Maya Mathur’s research focuses on the social and political significance of comic characters in the work of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. She examines the extent to which these characters — who were supposed to represent the common people — could challenge those in authority. She also examines whether this comic license could be extended to female characters, whose behavior was more restricted than that of their male counterparts. More recently, she has developed an interest in the role that Shakespeare has played on the world stage and especially in adaptations of his work by filmmakers in the global south. In addition to surveys on Shakespeare’s early and later plays, Dr. Mathur teaches courses on Shakespeare and Film, Early Modern Drama, and Early Modern Women Writers.
B.A., St. Stephen’s College, Delhi; M.A., Ph.D., University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. UMW Directory Profile.