Researching the Archive (seminar)

For more past programming from the Folger Institute, please see the article Folger Institute scholarly programs archive.

This article combines dissertation seminars entitled Researching the Archive, Researching the Archives, and Researching the Early Modern Archive. Although the titles differ, the substance of each seminar was the same. This year-long dissertation seminar was held in 2017-2018, 2016-2017, 2015-2016, 2014–2015, 2013–2014, 2012–2013, 2011–2012, 2010–2011, 2009–2010, 2008–2009, 2007–2008, 2005–2006, 2003–2004, 2001–2002, and 2000 (as a semester seminar).

2017-2018

Ann Blair and Peter Stallybrass led this iteration of this year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

This monthly seminar focuses on the wealth of archival material available for the study of the history, culture, society, and literature of early modern Britain and Europe. Seminar participants will explore a variety of printed and manuscript sources relevant to both English and History Ph.D. candidates and will learn (with the assistance of Folger staff) some essential research skills. Throughout, the goal will be to foster interdisciplinary scholarship while considering broad methodological and theoretical problems relevant to current work in early modern studies. Preference will be given to applicants who have completed course work and preliminary exams; they should be preparing a prospectus or beginning to write chapters and be ready to make significant use of the Library’s collections as part of their monthly visits. Applicants should consult with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work is at a stage that would benefit from the seminar, and their directors should certify that this is the case in their recommendation letters. Those whose dissertations are substantially complete will not be competitive applicants.

Co-directors: Ann Blair is Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor in the Department of History at Harvard University where she teaches courses in the history of the book, early modern intellectual and cultural history, and French history. Her publications include Too Much To Know: Managing Scholarly Information Before the Modern Age (2010). Her current book project focuses on the role and working methods of amanuenses from 1500 to 1650. Peter Stallybrass is Annenberg Professor in the Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the History of Material Texts. He has done extensive research at the Folger, collaborating on projects with Heather Wolfe and Frank Mowery. He is at present working with Roger Chartier on a history of the book from wax tablets to e-books.

2016-2017

Keith Wrightson and James Siemon led this iteration of this year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

This monthly seminar focuses on the wealth of archival material available for the study of the history, culture, society, and literature of early modern Britain. In the fall, the seminar participants will explore a variety of printed and manuscript sources relevant to both English and History Ph.D. candidates and will learn (with the assistance of Folger staff) some essential research skills. In the spring, they will focus on issues of research and interpretation raised by their projects. Throughout, the goal will be to foster interdisciplinary scholarship while considering broad methodological and theoretical problems relevant to current work in early modern studies. Preference will be given to applicants who have completed course work and preliminary exams; they should be preparing a prospectus or beginning to write chapters and be ready to make significant use of the Library’s collections as part of their monthly visits. Applicants should consult with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work is at a stage that would benefit from the seminar, and their directors should certify that this is the case in their recommendation letters. Those whose dissertations are substantially complete will not be competitive applicants.

Co-directors: Keith Wrightson is Randolph W. Townsend Jr. Professor of History at Yale University. He is the author of English Society, 1580-1680 (1982, 2003), Earthly Necessities (2000), and Ralph Tailor’s Summer (2011) and is currently editing the Cambridge Social History of England, 1500-1750. James Siemon is Professor of English at Boston University. He edits Shakespeare Studies and is the author of Shakespearean Iconoclasm (1986) and Word Against Word: Shakespearean Utterance (2002); he has edited Marlowe’s Jew of Malta as well as Shakespeare’s Richard III and Julius Caesar. He is currently editing Thomas Preston’s Cambyses.

2015-2016

Derek Hirst and Steven Zwicker led this iteration of this year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

Designed for advanced doctoral candidates in History and English, this monthly seminar seeks to interrogate and to focus participants’ dissertation projects through discussion and debate. It will encourage members of the seminar to consider their work in the context of current preoccupations in early modern—and especially interdisciplinary—scholarship. The seminar will also foster the use of the Folger’s rich archives, primary resources, and scholarly community, but our main concern will be to bring research questions into sharp and productive focus. Applicants should consult with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work is at a stage that would benefit from the seminar. Admission will depend in part on the dissertation director’s written certification of that fact, with preference given to candidates who have completed course work and preliminary exams or the equivalent. Applicants should be preparing a prospectus or beginning to draft chapters. Those whose dissertations are substantially complete will not be competitive applicants. Preference will also be given to those who will make significant use of the Library’s collections as part of each monthly visit. The grant-in-aid allows for an average of two nights’ stay per session.

