DOCSLIB.ORG

To Rage of Party: English Political Verse, 1678-1685

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
To Rage of Party: English Political Verse, 1678-1685 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE “Poetick Rage” to Rage of Party: English Political Verse, 1678-1685 A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History by Leanna Hope McLaughlin December 2018 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Thomas Cogswell, Chairperson Dr. Randolph Head Dr. Patricia Fumerton Copyright by Leanna Hope McLaughlin 2018 The Dissertation of Leanna Hope McLaughlin is approved: Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While saving the best for last may seem like a great idea, the acknowledgements are actually some of the harder words I have ever written. How does one put into words the boundless gratitude to the people and organizations that have made this book possible? Still, I must try. This dissertation simply would not have been possible without the patience, encouragement, and guidance of Dr. Thomas Cogswell. In addition to pointing me in the direction of the most delightful and scandalous sources in early modern England, Tom’s help and advice helped me craft the larger argument and his laughter at the content fueled my drive. Thanks to Tom I will eternally move “onward and upward.” I owe Dr. Randolph Head a great deal for his unending support, his uncanny ability to help me see the narrative flow and the bigger picture, and his dogmatic attention to questions of historical practice. Without Dr. Patricia Fumerton I would be lost. Her own work with ballads helped me to make sense of the rabbit’s hole in which I found myself. She also graciously granted me permission to quote her forthcoming book Moving Media, Tactical Publics: The Broadside Ballad in Early Modern England, to be published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. Simply put, Dr. Joseph Ward inspired me to start this labor of love. Dr. Marc Lerner and Dr. Jeffrey Watt gave me some of the most needed support at the most pressing moment of my life, and they taught me to love history for all of its weirdness and wonder. Dr. Susan Grayzel is who I aspire to be. I am indebted to the University of California-Riverside Graduate Division and History Department for their untiring administrative and generous financial support. UCR taught me how to be a better historian and showed me how to be an even better instructor. iv To Drs. Lynda Bell, Jonathan Eacott, David Gehring, and Vanessa Wilkie, thank you for giving me the opportunity to experience the vicissitudes of teaching. The administrative staff of the UCR History Department—Susan Komura, Iselda Salgado, Deisy Escobedo, and Alesha Jaennette—is unbelievably patient and helped me navigate my way through the entire doctoral process. My research and life experiences were also supported by the assistance of The Huntington Library and The William Andrews Clark Library. While in residence at these two institutions, I had the good fortune to deliver my first conference paper, attend my first colloquia, and engage in an interdisciplinary, bi-continental research group to study “Things: Material Cultures of the Long Eighteenth Century.” In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Steve Hindle for taking me under his wing in a moment of doubt, Scott Jacobs for helping me navigate manuscript research while feeding me chocolate cake (not at the same time), and Drs. Adriana Craciun and Simon Schaffer for their organization of “The Material Cultures of Knowledge, 1600-1830” through the University of California Multi-campus Research Group and Cambridge’s Centre for Research in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. The phenomenal people I met and the conversations I enjoyed are too numerous to mention. I could fill a hundred more pages with just the names of the people I would like to thank for these experiences. I will always cherish the libraries and archives I visited in the course of completing this research. The work of librarians and archivists is so important, and I thank them all, but a few librarians cannot go unnamed: Mark Bainbridge, Assistant Head Library at Worcester College, Oxford, Allee Monheim formerly of the Huntington Library, and Diane Shepelwich at the University of Texas-Arlington; thank you. v The successful completion of this long journey is due to the love, comradeship, and support of my friends and family. I need to specifically thank Audrey Uffner-Lau, Heather Van Mouwerik, Stephen Teske, Jordan Downs, Rachel Purvis, Stephanie McKnight, Amanda Snyder, and Catherine Chou; I cherish you all. To my parents, Mom, Dad, and Micki, thank you for being proud of me. To my grandparents, James and Jewel Davidson, thank you for believing in me. Lastly, but certainly not least, to Lee Johnson, our entire journey has been defined by this endeavor. You have helped me in so many ways that to list them would be an injustice, because I know I would forget something. To all that you are and all that you do, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I cannot wait to start a new chapter in our lives. vi DEDICATION To Rohan and Mia, Keep being amazing humans. vii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION “Poetick Rage” to Rage of Party: English Political Verse, 1678-1685 by Leanna Hope McLaughlin Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in History University of California, Riverside, December 2018 Dr. Thomas Cogswell, Chairperson This dissertation examines the development of English partisanship and political culture from 1678-85 through the lens of political poetry and song. Verses