Ruben Espinosa
Associate Professor, English
Arizona State University
Interviewed by Júlia Kaufmann, LALS MA’25, in November, 2023
Ruben Espinosa is Associate Professor of English at Arizona State University and Associate Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. He is the author of Shakespeare on the Shades of Racism (2021), Masculinity and Marian Efficacy in Shakespeare’s England (2011), and co-editor of Shakespeare and Immigration (2014). He begins his term as the President of the Shakespeare Association of America in 2024, and he is currently at work on his next monograph, Shakespeare on the Border: Language, Legitimacy and La Frontera.
How did you develop an interest in the humanities/humanistic social sciences, and what led you to your academic career?
My interest in the humanities began with a love of literature and the arts when I was in high school. I always loved my English classes above all else, and I enjoyed being in the drama club and acting in plays. I imagined I would become a fiction writer, and so I pursued literature and creative writing in college. In the process, I had enough self-awareness to recognize my lack of talent when it came to writing fiction, but what I also came to discover was my deep joy and dexterity in analyzing and discussing literary works. Several of my English professors encouraged me to pursue a PhD, and I took the leap.
What advice do you have for students to succeed in their future career paths?
Do the work. This might sound trite, but it is advice that is applicable both to achieving success and making your career meaningful. In many ways, graduate school is as much about endurance as it is about being smart enough, and I always remind students that they are smart enough. Of more importance, you don’t have to do the work alone. Find your community. Seek out good mentors. If you have a strong system of support and are willing to work toward your goals, you will succeed.
What are you passionate about in your field?
The potential for transforming the field for the better. My work focuses on issues of social and racial justice, and this has made all the difference when it comes to finding value in the work I do, the work I support, and the diverse community I am trying to build and foster within our field of Shakespeare studies. As the first Latino to be elected as the President of the Shakespeare Association of America, our flagship scholarly organization, I am eager to see that the door is left open for many generations to come.
Could you tell us about some of the research projects you have currently underway?
I am currently finishing up revisions on Shakespeare / Skin, an edited collection to be published by Bloomsbury, and I am also working on my monograph, Shakespeare on the Border: Language, Legitimacy, and La Frontera, which explores the intersections of Shakespeare and Chicanx identity and culture. As Associate Director of ACMRS, I am very excited about our Mellon-funded “RaceB4Race: Sustaining, Building, Innovating” initiative that seeks to diversify the curricula, academic pipelines, popular narratives, and public-facing media personnel for premodern literature, history and culture.