Derek Cohen, a professor emeritus of the English Department in York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, passed away peacefully on Oct. 11.
Cohen, a beloved member of the English Department, came to York University in 1968 and taught Shakespeare and Renaissance drama until his retirement in 2008. He was revered by his students and colleagues for his wit, sharp intellect and compassion, and for opening new realms of understanding in his classrooms.
Former student Eva Brandt, said, “I met Professor Cohen in my second year of university and, after meeting him, I made sure to take every course that he taught in the English Department. His appreciation and enthusiasm for 17th- and 18th-century literature was palpable in his classrooms. His wry sense of humour always kept his students laughing during class and made learning fun.”
Cohen cultivated a passion for literature – namely Shakespeare – in his classrooms, which he passed on to his many students. He was often heard quoting excerpts from various plays, then following up with a lesson on context. He was a wise, charismatic and supportive mentor to graduate students and a source of warm counsel for younger faculty members. Cohen is remembered for his positive influence on those who had the pleasure of knowing him.
His published works brought intense and innovative close readings of the characters in Shakespeare’s plays into conversation with his lifelong political and ethical concerns and commitments, including: Shakespearean Motives (1988); The Politics of Shakespeare (1993); Shakespeare’s Culture of Violence (1993); and Searching Shakespeare: Studies in Culture and Authority (2003). He also published a volume of essays, titled Jewish Presences in English Literature (1990), co-edited with his York colleague Deborah Heller.
Before joining the University, Cohen was actively involved in anti-apartheid work, specifically as a member of the African Resistance Movement. His heartfelt and stalwart political commitments continued during his time at York, which came out passionately in times of crisis.
“I remember [Cohen] telling me about the arrest of Ruth First, the South African activist, when he was a boy – the story of him pushing food into her through the tiny gap at the top of jailhouse window,’” recalled former student Steven Hayward, now an author, professor and director of the Journalism Institute at Colorado College. “That’s who he was, a lifelong and fearless enemy of racism.”
To Hayward, who met the professor through his Shakespeare graduate seminar in 1995, Cohen also grew to become a trusted mentor and friend. “He was brilliant and generous and hilarious, a man with a storied past and an accent to match,” he said. “There was no one who I laughed with more, who taught me more, who believed in me more unconditionally.”
A graveside service was held on Oct. 15 in the Lagover Society section of Lambton Cemetery in Toronto. Memorial donations can be made to Parkinson Canada at 416-227-9700 or parkinson.ca.