Dori Coblentz, lecturer of technical communications and former Marion L. Brittain Fellow in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, published her first monograph on Dec. 31, 2021. The monograph, titled Fencing, Form and Cognition on the Early Modern Stage, argues that playwrights such as Shakespeare and Jonson looked to fencing theory and performance for physical cues and formal structure.

In the monograph, Coblentz analyzes historical and formal elements of early modern plays and Italian, English, and German fencing manuals. This analysis reveals previously unnoticed shared strategies for teaching timing and judgment.

The monograph is available for purchase on the Edinburgh University Press website.