After spending the day in the library of one of our downtown universities yesterday, and having a look at some books that intend to summarize what is current in Shakespeare criticism at the collegiate level, with two of the most common approaches being new historicism and cultural materialism (here's the Wikipedia link to the latter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_materialism_(cultural_studies), from which you can reach the former), I just want to say the following: I would be more impressed if the contentions showed a greater knowledge of Shakespeare. For one thing, it seems like it's the same handful of plays that keep getting discussed (Othello, Measure for Measure, Henry V, and a few others). I'm not even convinced that the writers have read them all. So here's my statement on the matter: Shakespeare scholarship must be based on the study and elucidation of Shakespeare, not on anyone or anything else. And the first step is to read and understand his works in their entirety.