Research and discovery

What were papal conclaves like in Shakespeare’s time? Scholar John M. Hunt shares what’s changed from the early modern period and what remains the same.

ICYMI we’re sharing several recent news stories about the Folio that caught our eye—from auctions of rare copies to groundbreaking research to new exhibitions.

Historian Jade Scott draws on hundreds of encrypted letters, including 57 recently unearthed letters in a French archive and decoded, to paint a vivid portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots in her new book, Captive Queen.

In Humans: A Monstrous History, Surekha Davies shows how our multi-millennial relationship with monsters has shaped the origins of the modern world and ideas about humanness and otherness.

How did early modern England perceive race? Patricia Akhimie, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Race, and contributing writers Dennis Britton and Kirsten Mendoza examine race, gender, and power in Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece.

In celebration of Black History Month, we’re sharing Shakespeare Unlimited podcast interviews, lectures, and blog posts with acclaimed Black artists, poets, scholars, and educators about Shakespeare through history.

For many creators in the fantasy genre, from books to shows to games, the action takes place in a distant past. Why is medievalism so often the default setting for fantasy and what does that say about us?

After 138 years, Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane—the first known opera by a Black American composer—is receiving its world premiere. Learn about this important American composer and how his magnum opus is being brought to life.

New research casts a more positive light on why Shakespeare’s father was fined for building a muckhill.

Mark the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission with a look at a fascinating Apollo 11 flight plan sheet that traveled to the Moon.

We take a look at how research happens at the Folger, from Folger Institute fellowships to the chairs in our Reading Room.

The tale of George Saunders and his hopes for a wife.