Mark Bayer, Ph.D.

Celia Jacobs Endowed Chair in British Literature

Associate Professor, English

Mark Bayer specializes in early modern English literature, especially drama, and is fascinated by the reception of these plays in various theatrical settings in seventeenth century London.  Recently, his work focusses on the long-term cultural authority of Shakespeare’s plays in contexts as diverse as nineteenth century America and the more current Arab-Israeli conflict. 

Bayer has written, edited or contributed to more than a dozen scholarly publications about Renaissance literature and culture, and about Shakespeare and other popular classical drama. In 2011, his book Theatre, Community, and Civic Engagement in Jacobean London, was published by University of Iowa Press, and was a finalist for the prestigious George Freedley Memorial Award in 2012. 

He has received fellowships from the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Henry E. Huntington Library, and the Newberry Library, among other scholarly organizations. He has also served as peer reviewer for Palgrave-Macmillan, Routledge, Early Modern Literary Studies, Early Theatre, Renaissance Quarterly, Shakespeare Quarterly, Literature and History, Comparative Drama, and Map of Early Modern London. 

Bayer maintains professional affiliations with the Modern Language Association of America, Renaissance Society of America, Shakespeare Association of America and the Bibliographical Society of America. He is also a member of the editorial board for the International Journal of Literature and the Arts. 

Bayer received a bachelor’s in political studies from Queen’s University, a master’s in English Literature from McGill University, and a Ph.D. in English Literature from the Ohio State University.