News

Reviving the Renaissance

Published: 12 May 2005

International research project 'Making Publics' launched at McGill

Centuries before the telecommunications revolution allowed for Internet chat rooms and instantaneous voting for TV singing idols, people began to associate in groups based on shared interests and tastes.

Illuminating the artistic, intellectual, religious and political culture of Renaissance Europe and understanding how that culture has contributed to the birth of our own age — and doing so not by looking only at great works of art and intellect, but also at the communities of people who made, enjoyed and profited from these works — are the ambitious goals of an international, interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Paul Yachnin, Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies at McGill University.

Their $2.5-million, five-year research project, Making Publics: Media, Markets and Association in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1700, is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, under the Major Collaborative Research Initiatives program.

Launched officially today at McGill with both formal and musical presentations, MaPs will have a strong academic base, and will develop an extensive outreach program to make the fascinating developments of long ago come alive. The researchers will develop teaching materials for high school students and teachers, including a virtual museum. They will also produce a series of radio broadcasts, public symposia and festivals that will blend musical and theatrical performances with scholarly presentations.

Making Publics, or MaPs, is looking at the creation of small-scale forms of association that represented a new way of connecting with others, a kind of connection not founded in family, rank or vocation but built on the shared interests and tastes of individuals.

"We want," says Yachnin, "to tell the story about how the artistic and intellectual achievements of the past changed the shape of Renaissance society and contributed to the emergence of modernity.

"It is a story, not so much about individual geniuses like Shakespeare, Michelangelo, or Martin Luther, but rather about the groups of people who formed collective identities in a marketplace of ideas and artistic creation. We want to understand how publics get made, what they are, and what they do; and we will work also to create a public by engaging in a sustained conversation with people outside the academy."

The MaPs research team includes expertise in English, history, music, French, Hispanic studies, Italian studies, art history, communications, education, sociology and geography, from McGill, Concordia, Queen's, the Universities of Alberta and British Columbia, and other universities and cultural organizations in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., France and Spain.

About McGill University:
McGill University is Canada's leading research-intensive university and has earned an international reputation for scholarly achievement and scientific discovery. Founded in 1821, McGill has 21 faculties and professional schools which offer more than 300 programs from the undergraduate to the doctoral level. McGill attracts renowned professors and researchers from around the world and top students from more than 150 countries, creating one of the most dynamic and diverse education environments in North America. There are approximately 23,000 undergraduate students and 7,000 graduate students. It is one of two Canadian members of the American Association of Universities. McGill's two campuses are located in Montreal, Canada.

About the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC):
SSHRC is an independent federal government agency that funds university-based research and graduate training through national peer-review competitions. SSHRC also partners with public and private sector organizations to focus research and aid the development of better policies and practices in key areas of Canada's social, cultural and economic life.

The Major Collaborative Research Initiatives program supports leading-edge research with true potential for intellectual breakthrough that addresses broad and critical issues of intellectual, social, economic and cultural significance through the effective coordination and integration of diverse research activities and research results. For additional information on this release and other SSHRC research projects, please contact dore.dunne [at] sshrc.ca (Doré Dunne), media relations officer, telephone 613-992-7302.

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