Friday, December 5, 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 6, 9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
The Newberry Library
The England of Elizabeth was a time of great cultural development as England sought to find its national identity in a radically changing world. In a time known for explorations, expanded trade, and brilliant literature, at the margins of society lived those who were left out of England's prosperous white, Protestant identity. This symposium will illuminate some of these groups and their complex, often misunderstood, role in shaping Elizabethan society.
This symposium includes six talks and a panel discussion chaired by Carole Levin, University of Nebraska.
Queen Elizabeth and Mulay Ahmad al-Mansur
Friday, December 5, 9:30 am
Speaker: Nabil Matar, Florida Institute of Technology
Even many Elizabethan scholars would be surprised to learn how much England depended on Morocco for logistical support in its conflict with Spain. This lecture examines the diplomatic and personal relations between the English and Moroccan rulers from 1578 to their deaths in 1603. Arabic sources from Morocco-court memoirs from Marrakech as well as royal letters-present Queen Elizabeth and Elizabethan culture in a new light.
Imagining Jews in Elizabethan England
Friday, December 5, 10:30 am
Speaker: James Shapiro, Columbia University
There weren't many Jews in early modern England, but it was nonetheless a society surprisingly preoccupied with Jewish questions: Were Jews nationally or racially different? Did Jews stink? Did those who converted lose all trace of their Jewishness? Was it true that Jews habitually took the knife to Christians, circumcising and murdering their victims? The Elizabethan obsession with Jewishness casts light on some of the darker cultural anxieties circulating in post-Reformation England.
Brothers and Mothers: The Irish as England's Most Intimate and Threatening Others
Friday, December 5, 1:00 pm
Speaker: Clare Carroll, Queens College, City University of New York
In the reign of Elizabeth, the English strove to thoroughly colonize Ireland, which they had originally invaded in the twelfth century. Adventurers, politicos, and poets wrote tracts on how to colonize Ireland, which became the blueprint for the colonization of other territories around the globe. The Irish of all classes and ethnic backgrounds were compared to American Indians, Africans, and infidels, and represented as wild barbarians in the popular stage and press. This lecture will tell the story of how these powerful stereotypes and political conflicts were represented in Elizabethan print, painting, poetry, and drama.
"An Object in the Midst of Other Objects": Africans in Early Modern Art and Culture
Friday, December 5, 2:00 pm
Speaker: Kim F. Hall, Fordham University
In this slide lecture, Dr. Hall examines visual representations of African-descended peoples in early modern England. Visual evidence suggests that long before England gained a foothold in the Atlantic slave trade, black people played an important symbolic role in elite culture. Their depiction in a wide range of visual artifacts suggests they were frequently used to enhance the seeming rarity and exoticism of luxury goods and to indicate the value of whiteness.
Uncovering the Underworld in Elizabeth's England
Saturday, December 6, 9:30 am
Speaker: Lee Beier, Illinois State University
Early Modern England saw a huge rise in the problem of vagrancy. London's East End teemed with unemployed men and women driven to crime and begging, while along the roads of rural England, gypsies, petty criminals, and other dispossessed people created a new sense of chaos and fear among the populace. Drawing on a wealth of literary and historical research, this lecture will investigate the causes for this, and bring to light the tawdry, desperate, and often bloody underbelly of the Elizabethan world.
Women On and Off the Margins: Witches, Vagrants, and Poor Women in Early Modern England
Saturday, December 6, 10:30 a.m.
Speaker: Sara Heller Mendelson, McMaster University
In early modern England, ordinary women were marginalized by the ruling male elite because of the double handicap of class and gender. Yet Queen Elizabeth often expressed her identification with the female poor, remarking, "I thank God I am indeed embued with such qualities that if I were turned out of the realm in my petticoat, I were able to live in any place of Christendom." By exploring the lives of poor and outcast women, we can illuminate some of the most significant concerns of Elizabethan society.
Panel Discussion
Saturday, December 6, 11:40 a.m.
Admission to the Symposium is free. No reservation required.