enabled the creation of modern political parties and well-informed public spheres by aiding communication of partisan ideologies throughout the population of England. Historians of Britain have often underutilized this media format, but by exploring the competing narratives poets created, we can better understand what mobilized the population to engage in partisan activity. For two decades of Charles II’s reign, court factions jockeyed for power through highly sexualized manuscript satirical verse. But in 1678, the transformation of political factions into political parties began when explosive claims of a Popish Plot provoked a political crisis in Parliament. In the ensuing legislative upheaval surrounding Exclusion, the Licensing Act, which ensured prepublication censorship of print, lapsed quite unintentionally. The newly created Whig and Tory parties’ ideological platforms developed as they increasingly took to printed political verse to gain public support for their cause and denigrate their opponents. Both parties used libelous and seditious viii rhetoric in political verse to comment on and inform the populace of the affairs of state. Concerned with the growing unrest, the government fought back in the same medium and challenged local authority when it neglected to prosecute radical rhetoric. Upon succession in 1685, James II directed his Parliament to reinstitute the Licensing Act. Despite trying to use verse to craft the narrative in his favor, political verse and song ushered James out in the Revolution of 1688. Ultimately this dissertation will reveal that poetry and verse aided in the emergence of public spheres through the power of an unchecked press, and helped foster a skeptical populace, who became alert to potential challenges to political sovereignty. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. iv Dedication .............................................................................................................................. vii Abstract ................................................................................................................................. viii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... x List of Abbreviations............................................................................................................. xii Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 I. Historiography ................................................................................................... 3 II. Background of Source Material ........................................................................ 18 A. Preservation ................................................................................................... 18 B. Problems of POASY ...................................................................................... 21 C. The Immensity of Manuscript ........................................................................ 24 D. The Control of Print and the Role of Manuscript ............................................ 26 E. The Significance of Manuscript versus Print Publication ............................... 29 III. Methodology .................................................................................................... 31 A. Definitions and Source Selection ................................................................... 31 B. Materiality of Printed Poems and Songs......................................................... 33 IV. Significance...................................................................................................... 36 V. Chapter Outlines ............................................................................................... 37 Prologue: ................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • War of Roses: a House Divided
    Stanford Model United Nations Conference 2014 War of Roses: A House Divided Chairs: Teo Lamiot, Gabrielle Rhoades Assistant Chair: Alyssa Liew Crisis Director: Sofia Filippa Table of Contents Letters from the Chairs………………………………………………………………… 2 Letter from the Crisis Director………………………………………………………… 4 Introduction to the Committee…………………………………………………………. 5 History and Context……………………………………………………………………. 5 Characters……………………………………………………………………………….. 7 Topics on General Conference Agenda…………………………………..……………. 9 Family Tree ………………………………………………………………..……………. 12 Special Committee Rules……………………………………………………………….. 13 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………. 14 Letters from the Chairs Dear Delegates, My name is Gabrielle Rhoades, and it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the Stanford Model United Nations Conference (SMUNC) 2014 as members of the The Wars of the Roses: A House Divided Joint Crisis Committee! As your Wars of the Roses chairs, Teo Lamiot and I have been working hard with our crisis director, Sofia Filippa, and SMUNC Secretariat members to make this conference the best yet. If you have attended SMUNC before, I promise that this year will be even more full of surprise and intrigue than your last conference; if you are a newcomer, let me warn you of how intensely fun and challenging this conference will assuredly be. Regardless of how you arrive, you will all leave better delegates and hopefully with a reinvigorated love for Model UN. My own love for Model United Nations began when I co-chaired a committee for SMUNC (The Arab Spring), which was one of my very first experiences as a member of the Society for International Affairs at Stanford (the umbrella organization for the MUN team), and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Later that year, I joined the intercollegiate Model United Nations team.
