Philip Lorenz

Philip Lorenz received his PhD from New York University. His teaching and research focus on English and Spanish literature and drama of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in relation to problems of sovereignty and political theology. Related areas of interest include International Law, Religion, Psychoanalysis, Translation and Poetics and Theory. His book, The Tears of Sovereignty: Perspectives of Power in Renaissance Drama (Fordham University Press 2013) examines the metaphor-logics created by the great playwrights of the early modern period – William Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, and Calderón de la Barca – in relation to contemporary theorists on the problem of sovereignty. His current book project, “Baroque Files,” pursues the after-lives of early modern sovereignty, as its representation moves from the symbolic body of sacred kings into increasingly abstract and disembodied forms, including public administration.

Recent courses taught include:
Undergraduate: "The Question of Tragedy," "Introduction to Criticism and Theory," "Shakespeare – The Late Plays," and "Comparative Renaissance Drama: Blood Politics"
Graduate: "Baroque Files"