Co-Directors: Derek Hirst and Steven Zwicker both hold endowed chairs in the humanities at Washington University in St. Louis where they have taught early modern studies separately and together for some time. Their most recent collaborative endeavors were The Cambridge Companion to Andrew Marvell (2011) and Andrew Marvell, Orphan of the Hurricane (2012). As a solo production, Hirst’s most recent work was Dominion: England and Its Island Neighbors, 1500–1707 (2012); his current research focuses on responses to empire in Restoration England and on the culture of voting. Zwicker’s most recent collaboration is Lord Rochester in the Restoration World (with Matthew Augustine, 2015), and his current projects include the 21st-Century Oxford Authors edition of John Dryden.

2014–2015

Jean E. Howard and Pamela H. Smith led this iteration of this year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

Designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, this monthly seminar will address the scholarly issues raised by the projects of its participants and by the kinds of archival material under investigation. It will encourage participants to consider their projects in the context of broad methodological and theoretical problems in early modern studies, especially in collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship. It will scrutinize the evidentiary use of primary sources, whether those at the Folger Shakespeare Library or available online. Applicants should consult with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work is at a stage that would benefit from the seminar. Admission will depend in part on the dissertation director’s written certification of that fact, with preference given to candidates who have completed course work and preliminary exams or the equivalent. Applicants should be preparing a prospectus or beginning to write chapters. Those whose dissertations are substantially complete will not be competitive applicants. Preference will also be given to those who will make significant use of the Library’s collections as part of each monthly visit. The grant-in-aid allows for an average of two nights’ stay per session.

Co-Directors: Jean E. Howard is George Delacorte Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University where she teaches early modern literature and the history of theater. Her 2008 book, Theater of a City: The Places of London Comedy 1598–1642, won the Bernard Hewitt Award of the American Society for Theatre Research. She is completing work on the 3rd edition of The Norton Shakespeare and a new book on the history play from Shakespeare to Tony Kushner and Caryl Churchill.

Pamela H. Smith is the Seth Low Professor of History at Columbia University and the author of books on alchemy, artisans, and the making of knowledge. Recent ones include The Body of the Artisan: Art and Experience in the Scientific Revolution (2004) and Ways of Making and Knowing: The Material Culture of Empirical Knowledge (with Amy R. W. Meyers and Harold C. Cook, 2014). Her present research reconstructs the vernacular knowledge of early modern European miners and metalworkers.

2013–2014

Karen Ordahl Kupperman and Peter Stallybrass led this iteration of the year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

Designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, this monthly seminar addressed the scholarly issues raised by the projects of its participants and by the kinds of archival material under investigation. It encouraged participants to consider their projects in the context of broad methodological and theoretical problems in early modern studies, especially in collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship. It scrutinized the evidentiary use of primary sources, whether those at the Folger Shakespeare Library or available online. Applicants consulted with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work was at a stage that would benefit from the seminar. Admission depended in part on the dissertation director’s written certification of that fact, with preference given to candidates who had completed course work and preliminary exams or the equivalent. Applicants should be preparing a prospectus or beginning to write chapters. Those whose dissertations were substantially complete were not competitive applicants. Preference was given to those who made significant use of the Library’s collections as part of each monthly visit. The grant-in-aid allowed for an average of two nights’ stay per session.

Directors: Karen Ordahl Kupperman is Silver Professor of History at New York University. Among her recent publications are an edition of Richard Ligon’s True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados (2011), The Atlantic in World History (2012), and The Jamestown Project (2007). Her current research centers on music as a mode of communication in the early modern world and music’s links to universal language projects. Peter Stallybrass is Annenberg Professor in the Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the History of Material Texts. His Rosenbach Lectures in Bibliography on “Printing for Manuscript” will be published next year by the University of Pennsylvania Press. He is at present working with Roger Chartier on a history of the book from wax tablets to e-books.

2012–2013

Carole Levin and Alan Stewart led this iteration of the year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

Designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, this monthly seminar addressed the scholarly issues raised by the projects of its participants and by the kinds of archival material under investigation. It encouraged participants to consider their projects in the context of broad methodological and theoretical problems in early modern studies, especially in collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship. It scrutinized the evidentiary use of primary sources, whether those at the Folger Shakespeare Library or available online. Applicants consulted with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work was at a stage that would benefit from the seminar. Admission depended in part on the dissertation director’s written certification of that fact, with preference given to candidates who completed course work and preliminary exams or the equivalent. Applicants had to be preparing a prospectus or beginning to write chapters. Those whose dissertations were substantially complete were competitive applicants. Preference was also given to those who would make significant use of the Library’s collections as part of each monthly visit. The grant-in-aid allowed for an average of two nights’ stay per session.

