Medieval and Early Modern English Studies in Europe

UNIL principal investigator

Prof. Rory Critten, Faculty of Arts

UNIPD principal investigator

Prof. Alessandra Petrina, DISLL

Instrument

PhD workshop

Description

Thanks to the European and global turns taken by recent scholarship, researchers in medieval and early modern English Studies are increasingly aware of the benefits of considering England in a wider set of international and pan-continental contexts. Scholars outside the traditional locations of medieval and early modern English studies in the UK, the US, and Canada are uniquely well equipped to contribute to this development. Knowledge of languages other than English and access to archives of documents testifying to England’s international contacts are more highly valued commodities now than ever. The proposed workshop will set out to encourage and empower young researchers to take full advantage of this trend, whose final goal must be the decentralization of English Studies.

Activity

This two-day PhD workshop taking place in Lausanne will afford an opportunity for junior researchers from the universities of Lausanne and Padua to receive feedback from peers and more senior scholars on their work-in-progress. In particular, we would like to take this chance to address the problems and opportunities facing scholars in English Studies who conduct their work outside the major Anglophone centres of learning in the UK, the US, and Canada. The workshop organizers and invited keynote speaker will seek to encourage discussion of the ways in which participants’ experiences beyond the Anglosphere—for example, as native speakers of French, Italian, or another language besides English—might enrich their scholarship on medieval and early modern English topics.

Potential for follow-up activities

Hopefully this will be the first in a series of biennial exchanges between the universities of Lausanne and Padua. The immediate follow-up meeting would be held in Padua in 2024. If funding permits, collaboration will be expanded to include researchers in other English departments in Switzerland, France, Germany, and Italy.

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