Graduate Research Methods Workshop for Early-Career Graduate Students

Word and Image in the Renaissance
Led by James A. Knapp, Loyola University Chicago; and Jennifer Waldron, University of Pittsburgh

Application deadline: September 22
Workshop: 9 am to 5 pm Friday, October 24
Open to graduate students in a terminal master’s program and those who have not yet completed comprehensive exams in a PhD program. No language prerequisites.

Download a PDF flyer to post and distribute: http://www.newberry.org/sites/default/files/calendar-attachments/WordAndImageFlyer.pdf.

“All media are mixed media,” claims theorist W. J. T.  Mitchell. This workshop will examine several key issues in the long history of “mixed” media by focusing on interrelations between text and image in Renaissance Europe.

The workshop will explore broadsides, pamphlets, frontispieces, emblem books, maps, atlases, and other items from the Newberry Library collections.  In addition to broadly framing the historical and theoretical issues raised by word-image relations in the Renaissance, the workshop leaders will present specific examples of how changing technological and cultural conditions have influenced text-image relations, including the role of visual techniques in the organization and production of knowledge, particularly the production of world maps and universal histories in an era of nascent globalization; the impact of Reformation iconoclasm on visual and print culture, from Lutheran satire to Foxe’s book of martyrs and beyond; and the challenges and opportunities surrounding digitization of early modern printed books and images, from Early English Books Online to the Folger’s digital Shakespeare texts for iPad.

Students with concentrations in literature (of any European language), history, art history, manuscript studies, history of the book, and other relevant disciplines are encouraged to apply. Limited enrollment is by competitive application; students from Center for Renaissance Studies consortium schools (http://www.newberry.org/center-renaissance-studies-consortium-members) have priority, in accordance with the consortium agreement. Fees are waived for students from consortium institutions. Such students  may be eligible to apply for travel funds to attend (http://www.newberry.org/newberry-renaissance-consortium-grants). Each member university sets its own policies and deadlines; contact your Representative Council member in advance for details.

For more information on the workshop, see the Newberry Library website.