Professor Simon Ditchfield – RHS Virtual Lecture 18 September 2020

Baroque around the clock: Daniello Bartoli SJ (1608-1685) and the uses of global history

 

Professor Simon Ditchfield
18 September 2020

Live Online via Zoom
Booking Required

 

Abstract

‘Something should be written regarding the cosmography of those regions where ours live’ (Ignatius Loyola).

As this quotation indicates, right from the start the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) realised the value and role of ‘local colour’ in the persuasive rhetoric of Jesuit missionary accounts. Over a century later, when Jesuit missions were to be found on all the inhabited continents of the world then known to Europeans, descriptions of these new found lands were to be read for the entertainment as well as the edification of their Old World audiences. Bartoli’s volumes also played an important role in giving their Jesuit readers a sense of the distinctiveness of their global mission. Referred to by Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) as the ‘Dante of baroque prose’, Bartoli developed a particularly variegated and capacious idiom to meet the challenge of discovering how to describe the world.

 

Watch the Lecture

 

Biography

Simon Ditchfield is Professor of history and director of the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies (CREMS) at the University of York. His research interests all relate to perceptions and uses of the past in previous societies, most recently in relation to the making of Roman Catholicism as a world religion 1500-1700.

 

Professor Linda Colley – RHS Prothero Lecture 2020

“What happens when a Written Constitution is printed? A History across Boundaries”

 

Professor Linda Colley FBA
Tuesday 8 December 2020

 

 

 

Watch the Lecture

 

Abstract

From 1750 onwards, the rate at which new constitutions were generated in different countries and continents markedly increased. By the First World War, written and published political devices of this sort already existed in parts of every continent barring Antarctica.

Yet for all the magnitude and diversity of this transformation, the history of written constitutions is often rigidly compartmentalized. Although constitutions spread rapidly across the world’s oceans and land frontiers, they have usually been examined only in the context of individual countries. Although they have been – and occasionally and arguably still are – tools of empire, they are generally interpreted only in terms of the rise of nationalism.  And although these are authored texts, and many of those designing them in the past were engaged in multiple forms of writing, written constitutions have rarely attracted the attention of literary scholars. Instead, these documents have tended to become the province of legal experts and students of constitutional history, itself an increasingly unfashionable discipline in recent decades.

In this lecture, Linda Colley looks at the dense, vital and varied links between constitutions and print culture as a means of resurrecting and exploring some of the trans-national and trans-continental exchanges and discourses involved. She also considers the challenges posed to written constitutions – now embedded in all but three of the world’s countries – by the coming of a digital age.

 

Linda Colley is Shelby M.C.Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University. She was born in the UK, and is a Fellow of the British Academy. She is the author of six books and holds seven honorary degrees. Her latest work, The Gun, the Ship and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions and the Making of the Modern World, was published in March 2021.

 

Header Image Credit: Photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA/Shutterstock (8600528a)A member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party holds a copy of the constitution during a mass protests to the Union Buildings calling for President Zuma to step down, Pretoria, South Africa, 12 April 2017.

Music Credit, closing panel of lecture: 'Dance Of Lovers' Jay Man - OurMusicBox http://www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

 

 

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In this privacy statement, we explain what we do with the data we obtain about you via https://royalhistsoc.org. We recommend you carefully read this statement. In our processing we comply with the requirements of privacy legislation. That means, among other things, that:

  • we clearly state the purposes for which we process personal data. We do this by means of this privacy statement;
  • we aim to limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data required for legitimate purposes;
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If you have any questions, or want to know exactly what data we keep of you, please contact us.

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We only share or disclose this data to processors for the following purposes:

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Name: Mailchimp
Country: USA
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Purpose: Collecting membership data

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Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
University College London
Gower Street
London
WC1E 6BT
United Kingdom
Website: https://royalhistsoc.org
Email: administration@royalhistsoc.org
Phone number: +44 (0)20 3821 5311

 

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This privacy statement was last changed on 13 March 2023, last checked on 13 March 2023, and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of the United States.

In this privacy statement, we explain what we do with the data we obtain about you via https://royalhistsoc.org. We recommend you carefully read this statement. In our processing we comply with the requirements of privacy legislation. That means, among other things, that:

  • we clearly state the purposes for which we process personal data. We do this by means of this privacy statement;
  • we aim to limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data required for legitimate purposes;
  • we first request your explicit consent to process your personal data in cases requiring your consent;
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If you have any questions, or want to know exactly what data we keep of you, please contact us.

