Early Modern European Archaeology

While the archaeology of the early modern period differed substantially from modern archaeology, many in the West practiced archaeology—the study of material culture—in the technical sense

Riots, Revelries, and Rumor: Libertinism and Masculine Association in Enlightenment London

Comparing the Calves‐Head riot of 1734/5 and with John Wilkes’s exposure of the “Medmenham Monks” in 1763, this essay formulates an historical anthropology of gossip and rumor, offering insights into the nature of London social life and political controversy during the Enlightenment. The histories of the Calves‐Head Club and Medmenham Monks show how the practices of gossip and rumor converged with, diverged from, and helped articulate discourses about class and masculinity in eighteenth‐century London. In a period in which “polite association” was increasingly challenging “masculine libertinism” as a symbol of status, the practices of rumor and gossip were important to negotiating the boundaries of proper conduct. These two events offer insight into how ideas about class and masculinity shaped eighteenth‐century associational life. In the “clubbable” world that was eighteenth‐century London, individuals’ reputations—and the gossip and rumor that surrounded them—affected their association with the multiple organizations of which they were members. This meant that the reputations and, consequently, the activities of any one club or society—even those with fundamentally different purposes—could be influenced by that of the others. Because of this, gossip and rumor in any sector of one’s life had the possibility of wide‐ranging consequences for the “associational world” of eighteenth‐century London

Reading list: the role of arts and literature in developing creative societies #LSELitFest

Providing a historic look at how society has understood the value of the arts and humanities, Jason M. Kelly argues that today’s scholarship has largely framed itself around the context of the neoliberal commodified university. But there are other ways to understand scholarly value. By drawing from the Community Capitals Framework, he demonstrates how the arts and humanities play a critical role in the civil ecology of vibrant communities

Howard Zinn and the Struggle for the Microphone: History, Objectivity, and Citizenship

Every year, historians in the United States attend the American Historical Association (AHA), a conference that has met annually since 1884. The AHA draws scholars from all specializations, and it is the primary organization through which the profession is represented. In 1969, the conference met at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. At the business meeting on the evening of 28 December, the radicals sought to take control of the organization. The minutes demonstrate the dangers of trusting narratives--even (or especially) those proffered as neutral accounts. They do not document the moment entirely, nor do they capture the participants' experiences of it. On the central event, the records are silent. What actually happened speaks to the issues of power, neutrality, and knowledge that were central themes in Howard Zinn's career. In those moments, Zinn, representing the Radical Historians' Caucus, sought to present a resolution to the members of the AHA. He grabbed a microphone and attempted to introduce it before the meeting's close. It denounced the twin evils of "the physical and cultural destruction of the Vietnamese people" and the "Black community at home". Before he had a chance to speak, John K. Fairbank intervened by wrestling the microphone out of Zinn's hands. The episode became known as the "Struggle for the Mike". In this article, the author talks about this episode and focuses on history of the profession, notions of objectivity, and citizenship

The Evolution of Renaissance Classicism

The term "Renaissance classicism" refers to a fundamental attribute of the period that scholars refer to as the European Renaissance, roughly 1400–1600. Renaissance classicism was an intellectual movement that sought to mimic the literature, rhetoric, art, and philosophy of the ancient world, specifically ancient Rome

Society of Dilettanti

The Society of Dilettanti was founded by a group of gentlemen who met each other in Italy while on the grand tour. Thus travel to Italy, and later Greece, became a requirement for membership. The word dilettante is of Italian origin and its adoption by the society to refer to a lover of fine arts is its first recorded use in English