    [Show full text]
  • LORD BOLINGBROKE's THEORY of PARTY and OPPOSITION1 By
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by St Andrews Research Repository Max Skjönsberg, HJ, Oct 2015 LORD BOLINGBROKE’S THEORY OF PARTY AND OPPOSITION1 By MAX SKJÖNSBERG, London School of Economics and Political Science Abstract: Bolingbroke has been overlooked by intellectual historians in the last few decades, at least in comparison with ‘canonical’ thinkers. This article examines one of the most important but disputable aspects of his political thought: his views on political parties and his theory of opposition. It aims to demonstrate that Bolingbroke’s views on party have been misunderstood and that it is possible to think of him as an advocate of political parties rather than the ‘anti-party’ writer he is commonly known as. It has been suggested that Bolingbroke prescribed a state without political parties. By contrast, this article seeks to show that Bolingbroke was in fact the promoter of a very specific party, a systematic parliamentary opposition party in resistance to what he perceived as the Court Whig faction in power. It will 1 I have benefited from comments by Adrian Blau, Tim Hochstrasser, Paul Keenan, Robin Mills, and Paul Stock, as well as conversations with J. C. D. Clark, Richard Bourke, and Quentin Skinner at various stages of this project. As usual, however, the buck stops with the writer. I presented an earlier and shorter version of this article at the inaugural Early-Modern Intellectual History Postgraduate Conference at Newcastle University in June 2015. Eighteenth-century spelling has been kept in quotations throughout as have inconsistencies in spelling.
    [Show full text]
  • Paper 2: Power: Monarchy and Democracy in Britain C1000-2014
    Paper 2: Power: Monarchy and democracy in Britain c1000-2014. 1. Describe the Anglo-Saxon system of government. [4] • Witan –The relatives of the King, the important nobles (Earls) and churchmen (Bishops) made up the Kings council which was known as the WITAN. These men led the armies and ruled the shires on behalf of the king. In return, they received wealth, status and land. • At local level the lesser nobles (THEGNS) carried out the roles of bailiffs and estate management. Each shire was divided into HUNDREDS. These districts had their own law courts and army. • The Church handled many administrative roles for the King because many churchmen could read and write. The Church taught the ordinary people about why they should support the king and influence his reputation. They also wrote down the history of the period. 2. Explain why the Church was important in Anglo-Saxon England. [8] • The church was flourishing in Aethelred’s time (c.1000). Kings and noblemen gave the church gifts of land and money. The great MINSTERS were in Rochester, York, London, Canterbury and Winchester. These Churches were built with donations by the King. • Nobles provided money for churches to be built on their land as a great show of status and power. This reminded the local population of who was in charge. It hosted community events as well as religious services, and new laws or taxes would be announced there. Building a church was the first step in building a community in the area. • As churchmen were literate some of the great works of learning, art and culture.
    [Show full text]
  • NACBS NECBS Program, Boston Cambridge, 1999
    NACBS/NECBS Program, Boston/Cambridge, 1999 file:///Macintosh%20HD/Users/jaskelly/Desktop/temp.html THE NORTH AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON BRITISH STUDIES in conjunction with THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON BRITISH STUDIES ANNUAL MEETING 19-21 November 1999 Royal Sonesta Hotel Cambridge, Massachusetts NACBS Council President 1 of 29 11/12/08 4:06 PM NACBS/NECBS Program, Boston/Cambridge, 1999 file:///Macintosh%20HD/Users/jaskelly/Desktop/temp.html Fred M. Leventhal (Boston University) Vice President Linda Levy Peck (George Washington University) Immediate Past President Walter L. Arnstein (University of Illinois) Executive Secretary Brian P. Levack (University of Texas, Austin) Associate Executive Secretary Patty Seleski (California State University, San Marcos) Treasurer Marc Baer (Hope College) Program Chair Chris Waters (Williams College) Elected Council Members James Cronin (Boston College) James Epstein (Vanderbilt University) Barbara J. Harris (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) Robert Tittler (Concordia University) Margo Todd (Vanderbilt University) NECBS Executive Committee President Susan D. Amussen (The Union Institute) Vice President and Program Chair Peter Weiler (Boston College) Immediate Past President Robert Tittler (Concordia University) Secretary-Treasurer Peter Hansen (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) A NOTE FROM THE PROGRAM CHAIR On behalf of the program committees and officers of the North American Conference on British Studies and the Northeast Conference on British Studies, I would like to welcome you to this year’s joint annual meeting of the two organizations and draw your attention to several special events taking place at the conference. There will be three plenary addresses this year. On Friday, following lunch, Professor Deborah Epstein Nord (Princeton University) will be speaking on ‘Children of Hagar: Gypsy Fascination in 2 of 29 11/12/08 4:06 PM NACBS/NECBS Program, Boston/Cambridge, 1999 file:///Macintosh%20HD/Users/jaskelly/Desktop/temp.html Nineteenth-Century Britain’.
