Summary of Shakespeare in Shackles: The Transformative Power of Literature: Laura Bates at TEDxUCLA

00:00:00 - 00:15:00

This video discusses how literature, and specifically Shakespeare, can have a transformative power on those who experience it. It tells the story of how a Shakespeare play was able to reach prisoners who were otherwise resistant to change, and how it helped them to examine their own character and motives.

• 00:00:00 This talk by a world-renowned Shakespeare scholar discusses the transformative power of literature, specifically the play Macbeth. The scholar asserts that the play represents the ipso facto valorization of transgression, and he interviews a supermax inmate who tells of how reading Shakespeare changed his life.
• 00:05:00 This TEDxUCLA talk by Laura Bates discusses the transformative power of literature, particularly Shakespeare, in the context of her experiences as a young person in segregation units in the U.S. She credits Shakespeare with helping her to find meaning and substance to life experiences, and ultimately helping her to leave segregation and reintegrate back into the general population.
• 00:10:00 This video clip features a talk by Larry Bates, formerly a prisoner in a California correctional facility, about the power of literature. Bates discusses how literature can help people examine their own character and motives, and how it can be used to reach out to at-risk teenagers. He encourages audiences to consider how literature can be used to help them learn from their own mistakes.
• 00:15:00 Laura Bates, a TEDx speaker, discusses how literature can have a transformative power on those who experience it. She shares the story of how a Shakespeare play was able to reach prisoners who were otherwise resistant to change.