天美传媒

Ayanna Thompson is an expert in Shakespearean studies specializing in Renaissance drama and race in performance. Unofficially known as the “Othello whisperer,” Thompson is the director of the Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies and creator of the RaceB4Race symposium, an ongoing conference series and professional network community for scholars of color. Thompson is a Regents Professor of English and Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies. Thompson’s studies also include British literature, theatre, race and gender politics. She is the author of several books, including "Shakespeare in the Theatre: Peter Sellars," "Teaching Shakespeare with Purpose: A Student-Centred Approach," "Passing Strange: Shakespeare, Race, and Contemporary America," and "Performing Race and Torture on the Early Modern Stage.”

Professor Leah Tether is a specialist in medieval literature, book history and publishing in the Department of English. She has a particular interest in the materiality of medieval books related to the legend of King Arthur. She is the President of the International Arthurian Society鈥檚 British Branch, International Secretary of the International Courtly Literature Society and Editor-in-Chief of the global Journal of the International Arthurian Society. Professor Tether made international news when she identified fragments of a 13th-century copy of an Old French manuscript of the Merlin story hidden in a library. This discovery is the subject of a new book called 'The Bristol Merlin: Text and Context'. Her work on the connections between medieval and digital reading practices, the history of the UK's second oldest paper mill, and the discovery of a book once belonging to Queen Elizabeth I have also attracted media interest.

Education
2004 - MA Medieval French Literature, Durham University, 2009 - PhD Medieval French Literature, 
Durham University

Accomplishments
2014 - Awarded Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, 2018 - Elected President of the International Arthurian Society British Branch, 2019 - Elected International Secretary of the International Courtly Literature SocietyPublishing