By Elise Lemay
Staff Writer
The English department no longer has a Shakespearean scholar, and no Shakespeare courses are being offered since Professor Nick Clary retired this past spring.
Following Clary’s retirement, budget prevented the department from hiring a new professor. Clary was the latest of three casualties in budget in the English Dept. Other faculty who were not replaced were an 18th century literature specialist and a creative writing specialist. “That matches the reduction in overall number of students in the college,” said department chair Lorrie Smith, adding that Shakespeare courses weren’t specifically targeted.
The department has not received permission to hire a new professor who specializes in Shakespeare.
While Shakespeare is broadly covered in other literature courses, the department now lacks courses specifically pertaining to Shakespeare, as well as John Milton, an English poet of the 17th century and another focus of Clary’s scholarship. The department now miss literature scholars to fill the gap from 1400-1800.
Professors Kerri Shea and Christina Root led a Shakespeare study trip to England. The trip was 14 days, and students who attended were required to take Shea’s 2-credit Shakespeare and Film course during the spring semester. 16 students attended the trip, which toured around Oxford, Stratford and London, where they viewed six Shakespeare plays.
“I think this is a wonderful experience for students, and they really enjoyed it,” said Shea. “The performances were astonishing. But that is all the Shakespeare we have right now.” The trip is open every other year, and Shea hopes for its continuation. However, the trip comes at a price. “If all the Shakespeare we have is the study trip to England and it costs $3,000, that is also problematic.”
She emphasized that she does not feel that the courses offered are substitutes for the Shakespeare courses taught by Clary, adding that many of his students in the past took her film course in addition. “I enjoyed the study trip and I enjoyed particularly teaching the film portion of it”, Shea said, “I think the students would be better served by having a specialist in the field.”
“We’d like to have a person who can do Shakespeare as a scholar and bring that expertise…but again it’s sort of a budget issue and a staffing issue,” said Smith. The English department has requested the vacancy to be filled three times, but it has not been approved by the college. “Saint Michael’s continues its legacy of teaching humanities to all students. I think that’s an important part of who we are.”
While St. Michael’s has a liberal studies curriculum where the humanities are required, the shift toward pre-professional careers is on the rise. Students are interested in graduating college with a major that feeds directly into a career. With the next accreditation approaching in 2020, “a big, college wide review”, Smith mentioned that the potential future lack of a Shakespeare scholar was raised as an issue in the last review 10 years ago, and could potentially be an issue in the accreditation of the English department.