Research

I am determined to show that scholars and students with various cultural backgrounds can approach foundational literary works of the English canon, such as Shakespeare’s plays.

Servants in Early Modern Drama

My dissertation, “Performing a servant’s faithful parts: Master-Servant relations in Early Modern Drama” argues for the central significance of servants and other marginalized figures in Ben Jonson’s Volpone, John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

3MT

I showcased my research in the Three-Minute Thesis competition and earned the First Prize Award in the 2022 Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools regional final.

@brandeisuniversity
Emiliano Gutierrez Popoca’s (English, PhD) 3 Minute Thesis presentation! He won the New England competition & will be competing in the national competition this summer. #brandeis #brandeisuniversity #3mt #3minutethesis #phd #english #romeoandjuliet #shakespeare #brandeisgsas
♬ original sound – Brandeis University

A version of this talk was published on Brandeis’ social media

Selected Publications

Gutiérrez-Popoca, Emiliano. “Teaching Shakespeare and Early Modern Colonialism through Data Visualization Tools.” Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching. Vol. 33, Issue 2, pp. 73-83. Fairmont College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Wichita State University, 2026. https://www.wichita.edu/academics/fairmount_las/smart/currentissueSMART.php

Gutiérrez-Popoca, Emiliano. “Apprentice Spirits and Noble Slaves: Servile Agency and the Limits of Service and Slavery in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.” Renaissance Drama 52, no. 1 (March 2024): 51–79. https://doi.org/10.1086/730210.

Gutiérrez-Popoca, Emiliano. “The Independent Parasite: Mosca’s Theatrical Service in Volpone.” Ben Jonson Journal, vol. 29, no. 1, May 2022, pp. 46–64. Edinburgh University Press Journals, https://doi.org/10.3366/bjj.2022.0327.