It’s a guest blog! Here’s Thom!

My name is Thom Pritchard (yes, I like Radiohead a little bit too much), having completed my Master’s degree in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies at the University of York,  I came to the University of Edinburgh to pursue a PhD in Literature and History on the terrible preoccupations of the Caroline British Isles towards the Thirty Years War. Jimmy has kindly invited me onto the SGSAH blog to tell you about the Edinburgh Early Modern Network.  

The Edinburgh Early Modern Network is almost one year old. For the best part of a year, this network, run by University of Edinburgh postgrads for postgraduate staff and students living in Edinburgh and beyond, has been celebrating the early modern period through academic talks and social events.

When I arrived at the University of Edinburgh last September I soon realized that there was a need to create a platform for the wonderful talent working on early modernity, very broadly defined (and I am sure this will outrage a few medievalists) as 1450-1789. Its an incredibly rich period, from the cultural achievements of Da Vinci and Shakespeare; with the technological and scientific innovations of Gutenberg and Copernicus respectively; witnessing the religio-political flux unleashed by the Reformation through to the Enlightenment: it is a fascinating and yet turbulent period which demands investigation. This complex period is best explored through inter-disciplinary collaboration, therefore, the network aims to bring together students and scholars from across the humanities and social sciences.

We are currently in the process of finalising our schedule for the upcoming semester, and hope to be able to treat the wider network to, amongst other delights, a night of early modern music, early modern film nights (yes, ok, photographs didn’t exist until 1826, and you would have been investigated by the inquisition for trying to put on a film screening in 1640s Rome but there are a growing number of films and dramas set during the early modern period), a wide range of fascinating research talks, and a bar crawl of early modern pubs etc.

Growing as a network is down to not only the generosity of the Centre of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the time of the staff who presented their research and helped with logistics, but also to a fabulous committee. Our committee is comprised of postgraduate students from across the University, this year the committee members are (credit where credit is due) Julia Smith (ECA), Ciaran Jones (HCA), Eleonora Calviello (LLC), Lark McIvor (ECA), Tom Brautigam (HCA), Jillian Luke (LLC), and myself. Each of us have roles, for example Julia runs our Twitter page and Ciaran Jones operates the Facebook page (see links below!), and everyone clubs together to share ideas. Being part of the SGSAH community will no doubt help the Edinburgh Early Modern Network continue to grow. The SGSAH contains some exceptional talent, and over the coming years collaboration is a must. As the network approaches its first birthday, in the near future we plan to host our first ever graduate conference, bringing together SGSAH PhD students working on any area of early modernity, sharing brilliant research and making lasting friendships.

Founded in the Autumn of 2018, the Edinburgh Early Modern Network is an academic and social community, run by University of Edinburgh postgraduates for fellow postgraduates and staff from Edinburgh and beyond. If you would like to find out more about our events, please email early.modern@ed.ac.uk with your name and academic affiliation, feel free to follow us on Twitter at @EdEarlyModern and like us on Facebook via, https://facebook.com/EdEarlyModern/

We are always seeking new guest bloggers! If you have an idea for a blog post or would like to informally discuss writing for the SGSAH blog please get in touch with Jimmy via email at james.johnson@stir.ac.uk or connect with the blog on Twitter