Regina M. Schwartz

Regina M. Schwartz is a Professor of English and Professor of Law (Courtesy) at Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. She specializes in seventeenth-century literature, particularly Milton, Hebrew Bible, philosophy and literature, law and literature, and religion and literature.

• Education: PhD in English from the University of Virginia

Her research explores intersections of justice, ethics, and theology in literary works. Key themes include Milton’s theodicy, violence in monotheistic traditions, sacramentalism in secularism, and Shakespeare’s legal-political narratives. She has edited influential volumes on the Bible and literary theory, transcendence, and Renaissance desire.

Her publications span interdisciplinary studies of literature, religion, and philosophy, with recent work focusing on equity and mercy in Shakespearean drama. Awards include the James Holly Hanford Book Award for her seminal work on Milton.

• Current Roles: Director of the Milton Project, Co-Director of the Academy for the Advanced Study of the Renaissance, Director of the Northwestern University Justice Institute

She has held visiting positions, including the Tipton Distinguished Chair of Religion at UCSB, and contributes to public discourse on religion, violence, and freedom of speech through lectures and media engagements.