with Paul Edmondson) ''New Places: Shakespeare and Civic Creativity'', The Arden Shakespeare, (2018), * ''Shakespeare for Freedom: Why the Plays Matter'', Cambridge University Press, (2017), * ‘Introduction’, ''The Poet's Quest for God: 21st Century Poems of Faith, Doubt and Wonder'', ed. Todd Swift et al., Eyewear Publishing, (2016), * (as co-author with Simon Palfrey) ''Macbeth, Macbeth'', Bloomsbury, (2016), * (as co-editor with Tobias Döring) ''Thomas Mann and Shakespeare: Something Rich and Strange'', Bloomsbury, (2015), * ‘Freetown! Shakespeare and Social Flourishing’, ''Shakespeare Survey'' 68 (2015), * ‘Love's Transgression’, in ''The Circulation of Knowledge in Early Modern English Literature'', ed. Sophie Chiari, Ashgate, (2015), * ‘Another Golgotha’, in ''Shakespeare and Varieties of Early Modern Religious Belief'', ed. David Loewenstein and Michael Witmore, CUP, (2014), * ‘Afterword’, ''Revisiting The Tempest'', ed. Silvia Bigliazzi and Lisanna Calvi, Palgrave, (2014), * ‘''Redcrosse'': Storytelling, Religion and Nation in England’, in ''Storytelling: Critical and Creative Approaches'', ed. L. E. Semler, Philippa Kelly, and Jan Shaw, Palgrave, (2014), * ''The Demonic: Literature and Experience'', Routledge, (2012), * ''Shame in Shakespeare'', Routledge, (2002), * ‘Wisdom in Reverse’, in ''The Oxford Handbook of Thomas Middleton'', ed. Gary Taylor and Trish Thomas Henley, Oxford University Press, (2011), * (with Simon Palfrey) 'Major Excerpt from Dunsinane', in ''Crrritic'', ed. John Schad and Oliver Tearle, Sussex Academic Press, (2011), * 'Mea Culpa: Measure for Measure and Complicity’, in ''Shakespeare and I'', ed. Will McKenzie and Theodora Papadopoulou, Continuum, (2011), * ‘Dollimore's Challenge’, ''Shakespeare Studies'' (2007), * ‘Hard-core Tragedy’, in ''Transhistorical Tragedy'', ed. Sarah Annes Brown and Catherine Silverstone, Blackwell, (2007), * ‘Action!

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

', in ''Presentist Shakespeares'', ed. Hugh Grady and Terence Hawkes, Routledge, (2007), * 'Terrible Action: Recent Criticism and Questions of Agency’, ''Shakespeare 2'' (2006), ISSN 1745-0918 (Print), ISSN 1745-0926 (Online) * Shakespeare and the Prospect of Presentism’, ''Shakespeare Survey 58'' (2005), * (as Editor and Co-Author) ''Redcrosse: Remaking Religious Poetry for Today's World'', Bloomsbury, (2012), * (as Editor) ''Spiritual Shakespeares'', Routledge, (2005), * (as Co-ordinating Editor) ''Reconceiving the Renaissance: A Critical Reader'', Oxford University Press, (2006), (as General Editor, with Simon Palfrey) ''The Shakespeare Now!'' series (Arden, Bloomsbury): * ''Shakespeare's Universality: Here's Fine Revolution'', by Kiernan Ryan (2015) * ''Tragic Cognition in Shakespeare's Othello: Beyond the Neural Sublime'', by Paul Ceflau (2015) * ''The King and I'', by Philippa Kelly (2015) * ''Nine Lives of William Shakespeare'', by Graham Holderness (2013) * ''Hamlet's Dreams'', by David Schalkwyk (2013) * ''Shakespeare and I'', by William McKenzie and Theodora Papadopoulou (ed.) (2012) * ''The Life in the Sonnets'', by David Fuller (2011) * ''At the Bottom of Shakespeare's Ocean'', by Steve Mentz (2009) * ''Shakespearean Metaphysics'', by Michael Witmore (2008) * ''Shakespeare's Modern Collaborators'', by Lukas Erne (2008) * ''Shakespeare's Double Helix'', by Henry S. Turner (2008) * ''Shakespeare Thinking'', by Philip Davis (2007) * ''Shakespeare Inside: The Bard Behind Bars'', by Amy Scott-Douglass (2007) * ''Godless Shakespeare'', by Eric Mallin (2007) * ''To Be or Not to Be'', by Douglas Bruster (2007) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernie, Ewan British literary critics Academics of the University of Birmingham Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of St Andrews Place of birth missing (living people)