1. Purpose and categories of data

We may collect or receive personal information for a number of purposes connected with our business operations which may include the following: (click to expand)

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We only share or disclose this data to other recipients for the following purposes:

Purpose of the data transfer: Email newsletters
Country or state in which this service provider is located: USA
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We disclose personal information if we are required by law or by a court order, in response to a law enforcement agency, to the extent permitted under other provisions of law, to provide information, or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety.

If our website or organisation is taken over, sold, or involved in a merger or acquisition, your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective purchasers and will be passed on to the new owners.

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Our website is not designed to attract children and it is not our intent to collect personal data from children under the age of consent in their country of residence. We therefore request that children under the age of consent do not submit any personal data to us.

11. Contact details

Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
University College London
Gower Street
London
WC1E 6BT
United Kingdom
Website: https://royalhistsoc.org
Email: administration@royalhistsoc.org

Phone number: +44 (0)20 3821 5311

 

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This privacy statement was last changed on 13 March 2023, last checked on 13 March 2023, and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of Canada.

In this privacy statement, we explain what we do with the data we obtain about you via https://royalhistsoc.org. We recommend you carefully read this statement. In our processing we comply with the requirements of privacy legislation. That means, among other things, that:

  • we clearly state the purposes for which we process personal data. We do this by means of this privacy statement;
  • we aim to limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data required for legitimate purposes;
  • we first request your explicit consent to process your personal data in cases requiring your consent;
  • we take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data and also require this from parties that process personal data on our behalf;
  • we respect your right to access your personal data or have it corrected or deleted, at your request.

If you have any questions, or want to know exactly what data we keep of you, please contact us.

1. Purpose and categories of data

We may collect or receive personal information for a number of purposes connected with our business operations which may include the following: (click to expand)

2. Sharing with other parties

We only share or disclose this data to other recipients for the following purposes:

Purpose of the data transfer: Email newsletters
Country or state in which this service provider is located: USA
Purpose of the data transfer: Website statistical analysis
Country or state in which this service provider is located: USA
Purpose of the data transfer: Collecting membership data
Country or state in which this service provider is located: USA

3. Disclosure practices

We disclose personal information if we are required by law or by a court order, in response to a law enforcement agency, to the extent permitted under other provisions of law, to provide information, or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety.

If our website or organisation is taken over, sold, or involved in a merger or acquisition, your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective purchasers and will be passed on to the new owners.

4. How we respond to Do Not Track signals & Global Privacy Control

Our website does not respond to and does not support the Do Not Track (DNT) header request field.

5. Cookies

Our website uses cookies. For more information about cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy on our Cookie policy (CA) webpage. 

We have concluded a data Processing Agreement with Google.

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We reserve the right to make amendments to this privacy statement. It is recommended that you consult this privacy statement regularly in order to be aware of any changes. In addition, we will actively inform you wherever possible.

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If you have any questions or want to know which personal data we have about you, please contact us. Please make sure to always clearly state who you are, so that we can be certain that we do not modify or delete any data of the wrong person. We shall provide the requested information only upon receipt of a verifiable consumer request. You can contact us by using the information below.

9.1 You have the following rights with respect to your personal data

  1. You may submit a request for access to the data we process about you.
  2. You may request an overview, in a commonly used format, of the data we process about you.
  3. You may request correction or deletion of the data if it is incorrect or not or no longer relevant. Where appropriate, the amended information shall be transmitted to third parties having access to the information in question.
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10. Children

Our website is not designed to attract children and it is not our intent to collect personal data from children under the age of consent in their country of residence. We therefore request that children under the age of consent do not submit any personal data to us.

11. Contact details

Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
University College London
Gower Street
London
WC1E 6BT
United Kingdom
Website: https://royalhistsoc.org
Email: administration@royalhistsoc.org

Phone number: +44 (0)20 3821 5311

We have appointed a contact person for the organisation's policies and practices and to whom complaints or inquiries can be forwarded:
Philip Carter
Academic Director, RHS
Royal Historical Society
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT

 

President of the Royal Historical Society, 2024-2028 Open Call for Nominations from RHS Fellows

Presidents of the Royal Historical Society serve a four-year term. That of the current President, Professor Emma Griffin, will end in November 2024. The Council of the Royal Historical Society is now beginning the search for its next President to serve from November 2024 to November 2028.

In addition to its own search, the Society’s Council here issues an open call for nominations for the Presidency, 2024-28. Fellows of the Society are invited to nominate potential candidates. Nominees for the RHS Presidency must be current Fellows of the Society, resident in the UK.This email provides further information on the position of RHS President and the required specifications and attributes of this role.

