Department of English

Georgetown University is a fully-affiliated member of the Folger Institute, a center for advanced study and research in Early Modern European Studies sponsored by the Folger Shakespeare Library and a consortium of colleges and universities.

The Institute offers a full program of seminars, colloquia, workshops and conferences convened by scholars of international note.  As a member of the Institute, Georgetown offers its faculty and graduate students the opportunity to join other faculty and students from major universities in taking these offerings.  In the case of graduate students, they may take them for credit.  Offerings for the entire academic year are announced in the spring of the preceding year.  Descriptions and applications are available from the Georgetown member of the Institute's Executive Committee,  Professor Jo Ann Moran Cruz,  Department of History.  Ordinarily, applications must be made during the semester preceding the seminar, particularly if a grant in aid is requested.  Notices are circulated on campus, and the Institute's website (www.folger.edu/institute) lists the various offerings along with their deadlines.

FOLGER UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

Students are now being recruited for the Spring 2010 Folger-Georgetown Undergraduate Research Seminar, “Books and Early Modern Culture.” This advanced research seminar provides a rare opportunity to learn about the history and sociology of early modern books through a hands-on exploration of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s rare book archives. Seminar readings will introduce students to current theories of book history, and archival exercises will relate that theory to actual books while students to develop and pursue their own original research interests.

Students who will be in their junior or senior year in Spring 2010 are eligible to apply for admission to the seminar. An application consists of a research statement, a transcript, and one or two letters of recommendation; the application deadline is October 30, 2009. Students should have some prior experience in early modern studies (roughly 1450-1700) or book history of any period; that experience can come from courses focused on those topics, or from survey courses including a segment devoted to the early modern period. Students are welcome from a range of disciplines, including English, History, Philosophy, Medieval Studies, Art History, Theology, Classics, and modern languages.

The seminar meets on Friday afternoons, from 12:30 to 3:00, at the Folger Shakespeare Library. All students will be granted Reader’s Cards during the spring semester, and juniors in the course will be able to apply to pursue independent research as Readers during the following academic year.

More information about the seminar and the application process can be found at www.folger.edu/undergraduates; questions may also be directed to the Program Director, Dr Sarah Werner, at (swerner@folger.edu) or (202) 608-1703, or to the Georgetown coordinator, Senior Associate Dean Hubert J. Cloke (clokeh@georgetown.edu). Students wishing to learn more about what sort of questions studying early modern book history might involve can be directed to Dr Werner’s blog, Wynken de Worde, at www.wynkendeworde.blogspot.com.