'And one man in his time plays many parts’: The emerging Shakespearean generalist

Abstract

As the first part of this collection’s title indicates, the professional study of Shakespeare is facing tempestuous times. The number of tenure track positions in early modern studies continues to decline and, increasingly, many scholars who pursued doctoral degrees in early modern theatre have ended up in generalist positions that are not exclusively focused on researching and teaching Shakespeare. The American Association of University Professor’s (AAUP) 2023 data on tenure and contingency in US higher education reveals that ‘the US academic workforce has shifted from mostly full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty to mostly contingent faculty, including full-time non-tenure-track, full-time with no tenure system, and part-time faculty.’ These contingent faculty positions vary in quality: some offer very little job security while others provide an ‘alternative track’ with opportunities for promotion. The growing number of generalists reflects the current academic job market trends for humanities scholars.