To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Birmingham Eighteenth-Century Centre, we invite proposals for contributions to a conference (to be held 26-27 June 2025) that will reflect on the past, present, and future of our field. At this conference, we hope to investigate how three contrasting sets of narratives—those of crisis, continuity, and transformation—have shaped … Continue reading “Crisis, Continuity, and Transformation in Eighteenth-Century Studies”
Author: Tom Cutterham
MECRN Workshop 2024
Every year the Midlands Eighteenth Century Centre’s annual workshop alternates between us here at Birmingham and our good friends at Warwick. In 2022, we experimented with a new, more open format. Last year, the workshop was attached to an international conference on sociability at Warwick. This year, we’re doing something similar and joining the workshop … Continue reading “MECRN Workshop 2024”
Nature and Environment in Early Modern Worlds
Nature and Environment 2024 CfP
BECC Spring Programme 2024
Thursday 1 February, 5-6.30pm, Arts 224 (Danford Room) Matthew McCormack (Northampton), “Shoes from Northampton, Buckles from Birmingham, and Men from the Long Eighteenth Century“ This event is sponsored by the Centre for Midlands History and Cultures . Wednesday 14 February, 1-3pm, Aston Webb Main Lecture Theatre (C-Block) Nathan Perl-Rosenthal (University of Southern California), “The Age … Continue reading “BECC Spring Programme 2024”
The Georgians, A Forum: Part 4
by Penelope Corfield, Royal Holloway A few authors, having published a book, regard its appearance in print as a ‘done deal’. But many, if not most, writers enjoy the creative post-publication dialogue. Comments, criticisms, appreciations, denunciations, corrections: all are grist to the mill. Publication is like throwing a stone into a pool, hoping for ripples … Continue reading “The Georgians, A Forum: Part 4”
The Georgians: A Forum, Part 3
by Esther Wilson, University of York Given Penelope Corfield’s focus, in The Georgians, on connecting with the 21st-century audience, and my own public history background, Tom asked me to emphasise this sort of angle in my comment. I suppose in summary, I really found it a wonderful read and appreciated the way in which the … Continue reading “The Georgians: A Forum, Part 3”
The Georgians, A Forum: Part 2
by Dave Smith, University of Warwick As a specialist researcher it’s refreshing to read a general history, especially one which is such a good read as The Georgians. I enjoyed the thematic approach and the elasticity of the periodicity. The time-shifts at the end of chapters connect the reader to historical themes such as film, … Continue reading “The Georgians, A Forum: Part 2”
Joseph Priestley’s Material Voices
by Alice Rhodes, University of York In Spring 2022, thanks to the generous funding of the BECC and BSECS Early Career Fellowship, I spent a week in the Cadbury Research Library researching the Joseph Priestley Collection for my current project on bodies and voices in Romantic literature. The Cadbury library holds a number of manuscript … Continue reading “Joseph Priestley’s Material Voices”
Histories of Care in the Cadbury Library Special Collections
by Kate Gibson, University of Manchester Support from BECC and BSECS allowed me to visit the Cadbury Library to examine a small collection of 31 letters, written by gentry woman Ann Ambler. Revealing her care of siblings Isabella and Thomasin Ibbetson, the letters provide new insight into fostering in the eighteenth century. The girls were … Continue reading “Histories of Care in the Cadbury Library Special Collections”
Autumn Programme
11 October, 5-7pm, Cadbury Research Library: Launch of Rebecca Whitely, Birth Figures: Early Modern Prints and the Pregnant Body. A brief introduction to the book and conversation between Rebecca and Dr Elizabeth L’Estrange will be followed by a chance to examine some early modern midwifery books held in the collections of the Cadbury Research Library. At 6pm … Continue reading “Autumn Programme”