Shakespeare on Consent

<p>Choice is the defining issue of the twenty-first century. As the #MeToo movement extends its legal social and political reach around the world the topic of consent has come under particular scrutiny. <i>Shakespeare on Consent</i> examines crises of consent on the early modern stage and argues that these dramatizations provide a framework for understanding the intersections of coercion complicity resistance and agency. </p><p>Beginning with the premise that consent serves as a lever of entitlement Amanda Bailey introduces a Shakespeare well aware that liberal selfhood has never been universally available. Bailey brings Shakespeare's work into conversation with the Penn State Sandusky scandal the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair the rise of somnophilia Jordan Peele's documentary on Lorena Bobbitt Larry David's <i>Curb Your Enthusiasm</i> and Harvey Weinstein's <i>Shakespeare in Love</i> amongst others. Bailey considers who is denied access to the apparatus of consent under what circumstances and how consent is vitiated by race class ethnicity sexuality disability and gender.</p><p>Shakespeare on Consent is a wake-up call for all implicated in the injurious outcomes of consent and will inspire those wanting to mobilize choice in the service of social and political transformation.</p>