Gary TaylorView profile
Professor
Gary Taylor , the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor at Florida State University , serves as Chair of the English Department and General Editor of The New Oxford Shakespeare . His academic leadership spans decades, marked by groundbreaking collaborative editions and interdisciplinary projects. Principal Investigator for the 2016 New Oxford Shakespeare (3-volume set + digital edition) Co-founded Florida State’s History of Text Technologies program Recipient of MLA Prize and Choice Award for scholarly editions Renowned for reshaping Shakespearean scholarship, Taylor’s research synthesizes authorship attribution , collaborative editing , and digital humanities . His work challenges traditional editorial practices by emphasizing dialogue over monologue , incorporating 400 years of critical voices and multimedia perspectives in Shakespeare’s texts. Notable projects include: Dating disputed plays via paper analysis (with David Gants) Reconstructing The History of Cardenio through creative and scholarly methods Integrating visual art timelines to contextualize Shakespeare’s works Taylor’s scientific awards highlight his impact: Modern Language Association’s Distinguished Scholarly Edition Prize (2008) Emily Dietz Award for Early Modern Studies (2008) Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award (1985) He mentors scholars like John Nance, whose digital analysis of Thomas Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy Additions proved pivotal. Taylor’s media commentary (including The Guardian and The New Yorker ) often focuses on Shakespeare’s collaborative practices, though he emphasizes the broader methodological innovations in his work.