    [Show full text]
  • English Radicalism and the Struggle for Reform
    English Radicalism and the Struggle for Reform The Library of Sir Geoffrey Bindman, QC. Part I. BERNARD QUARITCH LTD MMXX BERNARD QUARITCH LTD 36 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JH tel.: +44 (0)20 7297 4888 fax: +44 (0)20 7297 4866 email: [email protected] / [email protected] web: www.quaritch.com Bankers: Barclays Bank PLC 1 Churchill Place London E14 5HP Sort code: 20-65-90 Account number: 10511722 Swift code: BUKBGB22 Sterling account: IBAN: GB71 BUKB 2065 9010 5117 22 Euro account: IBAN: GB03 BUKB 2065 9045 4470 11 U.S. Dollar account: IBAN: GB19 BUKB 2065 9063 9924 44 VAT number: GB 322 4543 31 Front cover: from item 106 (Gillray) Rear cover: from item 281 (Peterloo Massacre) Opposite: from item 276 (‘Martial’) List 2020/1 Introduction My father qualified in medicine at Durham University in 1926 and practised in Gateshead on Tyne for the next 43 years – excluding 6 years absence on war service from 1939 to 1945. From his student days he had been an avid book collector. He formed relationships with antiquarian booksellers throughout the north of England. His interests were eclectic but focused on English literature of the 17th and 18th centuries. Several of my father’s books have survived in the present collection. During childhood I paid little attention to his books but in later years I too became a collector. During the war I was evacuated to the Lake District and my school in Keswick incorporated Greta Hall, where Coleridge lived with Robert Southey and his family. So from an early age the Lake Poets were a significant part of my life and a focus of my book collecting.
    [Show full text]
  • Reagan's Mythical America
    Reagan’s Mythical America This page intentionally left blank Reagan’s Mythical America Storytelling as Political Leadership Jan Hanska REAGAN’ S MYTHICAL AMERICA Copyright © Jan Hanska, 2012. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 978-1-137-27299-7 All rights reserved. First published in 2012 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-44509-7 ISBN 978-1-137-27300-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137273000 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hanska, Jan. Reagan’s mythical America : storytelling as political leadership / by Jan Hanska. p. cm. 1. Reagan, Ronald—Oratory. 2. Political oratory—United States— History—20th century. 3. Discourse analysis, Narrative—Political aspects—United States. 4. Communication in politics— United States—History—20th century. 5. United States—Politics and government—1981–1989. I. Title. E877.2.H356 2012 973.927092—dc23 2012013075 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: October 2012 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne This book is dedicated to professors Vilho Harle Ira Chernus Mika Luoma-aho .
