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Stratford Festival Lecture Series

The Merry Wives of Windsor with Dr. Jessica Riddell

Enjoy a thought-provoking online lecture and discussion based on Stratford Festival's The Merry Wives of Windsor play. Presented by Dr. Jessica Riddell, Bishop's University. Adults. Please register.

The Restorative Power of Comedy: The Merry Wives of Windsor and the Healing Power of Communal Laughter
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a play about men behaving badly and extraordinary women working within tight parameters to seek justice. Falstaff’s entitlement and unsolicited advances have a menacing edge in our contemporary climate, and yet the solution to lecherous leering men Shakespeare offer us is timeless. 

This online lecture is presented in partnership with the Stratford Festival.

Presenter Bio:
Dr. Jessica Riddell is a Full Professor of Early Modern Literature in the English Department at Bishop’s University (Quebec, Canada), specializing in early modern dramatic and non-dramatic literature. Dr. Riddell was awarded the 3M National Teaching Fellowship in 2015, the first recipient of the award at Bishop's University. She holds the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence at Bishop’s University; in this capacity, she explores innovative teaching and learning practices, creates mentorship opportunities for students and faculty, and participates in a wide range of consultations at the national and international levels. Dr. Riddell is also the Executive Director of the Maple League of Universities, a consortium of four universities – Bishop’s, Mount Allison, Acadia, and St. Francis Xavier – that share a focused commitment to quality undergraduate education. She works across the four universities to support high impact practices as part of a 21st century liberal education. She engages in public-facing activities and projects, including as an active contributor to public scholarship as a longstanding columnist for University Affairs Magazine (2015 – 2020), national media contributor (with CBC Sunday Magazine, Globe and Mail, and other venues), as a keynote speaker at international conferences, and as a visiting scholar in the UK, Norway, and Australia. She sits on a number national and international boards, including the Future Skills Research Advisory Board (Social and Emotional Skills – SES), and a member of Future Skills Talent Council.  

Meeting Details:
We will be using Webex to host this virtual program. Webex is a video conferencing tool that allows people to meet together online.  You can join Webex Events from your computer, mobile device, or tablet. Learn more about how to join a Webex event.

You will receive an event link through your email the day of the event. You will require this link to join the program.  By participating in this program, you acknowledge that you accept and agree to Guelph Public Library’s Standard of Acceptable Behaviour.

If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Curtis at acurtis@guelphpl.ca.

Alternative formats are available as per the Accessibility per Ontarians Act by contacting Library Communications at 519-824-6220 extension 239.

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