Directors: Carole Levin is Willa Cather Professor of History and Director of the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program at the University of Nebraska. She is the author of a number of books including The Heart and Stomach of a King; The Reign of Elizabeth I, Dreaming the English Renaissance; and (with John Watkins) Shakespeare’s Foreign Worlds. She has held long-term fellowships at the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Newberry Library and was co-founder and past president of the Queen Elizabeth I Society. She was the Senior Historical Consultant of the Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend exhibit at the Newberry Library in 2003 and the co-curator of the exhibit, To Sleep Perchance to Dream, at the Folger Shakespeare Library in 2009.

Alan Stewart is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, and International Director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters in London. He is the author of several books, including Close Readers: Humanism and Sodomy in Early Modern England (1997), Letterwriting in Renaissance England (with Heather Wolfe, 2004), Shakespeare’s Letters (2008), and biographies of Francis Bacon (with Lisa Jardine, 1998), Philip Sidney (2000), and James VI and I (2003). He is editor of Bacon’s Early Writings, 1584–1596 for the Oxford Francis Bacon (forthcoming), and co-general editor, with Garrett Sullivan, of the Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of English Renaissance Literature (2012). He is now working on French Shakespeare, a study of the impact of French politics on England in the 1590s.

2011–2012

Peter Lake and Nigel Smith led this iteration of the year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

Designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, this monthly seminar addressed the scholarly issues raised by the projects of its participants and by the kinds of archival material under investigation. It encouraged participants to consider their projects in the context of broad methodological and theoretical problems in early modern studies, especially in collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship. It scrutinized the evidentiary use of primary sources, whether those at the Folger Shakespeare Library or available online. Applicants consulted with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work is at a stage that would benefit from the seminar. Admission depended in part on the dissertation director’s written certification of that fact, with preference given to candidates who have completed course work and preliminary exams or the equivalent. Applicants had to be preparing a prospectus or beginning to write chapters. Those whose dissertations were substantially complete were not competitive applicants. Preference was also given to those who would make significant use of the Library’s collections as part of each monthly visit. The grant-in-aid allowed for an average of two nights’ stay per session.

Directors: Peter Lake is the University Distinguished Professor of History and Professor of the History of Christianity at the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. His most recent books are The Antichrist’s Lewd Hat (2002) and The Boxmaker’s Revenge (2002). Current research projects include Shakespeare’s history plays and the religious and dynastic politics of the 1590s, Catholic critiques of the Elizabethan regime as a conspiracy of evil counsel and tyranny, and Samuel Clarke’s collections of godly lives.

Nigel Smith is the William and Annie S. Paton Foundation Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature at Princeton University. His major works include Andrew Marvell: The Chameleon (2010) and Literature and Revolution in England, 1640–1660 (1994). His current book project, The State and Literary Production in Early Modern Europe, involves the comparison of English with literatures in other European (and some oriental) vernaculars in the context of political and scientific transformation between 1500 and 1800.

2010–2011

James Siemon and Keith Wrightson led this iteration of the year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

Designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, this monthly seminar focused on the wealth of manuscript and printed material available for the study of early modern Britain. The seminar aimed to address research issues raised by the projects of its participants and by the kinds of archival material under investigation, but it also considered broad methodological and theoretical problems relevant to current work in early modern studies and to collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship.

Directors: James Siemon is Professor of English at Boston University. In addition to numerous articles on sixteenth-century English drama, he is the author of Shakespearean Iconoclasm (1986) and Word Against Word: Shakespearean Utterance (2002), and editor of the New Mermaids edition of Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta (1994, 2009) and the Arden edition of Richard III (2009).

Keith Wrightson is Randolph W. Townsend Jr. Professor of History at Yale University and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is the author of English Society, 1580–1680 (1982) and Earthly Necessities: Economic Lives in Early Modern Britain (2000), and coauthor, with David Levine, of Poverty and Piety in an English Village: Terling, 1525–1700 (1979, 1995) and The Making of an Industrial Society: Whickham, 1560–1765 (1991).

2009–2010

Steven Zwicker and Derek Hirst led this iteration of the year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

Designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, this monthly seminar focused on the wealth of manuscript and printed material available for the study of early modern Britain. The seminar aimed to address research issues raised by the projects of its participants and by the kinds of archival material under investigation, but it also considered broad methodological and theoretical problems relevant to current work in early modern studies and to collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship.