    [Show full text]
  • Family and Heirs Sir Francis Drake
    THE FAMILY AND HEIRS OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE BY LADY ELIOTT-DRAKE WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II. LONDON SMITH, ELDER & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE, S. W. 1911 [All rights reserved} THE FAMILY AND HEIRS OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE VOL. II. cJ:-, · ,<Ji-a II c/.) (sf) ra l<e 9/1 ,·,v !J3CLl'O/l-et CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME PART V SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, THIRD BARONET, 1662-1717 OBAl'TER PAGE CBAl'TER PAGE I. 3 V. 117 II. 28 VI. 142 III. 55 VII. 169 IV. 87 VIII. 195 PART VI SIR FRANCIS HENRY DRAKE, FOURTH BARONET, 1718-1740 OBAPTER PAGE I. 211 PART VII SIR FRANCIS HENRY DRAKE, FIFTH BARONET, 1740-1794 CIIAl'TER PAGE CHAPTER PAGE I. 237 IV. 290 II. 253 V. 310 III. 276 VI. 332 PAGE APPENDIX l. 343 APPENDIX II. 360 INDEX • 403 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE SECOND VOLUME Sm FRANCIS DRAKE, TmRD BARONET Frontispiece (From a Miniature b11 Sir Peter Lel11) DOROTHY, LADY DRAKE (DAUGHTER Ol!' SIR JOHN BAM• FIELD), WIFE OF TmRD BARONET To face p. 8 SIR HENRY POLLEXFEN, CmEF JUSTICE OF THE COMMON PLEAS • " 76 SAMFORD SPINEY CHURCH 138 ANNE, LADY DRAKE (DAUGHTER OF SAMUEL HEATHCOTE), WIFE OF FOURTH BARONET 218 SIR FRANCIS HENRY DRAKE, FOURTH BARONET 234 Sm FRANCIS HENRY DRAKE, FIFTH BARONET • 234 BEERALSTON 253 BUCKLAND ABBEY 274 Mrss KNIGHT 294 (F'rom a Painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds) ADMIRAL FRANCIS WII,LIAM DRAKE 310 DRAKE'S DRUM 338 PART V SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 3RD BARONET 1662-1717 PARTY CHAPTER I As we pass from the life story of Sir Francis Drake, the ' Par­ liamentarian ' baronet, to that of his nephew and heir, Francis, only surviving son of Major Thomas Drake, we feel at first as though we were quitting old friends for the society of new and less interesting companions.
    [Show full text]
  • Of Gods and Kings: Natural Philosophy and Politics in the Leibniz-Clarke Disputes Steven Shapin Isis, Vol. 72, No. 2. (Jun., 1981), Pp
    Of Gods and Kings: Natural Philosophy and Politics in the Leibniz-Clarke Disputes Steven Shapin Isis, Vol. 72, No. 2. (Jun., 1981), pp. 187-215. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-1753%28198106%2972%3A2%3C187%3AOGAKNP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C Isis is currently published by The University of Chicago Press. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/journals/ucpress.html. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academic journals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers, and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community take advantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. http://www.jstor.org Mon Aug 20 10:29:37 2007 Of Gods and Kings: Natural Philosophy and Politics in the Leibniz-Clarke Disputes By Steven Shapin* FTER TWO AND A HALF CENTURIES the Newton-Leibniz disputes A continue to inflame the passions.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography of A.F. Pollard's Writings
    BIBLIOGRAPHY OF A.F. POLLARD'S WRITINGS This bibliography is not quite complete: we omitted mention of very short book reviews, and we have not been able to trace every one of Pollard's contributions to the T.L.S. As to his letters to the Editor of The Times, we only mentioned the ones consulted on behalf of our research. There has been no separate mention of Pollard's essays from the years 1915-1917, collectedly published in The Commonwealth at War (1917). The Jesuits in Poland, Oxford, 1892. D.N.B. vol. 34: Lucas, Ch. (1769-1854); Luckombe, Ph. (d. 1803); Lydiat, Th. (1572-1646). vol. 35: Macdonald, A. (1834-1886); Macdonell, A. (1762-1840); Macegan, O. (d. 1603); Macfarlan, W. (d. 1767); Macha­ do, R. (d. lSI I?); Mackenzie, W.B. (1806-1870); Maclean, Ch. (1788-1824); Magauran, E. (IS48-IS93); Maguire, H. (d. 1600); Maguire, N. (1460-1512). vol. 36: Manderstown, W. (ISIS-IS40); Mansell, F. (1579-166S); Marshall, W. (d. 153S); Martin, Fr. (1652-1722); Martyn, R. (d. 1483); Mascall,R. (d. 1416); Mason,]. (1503-1566); Mason, R. (1571-1635). Review :].B. Perkins, France under the Regency, London, 1892. E.H.R. 8 (1893), pp. 79 1-793. 'Sir Edward Kelley' in Lives oj Twelve Bad Men, ed. Th. Seccombe, London, 1894, pp. 34-54· BIBLIOGRAPHY OF A.F. POLLARD'S WRITINGS 375 D.N.B. vol. 37: Matcham, G. (1753-1833); Maunsfield, H. (d. 1328); Maurice, Th. (1754-1824); Maxfield, Th. (d. 1616); May, W. (d. 1560); Mayart, S. (d. 1660?); Mayers, W.F.
