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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.