Alumna Q&A with Jade Standing (PhD 2020)

Image via Jade Standing.

The Department of English Language & Literatures is proud to be the springboard for new generations of writers, thinkers, and researchers whose ideas are already changing the world. With every passing year, more and more of our alumni step into different communities and career sectors, equipped with unmatched skills in critical thinking, writing, and the ability to relate to those whose lived experiences are unlike their own.

In this alumni Q&A, meet Dr. Jade Standing (PhD 2020), George Whalley Visiting Professor in Early Modern Literature at Queen’s University, and author of The Play of Conscience in Shakespeare’s England (Routledge 2023).

What are you doing with your life now, and what has your journey been like, getting here?

Last summer I packed my belongings into a car and road-tripped over to the other side of Canada, covering 4500 km in 5 days. I met some really nice people en route and enjoyed the way the scenery changed as I moved through BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the length of Ontario. Queen’s University, where I’m currently based as the George Whalley Visiting Professor in Early Modern Literature, sits next to Lake Ontario. It feels good to have come from and ended up by water.

Do you have any recent accomplishments you want to share with the EL&L community?

I am delighted to share the news of my recent book publication, The Play of Conscience in Shakespeare’s England (London: Routledge, 2023). The book examines how the internally contradictory range of meanings for conscience emerge through and shape the questions about truth, representation, and authority that lie at the heart of Renaissance drama. It is available in hardback or e-book.

What are some valuable lessons you learned since your time with UBC English Language & Literature?

I feel resistant to the idea of the takeaway lesson. I will say that I have continued my training in reading, writing, thinking, editing, teaching, and convening since graduating. That’s not to say that my PhD training was lacking in any way so much that my appetite for learning just keeps deepening—not exactly a lesson but still an important thing to discover about yourself.

Are there any memories from your time as a student in UBC English Language & Literatures that have stuck with you until now?

Well, it’s been less than four years since I graduated, so most of my memories have stuck with me. Some stand out ones, though, are: having access to the beautiful and well stocked Koerner Library and I.K.Barber Learning Centre, which are such an easy walk from one another and framed by an extraordinary mountain and Pacific ocean backdrop; having recourse to the wonderful, knowledgeable, and robust group of early modernists on faculty; scrambling around and reading on Tower Beach until twilight; summers at Bard on the Beach; and, of course, playing softball with the best named team in the business: The Prose.

Speaking of the wonderful and knowledgeable faculty, are there any in particular you’d like to give a shoutout to?

Patricia Badir and Mark Vessey have always been, and continue to be, stupendous and inspirational.

Jade Standing is the George Whalley Visiting Professor in Early Modern Literature at Queen’s University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on early modern English dramatic literature. She received her Ph.D in English from the University of British Columbia in 2020. Her research focuses on intellectual history and embodied experience. Her book, The Play of Conscience in Shakespeare’s England, was published by Routledge in December 2023. Her work has also appeared in Shakespeare Quarterly. She is currently working on a cultural history of fencers and sword-fighting.

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