Can life be both wonderful and terrible at the same time?
Prof. Shannon MurrayThe modern world is increasingly polarised; we see things in black and white. How can Shakespeare teach us to hold two conflicting ideas in our heads simultaneously?
Learn about this Garden Talk
Shakespeare’s work transcends the era in which it was written. What lessons can we learn from The Bard to navigate the polarised world we live in today?
Shakespeare continually challenged us to hold two conflicting ideas about people and situations in our head at the same time without resolving them. It’s an idea that recurs again and again throughout his most famous works.
In this fascinating talk, Dr. Shannon Murray joins The Garden to explain how through Shakespeare we can understand that life can be both wonderful and terrible at the same time, and why this idea is key to navigating our increasingly polarised, black and white world and living happier lives.
Talk outline
50 minutes
Evolution of Language
About the Fellow
Dr Shannon Murray is a professor of early modern and children’s literature at the University of Prince Edward Island. Alongside Dr Dickson and Dr Riddell, she is completing a book for the University of Toronto Press on Shakespeare, Hope, and Empathy.
Evolution of Language Collection
How do languages evolve? From the origins of language to bilingualism, this series journeys into the mysteries of this uniquely human trait and the power it has to change our world.Travel, mobility, and migration were instrumental in making Early modern England a multilingual landscape. But when did the English start speaking English and, how confident were early speakers in the scope of this fast-evolving language?
Language sets humankind apart from other species. Even our closest primate relatives haven't developed the same ability to acquire & use language. Why are humans the only species with language and how did language evolve?
The modern world is increasingly polarised; we see things in black and white. How can Shakespeare teach us to hold two conflicting ideas in our heads simultaneously?
More than half the world speaks two or more languages fluently. And yet being bilingual is a label often reserved for native speakers who learn multiple languages as children. Can you both 'be' and 'become' bilingual?