Directors: Steven Zwicker and Derek Hirst are faculty members at Washington University in St. Louis. They are collaborating on a study of Andrew Marvell’s work and The Cambridge Companion to Andrew Marvell (forthcoming 2010). Steven Zwicker is Stanley Elkin Professor in the Humanities. His work includes Politics and Language in Dryden’s Poetry (1984), Lines of Authority (1993), the Cambridge Companions to English Literature 1650–1740 (1998) and to John Dryden (2004), the Penguin Classics John Dryden Selected Poems (2001), and a series of volumes edited with Kevin Sharpe on politics and culture in early modern England.

Derek Hirst is William Eliot Smith Professor of History. He is the author of Representative of the People? (1975), Authority and Conflict: England 1603–1658 (1986), England in Conflict 1603–1660: Kingdom, Community, Commonwealth 1603–1660 (1999), and co-editor (with Richard Strier) of Writing and Political Engagement in Seventeenth Century England (1999). He is currently working on Dominion: England and its Island Neighbours, c. 1500–1707 (forthcoming 2011).

2008–2009

Jean E. Howard and Linda Levy Peck led this iteration of the year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

Designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, this monthly seminar focused on the wealth of manuscript and printed material available for the study of early modern Britain. While the seminar primarily addressed research issues relevant to the projects of its participants, it also considered methodological and theoretical issues raised by the kinds of work being done and the varieties of archival material under investigation. Applicants consulted with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work is at a stage that would benefit from the seminar. Admission depended in part on the dissertation director’s written certification of that fact, with preference given to candidates who have completed course work and preliminary exams or the equivalent. Applicants had to be preparing a prospectus or beginning to write chapters. Those whose dissertations were substantially complete were not competitive applicants. Preference was also given to those who would make significant use of the Library’s collections as part of each monthly visit. For consortium affiliates, grants-in-aid were available to support two nights’ lodging for each seminar session.

Directors: Jean E. Howard is the George Delacorte Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. Her books include Engendering a Nation: A Feminist Account of Shakespeare’s English Histories (1997, with Phyllis Rackin), and Theater of a City: The Places of London Comedy, 1598–1642, (2006).

Linda Levy Peck is Columbian Professor of History at The George Washington University. Her books include The Mental World of the Jacobean Court (1991) and Consuming Splendor: Society and Culture in Seventeenth-Century England (2005).

2007–2008

David Scott Kastan and Keith Wrightson led this iteration of the year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

This monthly seminar, designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, focused on the wealth of manuscript and printed material available for the study of early modern Britain. While the seminar primarily addressed research issues relevant to the projects of its participants, it also considered methodological and theoretical issues raised by the kinds of work being done and the varieties of archival material under investigation. Applicants consulted with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work was at a stage that would benefit from the seminar. Admission depended in part on the dissertation director’s written certification of that fact, with preference given to candidates who have completed course work and preliminary exams or the equivalent. Applicants had to be preparing a prospectus or beginning to write chapters. Those whose dissertations were substantially complete were not competitive applicants. Preference was also given to those who would make significant use of the Library’s collections as part of each monthly visit. For consortium affiliates, grants-in-aid were available to support two nights’ lodging for each seminar session.

Directors: David Scott Kastan is Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and Chair of the Department of English and Comparative Literature. His books include Shakespeare After Theory (1999), Shakespeare and the Book (2001), and several edited works. He is a General Editor for the Arden Shakespeare series, for which he edited 1 Henry IV (2002). His current book project is The Invention of English Literature.

Keith Wrightson is Randolph W. Townsend Jr. Professor of History at Yale University and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is the author of English Society, 1580–1680 (1982) and Earthly Necessities: Economic Lives in Early Modern Britain (2000), and coauthor, with David Levine, of Poverty and Piety in an English Village: Terling, 1525–1700 (1979, 1995) and The Making of an Industrial Society: Whickham, 1560–1765 (1991).

2005–2006

David Scott Kastan and Linda Levy Peck led this iteration of the year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

This seminar, designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, focuses on the wealth of manuscript and printed material available for the study of early modern Britain. While the seminar primarily addressed research issues relevant to the projects of its participants, it also considered methodological and theoretical issues raised by the kinds of work that are being done and the varieties of archival material under investigation. Applicants consulted with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work was at a stage that would benefit from the seminar, and admission depended in part on the dissertation director’s certification of that fact. Preference was given to those making significant use of the Library’s collections as part of each monthly visit; for consortium affiliates, grants-in-aid were available to support two nights’ lodging for each seminar session.

