The Birmingham Eighteenth Century Centre connects researchers across the University of Birmingham who study the literature, art, and history of the eighteenth century. We nurture a community that includes students, graduate researchers, and scholars from inside and outside formal academia. We hold all sorts of events, from scholarly seminars and workshops to public-facing panels and social occasions. We work closely with the Birmingham Research Institute for History and Cultures, as well as colleagues around the UK, including our friends at the Warwick Early Modern and Eighteenth Century Centre. We also administer an annual Postgraduate Travel Award, with the support of the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, which supports research in the University of Birmingham’s Cadbury Research Library. BECC’s members have a wide range of interests within (and often beyond) the eighteenth century, stretching from everyday life in the West Midlands to the global movements of culture, ideas, commodities, and power.
This blog aims to showcase our community and its work, sharing reports on events and research, as well as interviews, reflections, and conversations among our extended network of friends and collaborators. If you’d like to contribute something, to join our mailing list, or to get involved with the life of the centre in any other way, please contact us by email. BECC’s current chair (since 2021) is Tom Cutterham.