John Curran
Associate Professor

My research and teaching interests cover a wide range of authors, genres, and ideas from sixteenth and seventeenth-century England. In my research, I have devoted my efforts to the Renaissance English sense of the past and more recently to the theological questions that separated Protestants and Catholics. My book Roman Invasions: The British History, Protestant Anti-Romanism, and the Historical Imagination in England 1530-1660 (Newark 2002) explores the connection between these two areas, by tracing the link between an attraction to medieval historiography and a growing Protestant nationalism. In this project I was able to combine a general interest in the ways the Renaissance holds onto and departs from its medieval heritage with a focus on literary issues such as the development of historical drama and epic, and the thinking of such writers as Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton.

My more recent work deals with forms of Calvinistic Protestantism in Renaissance drama, as exemplified by my book, Hamlet, Protestantism, and the Mourning of Contingency (Aldershot, 2006). But I plan to return to epic literature some time in the future. Marquette's program has allowed this variety to be reflected in my teaching. While always keeping my attention on Shakespeare, I have been able to pursue my fascination with non-Shakespearean Renaissance drama, as well as delve into Milton, Spenser, and other sixteenth-century authors. I have in addition enjoyed the opportunities our survey courses offer to examine the literatures of other periods and countries.  

Teaching Fields

• Renaissance Literature
• Shakespeare

Office Location & Contact

• Coughlin Hall, 244
• 288-3462
• John.Curran@mu.edu

Office Hours

SPRING 2008

MW - 1:00-3:00

Teaching Schedule

• SPRING 2008
• 119/1001   MWF    10:00
• 160/1002   MWF    11:00
• 165/1001   MWF    12:00

Research Interests

• Renaissance Literature

Selected Publications

• Hamlet, Protestantism, and the Mourning ofContingency: Not to Be. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006.
• Roman Invasions: The British History, Protestant Anti-Romanism, and the Historical Imagination in England 1530-1660. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2002.

                 

• “You are Yourself: Calvinist Dramaturgy and its Discontents in the Tragedy of Sir John Van Oldenbarnavelt.” Exemplaria. 16 (2004):235-65.
• “Geoffrey of Monmouth in Renaissance Drama: Imagining Non-History,” Modern Philology. 97 (1999):1-20.

Honors/Awards