Kyle Pivetti

Kyle Pivetti specializes in Early Modern English Literature, with a particular interest in Shakespeare. His research examines nationalism, memory, and pacifism in the 16th and 17th centuries, but he also writes on adaptations of Shakespeare in popular culture, including comic books, fantasy novels, and science fiction. His teaching often takes up these genres, whether in stories of Afrofuturism, revenge films, or ghost stories. 

His first book, "Of Memory and Literary Form: The Making of Nationhood in Early Modern England" (University of Delaware Press, 2015), examines how something as simple as a set of rhyming lines can give readers a sense of national identity. He is also the co-author alongside John S. Garrison, of "Shakespeare at Peace" (Routledge, 2018). This study of Shakespeare’s pacifism bridges the field of Peace Studies with literary analysis; it also includes a look at Shakespeare’s place in the most pacifist of television shows, Star Trek: The Next Generation. These interests in the geekier sides of Shakespeare studies appear also in a recent contribution on the fantasy writings of Terry Pratchett to the volume, Shakespeare and Geek Culture (Arden, 2020). 

His research has also been featured in the journals "Shakespeare; Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism", "Modern Philology", and "Explorations in Renaissance Culture". 

His teaching includes courses in Shakespeare and popular culture, Literature of the Sea, Literature of Leadership, and anything that includes a good monster. Currently, he is working on a new book project that examines the intersections of memory and collective shame in Shakespeare’s works, as well as a collection of Renaissance writings on pacifist thinking. 

Ph.D. English, University of California, Davis
B.A. English, University of California, Los Angeles

EN 253 Shakespeare at War
EN 370 Revenge in Shakespeare's World
EN 222 Speculative Worlds

"Pivetti, K. and Garrison, J. Shakespeare at Peace. New York: Routledge, 2018

“Axe One, Scream One’: Shakespeare as EC Comics Horror.” In Shakespeare and Comics. Ed. Jim Casey and Brandon Christopher. Arden.

"The Veteran's Body: Cry Havoc! and Recognizing Disability in Shakespeare's Histories." Swiss Papers in English Language and Literature, 43, 2023, 93-110."