    [Show full text]
  • I N S T I T U T
    INSTITUTES Institutes fo r College and University Faculty provide intensive study of texts, historical ‘periods, and ideas central to undergraduate teaching in the humanities. They take place in settings suitable fo r research, and they allow faculty to examine significant material under the direction of recognized scholars. They thus prepare faculty to return to their classrooms with a deeper knowledge o f important scholarship in key fields of the humanities. Institutes are sponsored by colleges, universities, libraries, museums, and professional organizations. Participation is open to full-tim e teachers in two-year and four-year colleges and universities, with twenty to thirty participants in a given institute selected in open competition by the institute’s staff. The study program emphasizes collaborative work under the direction of a group of scholars. Participants in these four- to six-week summer institutes receive stipends of $250per week and an allowance fo r travel, room, and board. Prospective participants should write or call the directors of the institutes in which they are interested. There is no need to communicate with NEH. Scholars interested in conducting an institute, however, should write or call: Higher Education in the Humanities, Room 302— NEH, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., Washington, DC 20506 Phone: 202/606-8380, E-mail: education@nehfed. us F or general NEH information, write to OPPA, Room 406 at the same address, or call 202/606-8438. Islamic History and Culture Information: Faculty: University of Arizona,
    [Show full text]
  • How Modern Is the French Revolution?
    Review Essay Paradigms and Paranoia: How Modern Is the French Revolution? REBECCA L. SPANG It is a truth, widely acknowledged, that the study of history has changed dramatically 1 since the end of World War II. Cliometrics has come and gone; the new social history has become old hat; narrative has been revived. Structuralist approaches associated, at least in part, with the Annales school, have been superseded by the notionally poststructuralist turns of the linguistic screw; total history has yielded to micro history; we all recognize Eurocentrism when we see it. How surprising it is, then, to note how remarkably constant textbooks have been in 2 assessing the import of the French Revolution. From classics of Cold War "Western" historiography to recent efforts to write history within a global framework, the fundamental message remains the same: the Revolution of 1789 is the turning point of the modern world. 1 The wording may vary, but the substance does not. Said to mark "the beginning of modern history," the French Revolution is deemed "a decisive event in world history" that initiated a "century of rapid and tremendous change"; after the events of 1789–1815, "the clock could not really be set back." 2 Authors may emphasize different aspects of this modern period—political Liberalism, triumphant individualism, nationalistic militarism—but their accounts coincide in treating the revolution as an identifiable period of rapid, irreversible change. An evocative but, in this non-geological context, far from precise word—watershed—has provided one popular metaphor for conveying some sense of the revolution's relation to modernity.
    [Show full text]
  • The Language of Impartiality and Party-Political Discourse in England, 1680–1745
    THE LANGUAGE OF IMPARTIALITY AND PARTY-POLITICAL DISCOURSE IN ENGLAND, 1680–1745 Christine Gerrard The terms ‘impartiality’ and, more particularly, ‘impartial’, play an impor- tant, if curiously under-researched role in party-political discourse dur- ing the period 1680–1745. This is the period that witnessed the birth of political parties in England, following the bitter ideological divisions of the English Civil War and the restored monarchy of Charles II in 1660. Charles’ royalist supporters in Parliament became known as ‘Tories’ and their opponents, who attacked absolutist rule and the succession of Charles’s Catholic brother James, were dubbed ‘Whigs’. Both labels orig- inally derived from insults hurled at one party by the other. The term ‘party’ itself had negative connotations during this period, and both Whigs and Tories made strenuous efforts to demonstrate that they were not a ‘political party’ but represented the interests of the nation at large. Recent studies of the language which the Whigs and Tories used to try to prove their non-partisanship have focused on their rival efforts to appropriate key terms such as ‘patriot’, ‘patriotism’, ‘country party’, ‘national interest’ and ‘public spirit’.1 These contested terms, however, overlap in important ways with an evolving political discourse of impartiality. The emergence of impartiality, as other essays in this volume will attest, is more often associated with developments in science, historiography, moral philoso- phy, and ethics, than with the cut-and-thrust world of party-politics. Yet the two terms ‘impartial’ and ‘party’ are of course semantically linked. To be ‘impartial’ means to be of no party, to be ‘non-partisan’.
    [Show full text]