2023 Foundations Talk | 59:09 | Art & Music, Theology & Bible, Virtue, Character, Discipline
Summary
Even though William Shakespeare lived four centuries before TikTok, his plays can help students navigate the dangers of social media—especially the temptation to create and maintain the perfect image. Shakespeare understood the dangers of what the Renaissance called “self-fashioning,” manipulating our social image or public persona. His comedies offer valuable lessons about the dangers of self-fashioning that can help students today resist the temptations of social media and pursue what is truly beautiful, good, and authentic.
Speaker
Cole Jeffrey is an Assistant Professor of English at Charleston Southern University. His research explores the relationship between philosophy, theology, and literature in early modern culture. He is particularly interested in conceptions of beauty and ugliness in Renaissance literature. His article, “‘Here Is Beauty Changed to Ugly Whoredom’: Calvinist Theology and Neoplatonic Aesthetics in The Changeling,” was published in Renaissance Drama in 2019. He is currently writing a book about how Calvinism influenced seventeenth-century drama and poetry. He lives in South Carolina with his wife, Courtney, and his son, Reid.
Additional Materials
The Association of Classical & Christian Schools presents Repairing the Ruins, the ACCS annual conference, copyright ACCS. You may make additional copies of this recording for use by your school but please do not sell any copies of the recording, or post it on the internet.
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