Nominations of potential candidates may be sent to the Council’s Presidential Selection Committee via president.selection.panel@royalhistsoc.org, and should arrive on or before 27 August 2023.

Questions about the role and the process, from either nominators or potential nominees, may be directed to the Selection Committee: president.selection.panel@royalhistsoc.org.

About the role

The President of the Royal Historical Society has two distinct responsibilities: to work with trustees to support and enable the direction, vision and values of the charity; and to work with the Society’s professional staff to oversee good governance, financial management, compliance with charity law etc., and to implement the trustees’ broader vision for the Society. For the first, the President requires stature, dynamism and eloquence sufficient to hold the trust and respect of Council, and in turn to inspire confidence from the membership and wider profession. For the second, the President needs an active, hands-on, collaborative stance in order to work effectively with a small team of professional staff.

The President is a leadership role for a broad profession. The incumbent needs to be able and willing to speak in ways that demonstrate leadership, while remaining within the boundaries and role of a charity and respectful of the wide diversity of opinions and values amongst our membership.  S/he requires the confidence and willingness to speak with policy makers within and beyond HE, as well as to establish new partnerships and relationships as required. Recent Presidents have effectively developed, in collaboration with Council and other stakeholders, new strategic initiatives for the Society. We are looking for someone with a coherent and realistic ambition for the Society of their own, which is realisable over the four-year term of their Presidency and through working with Council and staff.

The President is also the face of the Society. The RHS delivers a wide range of events both online and in-person – at its UCL premises and elsewhere in the UK. The President is the host/chair of the majority of its events and needs to be a confident chair of academic and public events. The President represents the Society at various external events, conferences and other outward facing contexts. S/he needs to be willing to speak on behalf of the Society and to network in a variety of professional and academic settings, both national and international. The President will join a Society with a recently restructured Office and staff and be committed to the following:

  • advocacy for the discipline and profession;
  • innovation (new activities in line with the Society’s charitable purpose, and activities);
  • expansion (in terms of membership, activities and audiences);
  • equality and opportunity for all practitioners of the discipline/profession;
  • balance, appreciating and sustaining the Society’s socially and intellectually diverse membership;
  • professionalisation, of the Office, communications with members, operations.

Within this broad current framework, and working with Councillors and staff, the role affords considerable scope for the new President to develop their own vision and distinctive strands of activity.

Nominees and nominators for the President role must be current Fellows of the Society.  The successful candidate will likely have some prior experience of a leadership or management position within the RHS or within a historical society or organisation with similar structure and values.

Management responsibilities

Considerable people-management is required for the role, and we are looking for an individual with the tact and diplomacy to manage multiple relationships and (potentially) conflicting demands effectively. The new President will have the confidence to support committed and energetic Councillors and staff within their roles and remits and to champion the respective requirements / contributions of both the Office and Council. They will have the personality and skills to work professionally with both academics and staff and a willingness to delegate to others in the organisation. The President works closely with, and line-manages, two senior members of RHS staff, and with them shares responsibility for the smooth running of the Office.

Personal and professional qualities

  • Capacity to create, maintain and lead a sufficiently representative Council body to ensure Society activities reflect the needs and profile of the profession and membership;
  • Proactivity to create new initiatives, partnerships and opportunities;
  • Tolerance of a wide range of opinions for the sake of the Society;
  • Understanding and generosity to handle enquiries and requests for support from Fellows and Members;
  • Appreciation of the diversity of the profession and membership within and beyond Higher Education;
  • Readiness to engage with the oversight of the day-to-day management of the charity, supporting and enabling the work of the CEO and Academic Director, and chairing the Council in its responsibilities for overseeing the Society’s financial management, audit and compliance with charitable regulation;
  • Patience for line-management responsibilities and resilience for handling any interpersonal conflicts that may arise.

The Presidency requires a considerable time commitment.  It is an active, hands-on role, not an honorary position.  The role is unpaid, but, where feasible and/or necessary, the Society can offer a stipend paid to the incumbent’s employing institution to help free them from institutional commitments.

The current President, who is not part of the selection committee, is happy to talk to interested candidates about the role. To do so, please email: president@royalhistsoc.org.

 

Czechoslovak Studies Association Prize for the Best Book in the Field of Czechoslovak Historical Studies

To be eligible for consideration for the 2021 Prize, books must be primarily concerned with the history of Czechoslovakia, its predecessor and successor states, or any of its peoples within and without its historical boundaries. The field of historical studies will be broadly construed, with books in all fields considered for the prize if they are substantially historical in nature. The prize committee will decide whether a book matches these criteria. Books under consideration must be new works by a single author written originally in the English language with eligibility being the author’s membership in the Czechoslovak Studies Association.

