Shirley Carnahan has been with the department since 1985 as an instructor and undergraduate advisor. Her teaching interests include the Classical period, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance (especially Shakespeare), the Modern Period (especially drama), comic theory, detective fiction, and travel literature.

She is a founding member of the Boulder Renaissance Consort, the Shakespeare Oratorio Society, and the Higher Education Advisory Council at the Denver Center Theatre Company. She is also a member of the Medieval and Renaissance Drama Society and the Modern Language Association.

She has received numerous teaching awards, the Boulder Faculty Assembly Award for Service, the Best of Farrand Award, and the Weiser-La Pucelle award for medieval combat.

Teaching Interests

Comic theory and comic form, and performance practices such as drama, film and music. She has studied narrative comparisons, as well as the use of music as narrative. She holds an interest in 20th-century literature, specifically drama and short stories. Her creative interests include the performance of early music on original instruments and acting in and directing classic drama, especially Shakespeare.

Current Courses


 HUMN 1010: Introduction to Humanities


Recent Courses


 HUMN 3093: The Craft of Mystery
 HUMN 4093: The Art of Travel


 HUMN 3093: Topics: Dramatic Deceptions


 HUMN 4133: The Dramatic Arts

Musical Works

From Cathedral to Castle A Rose in Winter