Genre and Form in Early Modern Political Thought
Early modern political works were written in a variety of genres including philosophical treatise, dialogue, utopia, travel literature, utopia, poetry, drama. It was also not uncommon for authors to blend fact and fiction to entertain and engage their readers. At this first workshop we explored the variety of genres and forms that were adopted by the authors of early modern political texts and the ways in which they were used to engage readers. We also considered the interactions between words and images and the ways in which texts and artefacts worked with each other and in conjunction with gatherings of people to inform, inspire and provoke audiences. You can read a blogpost on the workshop here.
Workshop Programme
Wednesday 7 September 2022
11:00-11:40 Coffee and Welcome
11:40-13:00 Panel 1: The Variety of Genres 1: Manuscript and Composite Forms
– Delphine Doucet, Genre and Form in Manuscript Texts.
– Tim Somers, Cutting-and-Pasting Political Texts: Readers, Publishers and
Anecdotal History.
13:00-14:10 Lunch
14:10-15:30 Panel 2: The Variety of Genres 2: Religion, Monarchy, and the Ceremonial
– Harriet Palin, Catechism as a Political Tool.
– Niall Allsopp, Experiencing State Politics through Public Ceremonies
during the Civil Wars: Entry Poems and Marriage Songs.
15:30-16:00 Tea
16:00-18:00 Panel 3: Multi-media Strategies for Propaganda and Political Education
– Martin Dzelzainis, Inartificial Proofs: John Milton, Henry Stubbe, and
the Rhetoric of Visual Propaganda.
-Tom Whitfield, To Coin a Phrase: Thomas Spence’s Multi-media Strategy.
– Rachel Hammersley, Political Education in Early Modern Britain.
19:30 Drinks & Dinner
Thursday 8 September 2022
09:00-09:30 Coffee
09:30-11:30 Panel 4: Texts in Translation
– Tiago Sousa Garcia, Translating Political Thought: Richard Fanshawe.
– Gaby Mahlberg, Teaching Republican Kingship: John Toland’s Anglia libera (1701)
and the Hanoverian Succession.
– Myriam-Isabelle Ducrocq, Portrait of the Republican as Translator: Engaging with
English Political Treatises in 18th Century France.
11:30-12:00 Coffee
12:00-13:20 Panel 5: The Experience of Readers
– Mark Towsey, Note taking and Political Education: Readers’ Manuscript
Adaptations of Hume’s History of England.
– Max Skjönsberg, Reading Politics in Eighteenth-Century Subscription Libraries.
13:20-13:30 Closing Discussion Followed by Lunch
Experiencing Political Texts 