The Birkbeck Early Modern Society is pleased to announce its first event of 2012. Dr Emma Smith will give a talk on ‘Reading Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623) on 20 January, 6:30 pm, Room B02 Malet Street.

Dr Smith has written widely on Shakepeare: her books include The Cambridge Introdution to Shakespeare and the forthcoming Cambridge Shakespeare Guide. Do join us for what promises to be a fascinating talk.

Free to members; Membership £5; £3 non-members.

Friday 16 Dec, 6.30 pm, Malet St B35, followed by our Christmas party in G15

A reminder about Friday’s lecture and party. Prof. Morrill teaches at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and is very interested in the religious dynamics of early modern British History, and especially the religious psychology of the key people of the period, most notably Oliver Cromwell. This is evident in Prof. Morrill’s biography of Oliver Cromwell (2007) and in many papers including forthcoming essays on Cromwell and the Bible, and Cromwell’s massacre of the garrison of Drogheda. The 16th December should be a memorable evening, so be sure to arrive early so as to get a seat! After the lecture we have our Christmas party in G15, which should be a very enjoyable way to mark the end of term.

Membership remains £5 and is available at all of our academic events, alternatively you can attend single lectures for £3 each.

Fri 16 Dec: The Barry Coward Memorial Lecture. Prof. John Morrill, ‘What do we really know about Oliver Cromwell?’, Malet St B35, followed by Xmas party in G15.

Fri 20 Jan: Dr Emma Smith, ‘Reading Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623)’, room tbc.

Fri 24 Feb: Dr Matthew Shaw, ‘Early modern time: the case of the French Republican Calendar’, room tbc.

Fri 23 March: Dr Laura Jacobs, ‘Writing about Blindness in Early Modern England: the case of John Milton (1608-1674)’, room tbc.

Fri 27 April: Dr Helen Smith, ‘Materialising the book: print and practice in Moxon’s Mechanick Exercises’, room tbc.

Fri 25 May: Dr Alice Hunt, ‘Oliver Cromwell and the rituals of the Republic’, room tbc.

Membership can be obtained at any of our events and remains unaffected by inflation — £5!

Thurs 20 October 2011: Dr Jenny Wormald, ‘Godly myth, ungodly reality: the Scottish Reformation’, 43 Gordon Sq, room G03.

This promises to be a memorable night as Dr Wormald is an expert on early modern Scotland who is renowned for her revisionist interpretation of James VI and I. Unfortunately, the only room available on this night is G03 which does not hold more than about 30 people, so this event is strictly first come first served. Arrive early to be sure of getting in!

Fri 16 Dec: The Barry Coward Memorial Lecture. Prof. John Morrill, ‘What do we really know about Oliver Cromwell?’, Malet St B35, followed by Xmas party in G15.

This Christmas we have our first Barry Coward Memorial Lecture, and we hope that this will be come an Early Modern Society tradition. Again, this promises to be an excellent event as Prof. Morrill is an acclaimed historian of the Stuart age, and Barry Coward thought highly of his work, so there is no one better to give the first Memorial Lecture.

Membership for the academic year remains a steal at £5, and can be obtained at any of our events; alternatively you can attend single lectures for a fee of £3 each.

Further details of the rest of our academic programme will be sent out and published on the web soon.

10.00
Registration, coffee*

10.30
Birkbeck Early Modern Society AGM

11.00
Conference ‘Aspirations’
Opening Remarks: Karen Chester

Session 1: Chair: Timothy Alves

11.15
Susan Gane, Birkbeck
The Aspirations of Common Soldiers in the Early Eighteenth Century

11.45
Laura Bolick, Open University
Cherishing Greece: Cardinal Bessarion and the Attempt to Save a Culture

12.15 Discussion

12.45 Lunch*

Session 2: Chair: Laura Jacobs

1.45
Sarah Watkins, Birkbeck
‘The Wonder of all Wonders’ or ‘a mind hardened in sin’? The Aspirations and Motivations of Early Modern Fasting Women and Their Commentators

2.15 Steve Orman, Canterbury Christ Church University
Nathan Field’s Literary Aspirations in the Early Seventeenth-Century

2.45 Jackie Watson, Birkbeck
Portrait of Aspiration: Thomas Overbury and Jacobean courtiership

3.15 Discussion

3.45 Closing remarks: Karen Chester

3.50 Wine reception

If you wish to attend the AGM, the Conference or both, please send Laura Jacobs an email. The events are free to attend but we need a rough idea of numbers for catering purposes.

