Jonathan Baldo

Jonathan Baldo is a Professor of English at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, where he has served since 1983 and chaired the Humanities Department (1997-2005). His research focuses on Shakespearean drama, early modern English literature, and the role of memory in cultural formation. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and a Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo.

His work explores how artistic forms negotiate conflicting historical memories, particularly in Shakespeare’s plays, and investigates themes such as national identity, forgetting, and literary form’s relationship to religious conflict. Recent projects include studies on children’s games in Shakespeare and memory’s role in early modern England. He has presented at international conferences in Munich, Paris, London, and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Teaching awards include the University of Rochester’s Edward Peck Curtis Award (2011) and Eastman’s Eisenhart Award (2014). His publications span books like Memory in Shakespeare’s Histories (2012) and numerous articles on Shakespeare, Kafka, and Bergman. He teaches courses ranging from Shakespeare to modern poetry and film.