Ursula Clayton is Teaching Fellow in the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies and teaches on the English and Comparative Literary Studies program. Her research examines Shakespearean and early modern conceptions of parasitism, as articulated in scientific, philosophical, and socio-political discourses. She currently is completing her first monograph on this topic. Her other research interests include the medical humanities and digital cultures.

Shaul Bassi is Associate Professor of English Literature at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, where he is the director of the International Center for Humanities and Social Change. His recent publications include Shakespeare's Italy and Italy's Shakespeare: Place, 'Race', and Politics (Palgrave Macmillan 2016). He is the co-founder and former director of Venice international literary festival Incroci di civiltà. He was the coordinator of the programs for the 500th anniversary of the Ghetto of Venice (1516-2016).

This is a joint seminar with the Venice Center for Humanities and Social Change at Ca'Foscari University and the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at University of Warwick.