Urban Life in Early Modern France

Workshop on 'Urban Life in Early Modern France' to be held 10 June 2006 at the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon.

A workshop run by the Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies of the University of Birmingham to be held at the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, on Saturday 10 June 2006, 10AM-5PM.

This workshop will discuss current research on urban life in early modern France, focussing in particular, but not exclusively, on the second half of the sixteenth century. The urban environment has become a major focus of writing about this period, which takes as a context the developing character of the French state and the impact of confessional division and warfare. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this attention on the urban environment? How well do we now understand the responses of urban elites and communities to the challenges they faced during this period? This workshop will focus on governance and authority, religious life and confessional identities, and gender and society. Speakers will address a particular area of their own research and also reflect more broadly on their perception of the critical themes shaping urban politics, religion and culture in early modern France. Speakers include Robin Briggs (All Souls, Oxford), Kevin Gould (Nottingham Trent), Ray Mentzer (Iowa), Graeme Murdock (Birmingham), Eric Nelson (Southern Mississippi), Wendy Perkins (Birmingham), Penny Roberts (Warwick), Andrew Spicer (Oxford Brookes), and Liz Tingle (Plymouth). For further details of papers, download the provisional programme by clicking here.

For further information, contact Graeme Murdock: g.murdock@bham.ac.uk