Claire Busse, Ph.D.

My great love is the poetry, prose, and drama produced in the English Renaissance (which today is considered the early half of the "early modern period"). I am as fascinated with the time in which this literature was written as I am by the beauty of its language. Thus, in my classes, I strive to place works within their historical and critical contexts without overlooking the incredible complexity of their formal elements. While the Renaissance is my first love, I teach courses in a number of areas of interest to me, ranging from drama (of the past and present), to advanced writing, to an introductory course on literary studies, to thematic courses based on my current interests. Most recently I have taught a course that examines the role of children in literature from the 16th century to today.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY:
As a scholar I focus on the relationship between literature and the material circumstances of the time in which it was written. I am currently working on a book that examines representations of children on the early modern stage in relation to early modern understandings of the role children play in society. I am fascinated by how very different that perspective on children is from that which we hold today. I have published an article on this subject in the forthcoming book, Domestic Arrangements, and have presented papers on various aspects of Renaissance childhood in locations ranging from Princeton to Florida.