Directors: David Scott Kastan is Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. His books include Shakespeare After Theory (1999) and Shakespeare and the Book (2001). He is a General Editor for the Arden Shakespeare, for which he edited 1 Henry IV (2002). He is currently at work on a book called The Invention of English Literature.

Linda Levy Peck is Columbian Professor of History at The George Washington University. Her books include Northampton (1982), Court Patronage and Corruption in Early Stuart England (1990) and the collection The Mental World of the Jacobean Court (1991). Her new book, Consuming Splendor: Society and Culture in Seventeenth-Century England, will appear in fall 2005.

2003–2004

David Scott Kastan and Linda Levy Peck led this iteration of the year-long seminar, which met monthly.

This seminar, designed for doctoral candidates in History and English at work on their dissertations, focuses on the wealth of manuscript and printed material available for the study of early modern Britain. While the seminar primarily addressed research issues relevant to the projects of its participants, it also considered methodological and theoretical issues raised by the kinds of work that are being done and the varieties of archival material under investigation. Applicants consulted with their dissertation directors before applying to ensure that their work was at a stage that would benefit from the seminar, and admission depended in part on the dissertation director’s certification of that fact. Preference was given to those making significant use of the Library’s collections as part of each monthly visit; for consortium affiliates, grants-in-aid were available to support two nights’ lodging for each seminar session.

Directors: David Scott Kastan is Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. He is the author of Shakespeare After Theory (1999) and Shakespeare and the Book (2001), among other works, and is currently working on a book entitled The Invention of English Literature. He also serves as a General Editor of the Arden Shakespeare.

Linda Levy Peck is Columbian Professor of History at The George Washington University. She is the author of Court Patronage and Corruption in Early Stuart England (1990), Northampton: Patronage and Policy at the Court of James I (1982), and editor of The Mental World of the Jacobean Court (1991). She is currently working on a book entitled Consuming Splendor: Luxury and Cultural Borrowing in Seventeenth-Century England.

2001–2002

David Scott Kastan and Linda Levy Peck led this iteration of this year-long dissertation seminar, which met monthly.

This seminar, designed for doctoral candidates in history and English already at work on their dissertation, focused on the wealth of manuscript and printed material available for the study of early modern Britain. While the seminar addressed itself to particular research issues relevant to the projects of its participants, it also considered a variety of methodological and theoretical issues raised by the kinds of work that were being done and by the types of material under investigation. Candidates for this seminar consulted with their dissertation directors before applying, and at least one letter of reference per applicant reflected that consultation.

Directors: David Scott Kastan is Professor of English at Columbia University. Coeditor, with Richard Proudfoot and Ann Thompson, of the Arden Shakespeare, he is also the author of Shakespeare and the Shapes of Time (1982), Shakespeare after Theory (1999), and Shakespeare and the Book (2001).

Linda Levy Peck is Professor of History at George Washington University. She is the author of Court Patronage and Corruption in Early Stuart England (1990), Northampton: Patronage and Policy at the Court of James I (1982), and editor of The Mental World of the Jacobean Court (1991). She is coeditor, with John Guy and David L. Smith, of the "British History, 1500–1700" component of The Royal Historical Society Bibliography on CD-ROM (1998).

2000

Leeds Barroll led this iteration of this seminar, which was held during the spring semester of 2000.

This seminar was designed specifically for doctoral candidates whose dissertation work would benefit either from recourse to the Folger Library collections or from ongoing discussion of the methodological and theoretical issues involved in the conduct of interdisciplinary scholarship-or, ideally, from both. Especially relevant were dissertations in literature or history that deal with books printed in England between 1470 and 1700 or with manuscripts held by the Folger Shakespeare Library either in collection or on film (as, for instance, the State Papers Domestic or the manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury held at Hatfield House). The agenda for the group meetings were set so as to introduce these and other scholarly resources and to accommodate the joint exploration of problems posed by individual seminar participants. Private conferences addressing the specific research configurations of individual projects were also scheduled. Candidates for this seminar consulted with their dissertation directors before applying and secured letters of reference reflecting such consultation.

Director: Leeds Barroll, Presidential Research Professor of English at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, is the author of Politics, Plague, and Shakespeare's Theatre: The Stuart Years (1991), Shakespearean Tragedy (1984), Artificial Persons (1974), and the forthcoming Inventing Queenship: Anna and the Culture of the First Stuart Court. He is the founding editor of Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England and Shakespeare Studies.