About EMSOC

Overview:

In Shakespeare and Early Modern Studies there is significant underrepresentation of faculty of colour employed in permanent positions in UK universities. There are various reasons for this: institutional racism in higher education; unconscious and conscious bias in selection of candidates for study and employment; lack of opportunities for students of colour to progress to postgraduate study; lack of funding opportunities, networking and socialisation opportunities for postgraduates of colour; Shakespeare and early modern literature/drama is not consistently presented in schools and universities as an inclusive site of enquiry.

The Scholars of Colour Network is an anti-racist collective that will aim to address some of these challenges while working to nurture and enable students, ECR and academics of colour to develop academic and pedagogic networks; find and/or create intellectual spaces that are inclusive and progressive; and enable inclusive practices in the discipline through mentoring. It will also interrogate academic gatekeeping and provide a safe space for scholars of colour to share their work and the challenges and experiences of the predominantly white UK Shakespeare and Early Modern academy.

Our Purpose:

EMSOC aims to promote, support and foster anti-racism as well as intellectual and academic inclusivity in Shakespeare, Early Modern Studies and related disciplines in the UK and around the world.

Aims:

Guided by our three primary objectives, the EMSOC network aims to:

Raise awareness and call for accountability for anti-racist structures at academic institutions.
Offer and facilitate mentorship for scholars of colour, especially through the EMSOC Mentorship Scheme.
Supporting the research and professional development of scholars of colour and scholars from underrepresented and disadvantaged communities by providing accessible resources, organising events, sourcing funding, and creating spaces for scholarly engagement and intellectual exchange in both academic and non-academic settings.
Devising and supporting projects that actively engage with communities to create pipelines for undergraduate students of colour to enter postgraduate studies in our disciplines.
Promoting the study of race and social justice projects in fields of pre-modern literature and history.

Steering Committee:

Prof. Farah Karim-Cooper

Professor of Shakespeare Studies, King’s College London and Co-Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Prof. Lucy Munro

Professor of Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature at King’s College London.
Dr. Will Tosh

Lecturer and Head of Research at Shakespeare's Globe.
Dr Hanh Bui

Teaching and Research Fellow at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Shani Bans

PhD Student in Shakespeare at University College London.
Hassana Moosa

PhD Student in Early Modern Literature at King’s College London.
Wendy Lennon FEA

PhD Student in Literature at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham.
Nour El Gazzaz

PhD Student in Early Modern Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London.