10.00
Registration, coffee*

10.30
Birkbeck Early Modern Society AGM

11.00
Conference ‘Aspirations’
Opening Remarks: Karen Chester

Session 1: Chair: Timothy Alves

11.15
Susan Gane, Birkbeck
The Aspirations of Common Soldiers in the Early Eighteenth Century

11.45
Laura Bolick, Open University
Cherishing Greece: Cardinal Bessarion and the Attempt to Save a Culture

12.15 Discussion

12.45 Lunch*

Session 2: Chair: Laura Jacobs

1.45
Sarah Watkins, Birkbeck
‘The Wonder of all Wonders’ or ‘a mind hardened in sin’? The Aspirations and Motivations of Early Modern Fasting Women and Their Commentators

2.15 Steve Orman, Canterbury Christ Church University
Nathan Field’s Literary Aspirations in the Early Seventeenth-Century

2.45 Jackie Watson, Birkbeck
Portrait of Aspiration: Thomas Overbury and Jacobean courtiership

3.15 Discussion

3.45 Closing remarks: Karen Chester

3.50 Wine reception

If you wish to attend the AGM, the Conference or both, please send Laura Jacobs an email. The events are free to attend but we need a rough idea of numbers for catering purposes.

Prof. Stuart Carroll (University of York), ‘The Duel’, Thursday 23 June, 6.30 pm, room B36, followed by our end of year party in room B02

Prof. Carroll is a distinguished historian of early modern France who has published widely on the French nobility and violence. His books include Blood and Violence in Early Modern France (Oxford, 2006) and Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and the Making of Europe (Oxford, 2009). His talk on the history of the duel should provide us with a stimulating and entertaining end of year lecture, after which we can all have drinks in room B02.

Since these are our last events of the year, admission to both is free! All welcome!

Do join us for what promises to be a fascinating talk!

Call for Papers

 The Birkbeck Early Modern Society is pleased to announce its 5^th annual student conference on the theme of ‘Aspiration’.

 We aim to provide a stimulating event at which students can network, present their research and exchange ideas with peers from a range of disciplines. The day promises to be an ideal forum to showcase student research and to provide opportunities to develop presentation skills.

 Our theme this year is ‘Aspiration’.  What did people in the early modern period aspired to: status, political favour, fame, fortune, virtue, salvation?  How did aspirations relate to gender, rank, religion and nationality?  These are some of the themes that the conference could address.

 We are interested in aspiration during the early modern period, 1500-1800; conference papers could address a range of subject areas, such as politics, art, science, religion, music, literature, philosophy, belief, medicine, or consumption. We are looking for a diverse collection of papers that connect with our conference theme.

 Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words for papers lasting 20-25 minutes (about 2,000 words). Please email your abstract to Dr Laura Jacobs, Secretary, Birkbeck Early Modern Society, at bbkems@gmail.com by 5pm on Friday 15 July 2011.

Dr Angela McShane (V&A), ‘Brimmers and Boozers: Materialities, Identities and Practices of Drinking in Early Modern England’, Thursday 28 April, 6.30 pm, Room B03, 43 Gordon Sq

Dr Angela McShane teaches the history of design at the V&A and the RCA, and also researched popular politics and everyday life in seventeenth-century England, especially cheap print, drinking cultures and objects of loyalty. She is an expert on early modern ballads and has just written Political Broadside Ballads of Seventeenth-Century England: A Critical Bibliography. Her illustrated paper on drinking in early modern England promises to be lively and stimulating, and afterwards we can all put theory into practice and raise a glass to Dr McShane!

Membership remains a mere £5 and is available on the night; alternatively, you can attend this event for a one-off price of £3.