Since 2001 the Humanities Council has presented the annual Little Lecture Series at its historic MacFarland-Hubbard House headquarters in Charleston. The 2017 series continues on Sunday, April 30, at 2:00 p.m. with the presentation “Why Shakespeare Matters” by Dr. Gabriel Rieger.

Rieger is Associate Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature at Concord University. He is the Executive Director of the Appalachian Shakespeare Project at Concord where he also serves as faculty advisor to the university’s Newman Club and Film Society. He is the author of Sex and Satiric Tragedy in Early Modern Literature, published through Ashgate Publishing in 2009, as well as articles in journals including Early Modern Literary Studies and The Upstart Crow: A Shakespeare Journal.

“My talk will focus on the challenges and benefits of engaging with Shakespeare, specifically with his language, and will analyze some of that language as an object lesson in why Shakespeare occupies, and should continue to occupy, a central place in education,” stated Professor Rieger. “Contrary to some popular perceptions, Shakespeare is not an artifact of a bygone era when education was a luxury reserved for the elite. The study of Shakespeare still matters today, and affords clear, practical benefits for people at every stage of life and in all professions.”

Admission to the lecture is $10 and includes refreshments after the program.  Seating is limited and people interested in attending should confirm that seats are available by calling 304-346-8500 no later than noon on Thursday, April 27.