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GEMS – Group for Early Modern Studies – is an interdisciplinary research centre, based at the Faculty of Arts of Ghent University. Its members share a common interest in the cultural history of the early modern period, which they study from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives: the history of literature and art, of architecture, of science, of religion and politics.
The research carried out in the Group for Early Modern Studies is marked by its focus on the early modern period, by its interdisciplinary engagements, and by a shared concern for methodological reflection. Central in this respect is the historical tension that we perceive between the early modern phenomena that we study and the late-modern framework guiding our research questions and methodologies. The historical relationship between the past and the way we address it is one of the central concerns of GEMS. We welcome senior and junior scholars at Ghent University and from other institutions. Junior researchers play an important role both in shaping the group’s direction and by participating in its activities.
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Agenda

  • Wed
    25
    Jun
    2025

    Roundtable: “Literary Afterlives, from the Eighteenth Century to the Present”

    2:30pm-4pmFaculteitszaal (1st floor, Blandijnberg 2)

    This interdisciplinary roundtable will explore the rich and varied afterlives of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature in contemporary media, culture, and criticism. A panel of leading scholars in literary studies will delve into how historical figures and forms—from seafaring pirates and biting satirists to queer protagonists and Enlightenment thinkers—continue to shape cultural narratives today. Our discussion will examine the reimagining of early modern tropes in contemporary literature, film, and television; the resonances of eighteenth-century satire in postcolonial thought; and the legacy of Enlightenment ideals in current debates on religious toleration. By interrogating how the past is adapted and reframed in the present, the roundtable promises to offer fresh insights into literature’s role in navigating ongoing conversations around gender, identity, colonialism, and belief.

    The event will conclude a lively Q&A session and an informal reception to encourage further exchange.

    Speakers:
    Manushag Powell, Arizona State University
    David Alvarez, DePauw University
    Ros Ballaster, Oxford University
    Helen Deutsch, UCLA

    Chair: Andrew Bricker, UGent

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