In this cycle we are considering books published in the years 2019 and 2020

**Books for consideration should be submitted in hard copy to the book review committee at the following addresses as soon as possible and not later than 25 June 2021.**

Prof. Mark Cornwall
60 Northlands Road
Southampton SO15 2LH
UK

Prof. Cathleen Giustino
1203 Hickory Lane
Auburn
AL 36830
USA

Prof. James Krapfl
21326 Hwy 136
Cascade
IA 52033
USA

 

Royal Historical Society Prize Winners, 2023

The Royal Historical Society is pleased to announce the winners of its Gladstone and Whitfield book prizes, and the Alexander article prize, for 2023.


RHS Gladstone Prize, 2023

Awarded to a first book in the field of European or World History.

 

 

Jennifer Keating, On Arid Ground: Political Ecologies of Empire in Russian Central Asia 

(Oxford University Press)

 

 

 

Judges’ citation

Jennifer Keating’s On Arid Ground is a path-breaking study of the way empire and environment interacted in Central Asia through the 19th and early 20th centuries.

This book innovates on a number of fronts, not least by showing the importance of ecology and environment in forcing the Russian Empire to adapt its long-term geopolitical strategy. It significantly changes the way we think of Russian Empire-building and outlines a fascinating picture of land reclamation, settlement and commodity development, while often putting to the fore actors beyond the human, from sandstorms to termites.

Inspiring and important, it will be influential for historians working on other imperial contexts, and above all for our thinking about environment and human social and political organisation today.

 


RHS Whitfield Prize, 2023

Awarded to a first book in the field of British or Irish History.

 

 

Síobhra Aiken, Spiritual Wounds. Trauma, Testimony & the Irish Civil War

(Irish Academic Press)

 

 

 

Judges’ citation

Síobhra Aiken’s Spiritual Wounds offers a fascinating approach to understanding testimonies of the Irish Civil War, revealing through a range of sources what has remained ‘hidden in plain sight’. It challenges the prevailing idea of an enduring silence about the conflict which has sought to forget in order to repair rather than to remember in order to bear witness and grieve.

Through works of autobiography, memoir and fiction in a variety of forms, Aiken explores the manner in which the terrible experiences of war were placed into the public domain by pro- and anti-Treaty men and women, and thus became part of the cultural milieu in the decades that followed.

The book shows how the code of silence around the Irish Civil War was culturally constructed, and it adopts and historicises the framework of ‘trauma’ for its study, offering a model for others to follow. Aiken’s afterword presents fascinating comments on the researcher’s own subjectivity, and the challenges of writing about topics which ‘defy straightforward empathic identification’. It is a powerful contribution to our understanding of the legacy of war, and of historical practice and the role of the historian.

 


RHS Alexander Prize 2023, joint winners

Awarded for an article by an early career historian writing, or within two years of completing, a History PhD.

 

Jake Dyble, ‘General Average, Human Jettison, and the Status of Slaves in Early Modern Europe’, Historical Journal, 65 (2022), 1197-1220

 

Judges’ citation

Jake Dyble tackles a major question regarding the history of the Transatlantic slave trade: how different was this trade to earlier types of enslavement? This is not only a problem for historians but a key issue in modern political debates—particularly with regard to restorative justice.

Dyble uses an ingenious method to uncover a clear answer to the conundrum. He uses legal cases regarding the jettison of cargo, including living animals or people, to determine that there was a significant shift in attitude towards the enslaved. The panel were impressed with the use of legal history but also the way in which the author was able to make a difficult technical topic comprehensible to non-specialists.

 

Roseanna Webster, ‘Women and the Fight for Urban Change in Late Francoist Spain’, Past & Present (October 2022)

 

Judges’ citation

Roseanna Webster’s work on Francoist Spain is a classic account of history from below. She focuses on female activists in new housing estates whose concerns were to gain the necessities of life, such as a regular supply of running water. Webster’s use of oral histories shows how the role of activist jarred with traditional gender roles, and how this caused the women themselves some unease.

Webster’s unusual choice of subject matter and her careful handling of her source material has produced a nuanced account of life under Franco, which focuses not on soldiers or dissidents but on ordinary women and their ambivalence about their new roles.

