England c.1500 - c.1660: Early Modernity and Renaissance
2003 signals the most Elizabethan of years: the United Kingdom celebrates the 50th year of rule by Elizabeth II, while the more historically-minded mark the 400th anniversary of the death of her namesake—Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth I. For the English, 1603 represented a major transitional moment—from Tudor to Stuart and, with the ascent of James I to the throne, to the unification of Scotland with England (and Wales).
The period 1500 to 1660 was an era of cultural riches—of Spenser and Marlowe, Shakespeare and Marvell—English culture at its best. Yet it also embraced the full gamut from statecraft to stumbles, Burghley to Buckingham, Recusant to Puritan and Armada to Civil War. Its modernity is attested by such figures as More and Bacon, Harvey and Hobbes. And while painters George Gower and John Souch may not be household names, the era saw an entourage of strangers’ palettes at work—Holbein, Mytens, Van Dyck to name a few. In the visual arts, as in much of this era’s culture, an increasingly continental dalliance was afoot. Travel abroad—physical and intellectual—became more common as though Antonio’s contention in The Two Gentlemen of Verona of “how he cannot be a perfect man / not being tried and tutor’d in the world” (1.3.22-23) had caught a wider fancy, resulting in Palladian architecture, gardens bedded in images drawn from the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, connoisseurs espousing Venetian aesthetics, and a flowering of courtly manners much indebted to Castiglione.
The 2003-2004 Humanities Institute celebrates this moment of flourish and transition, exploring its wealth of language—verbal and visual, political and philosophical, individual and national. But in this process it would challenge us to consider not just the history but the historiography of the era as specialists from differing disciplines engage in a moment—as “renaissance,” as “baroque,” as “early modern”—raising questions about our own scholarship while proving the multifarious character of this pivotal epoch.
Mary Brantl, Faculty Coordinator
Schedule of Events:
"The Uncommon Law and Shakespeare’s Othello: Reading Renaissance Books on Islam"
Cyndia Susan Clegg
Sept. 30, 2003
7:30 p.m.
Gallery Theatre
“Basting the Lambe: Witchcraft, Court Scandal and the Lynching of the Duke’s Devil, June 1628”
Alastair Bellany
Oct. 29, 2003
7:30 p.m.
Willard Smith Library
“Hobbes, Davenant, and Gondibert: Poetry, Philosophy, and Rhetoric in the Scientific Revolution”
Timothy Raylor
Nov. 20, 2003
7:30 p.m.
Willard Smith Library
“Allegory, Expression & Experience in the English Renaissance Garden”
John Dixon Hunt
Feb. 12, 2004
7:30 p.m.
The Forum
“Beyond the Masque: Looking at Dress in Stuart England”
Emilie Gordenker
April 5, 2004
7:30 p.m.
Willard Smith Library
Workshops:
“The Dark Chamber that Illuminates: The Art and Science of the Camera Obscura”
Following a brief introduction to this prototype of the modern camera and its significance in early 17th-century arts and sciences, each participant will construct his or her own camera obscura and explore its potentials and limitations. All materials will be provided.
Nov. 13, 2003 from 7:00 -9:30 p.m.
Location t/b/a
Tulu Bayar and Mary Brantl
“The Devil’s Invention: Ruffs and their Place in Elizabethan Fashion”
A brief, illustrated lecture of the history of this most recognizable accessory of Elizabethan fashion followed by a hands-on workshop in how to construct a ruff. Participants will be able to complete and take home their very own Elizabethan ruff in this evening workshop!
March 25, 2004 from 6:00-9:00 p.m.
The Craft Center
Paula Davis-Larson
(Department of Theatre and Dance)
All materials will be provided. Watch for further announcements on the workshops.
The Weis Center for the Performing Arts
(call 570-577-1000 for tickets and more information) Friday, Oct. 24, 2003 — 8pm
Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
with a pre-performance talk by members of the company at 6:30p.m. and other residency activities.
Saturday, Dec. 6, 2003 — 8pm
Piffaro, The Renaissance Band: A Midwinter Feast of Fools — The Holly and the Ivy
English Renaissance music on original instruments, lots of holiday glee. Open rehearsal and discussion by the Piffaro artists (Dec. 4, 2003 at 7pm) and other residency activities.
The Bucknell University Department of Theatre and Dance
(call 570-577-1000 for tickets)Friday thru Monday, Apr.16-19, 2004 — 8pm
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest
Directed by Gary Grant
Harvey M. Powers Theatre
Shakespearean Costume Design
Loan Exhibition
Bertrand Library foyer
March/April 2004
