Things: Early Modern Material Cultures

Alternate Tuesdays, 12.30-14.30 during term time
CRASSH, Seminar room SG1, Ground floor
Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, CB3 9DT

Conveners

Michael Ashby (Faculty of History)
Katy Barrett     (Department of History and Philosophy of Science)
Molly Dorkin    (Department of History of Art)
Hank Johnson  (Department of History of Art)
Adrian Leonard (Affiliate Research Student, Winton Centre for Financial History)
Lucy Razzall    (Faculty of English)
Michelle Wallis (Department of History and Philosophy of Science)
Sophie Waring  (Department of History and Philosophy of Science)

Faculty Advisors

Prof Maxine Berg (Department of HIstory, University of Warwick)
Dr Melisssa Calaresu (Faculty of History)
Dr Richard Dunn (Curator of the History of Navigation, National Maritime Museum)
Dr Catherine Eagleton (Curator of Modern Money, British Museum)
Prof Ludmilla Jordanova (Modern History, King's College London)
Dr Larry Klein (Faculty of History)
Dr Mary Laven  (Faculty of History)
Dr Alexander Marr (Department History of Art, Cambridge)
Dr Ulinka Rublack (Early Modern European History, Faculty of History)
Prof Simon Schaffer (History of Science, History and Philosophy of Science)
Dr Jason Scott-Warren (Director of the Centre for Material Texts, Faculty of English)
Dr Kim Sloan (Francis Finlay Curator of the Enlightenment Galleries and Curator of British Watercolours and Drawings before 1880, British Museum)
Prof Liba Taub (Director and Curator of the Whipple Museum, History and Philosophy of Science)
Prof Nick Thomas (Historical Anthropology, Director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology)

 

The early-modern period was the age of ‘stuff.’ Public production, collection, display and consumption of objects grew in influence, popularity, and scale. The form, function, and use of objects, ranging from scientific and musical instruments to weaponry and furnishings were influenced by distinct  and changing features of the period. Early-modern knowledge was not divided into strict disciplines, in fact practice across what we now see as academic boundaries was essential to material creation. This seminar series uses an approach based on objects to encourage us to consider the unity of ideas of this period, to emphasise the lived human experience of technology and art, and the global dimension of material culture. We will build on our success discussing the long eighteenth century in 2012-13 to look at the interdisciplinary thinking through which early modern material culture was conceived, adding an attention to the question of what a 'thing' is, to gain new perspectives on the period through its artefacts.

 

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In addition to the CRASSH-webpage, you can find more information about  the group from their external blog Things C18th  
(CRASSH is not responsible for the content of external internet sites)

 
 

Administrative contact Esther Lamb (Grad/Fac Programme Manager)

 

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