 


 

 

‘Futures for the History Journal: Reflections & Projections’, 6 December 2022

Panel Discussion

17:00 GMT, Tuesday 6 December 2022, Online 

 

Speakers at the event

  • Dr Kate Smith (Co-editor, Transactions of the RHS / University of Birmingham)
  • Dr Harshan Kumarasingham (Co-editor, Transactions of the RHS / University of Edinburgh)
  • Professor Sarah Knott (Indiana University, and former Acting Editor of the American Historical Review)
  • Georgia Priestley (Publisher, History Journals, at Cambridge University Press)
  • Professor Karin Wulf (Director, John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, USA)
  • Professor Emma Griffin (RHS President and University of East Anglia, chair)

 

Watch this event

 

About the event

November 2022 marks the 150th anniversary of publication of Volume One of the Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. Transactions is the longest-running English-language academic history journal, predating first publication of the English Historical Review (1886) and the American Historical Review (1895), among other titles.

November 2022 also sees important changes to the current Transactions. This year’s volume will come with a new design and paperback format. It’s also the first in 150 years to include external submissions not previously read to the Society; the first to be edited by historians who are not members of RHS Council; and the first to engage an editorial board.

This event is an opportunity to take stock at a time that’s both an anniversary and a new departure.

Journals have long been, and remain, central to the communication of historical research. As a publishing form, History journals have proved remarkably durable, with developments typically taking place within an established framework of article types and formats. At the same time, the very recent history of History (and other) journals points to quickening and more disruptive change — most notably in terms of online access and publishing models; but also with reference to innovations of form, tone and purpose.

In this panel, UK and US historians associated with leading journals (as editors, publishers, innovators, authors and readers) consider the extent, impact and possible outcomes of these recent changes. At an important time for Transactions, we’ll also explore how far journal publishing fits with current research and pedagogical priorities; and what innovations our panellists — and you — propose as ‘Futures for the History Journal’.

 

About the panellists

  • Kate Smith is Associate Professor of Eighteenth-Century History at the University of Birmingham. In January 2022 she was appointed co-editor of Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. With her co-editor Dr Harshan Kumarasingham, Kate is responsible for the journal’s creative development in terms of academic content and format. Kate’s publications include Material Goods, Moving Hands: Perceiving Production in England, 1700-1830 (2014) and The East India Company at Home (co-edited with Margot Finn, 2018). Her current project is a monograph provisionally entitled Losing Possession in the Long Eighteenth Century.
  • Harshan Kumarasingham is Senior Lecturer in British Politics at the University of Edinburgh. With Kate Smith, he is co-editor from 2022 of Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, and jointly responsible for this new phase in the journal’s contribution to scholarly debate. Harshan’s research interests include constitutional history and decolonisation. His publications include A Political Legacy of the British Empire. Power and the Parliamentary System in Post-Colonial India and Sri Lanka (2013) and the edited collections Viceregalism. The Crown as Head of State in Political Crises in the Postwar Commonwealth and Liberal Ideals and the Politics of Decolonisation (both 2020).
  • Professor Sarah Knott is Sally M. Reahard Professor of History at Indiana University. She has served as both Associate and Acting Editor of the American Historical Review, the American historical profession’s flagship journal. In 2013, she was elected to the Editorial Board of the UK’s journal Past & Present. Sarah’s most recent publications include Mother. An Unconventional History (Penguin, 2019) and Mothering’s Many Labours (a 2020 special issue of Past & Present, co-edited with Emma Griffin).
  • Georgia Priestley is Publisher, History Journals for Cambridge University Press, with responsibility for a wide range of titles, including Contemporary European History, Historical JournalJournal of Global Studies, Modern Intellectual History and Urban History.
  • Professor Karin Wulf is Beatrice and Julio Mario Santo Domingo Director and Librarian, John Carter Brown Library, and Professor of History at Brown University, Rhode Island. A historian of gender, family and politics in eighteenth-century British America, Karin’s forthcoming book is Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America with Oxford University Press. Prior to joining Brown in 2021, Karin was Executive Directive of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, which includes the journal William & Mary Quarterly among its titles. Karin is well-known for her innovations in journal (and wider) publishing, and as a leading commentator on scholarly communications for historians through her regular contributions to The Scholarly Kitchen.
  • Professor Emma Griffin (chair) is President of the Royal Historical Society and Professor of Modern British History at the University of East Anglia. A specialist in nineteenth-century economic and social history, Emma has extensive experience of journal publishing, having served as Editor for the journals History (2012-16) and Historical Journal (2017-21).

 

RHS Lecture and Events: Full Programme for 2022 >