Early Modern World at Harvard is a multi-disciplinary group composed of faculty, graduate students, and visiting researchers who study the historical traditions of early modernity across the globe. “Early Modern” refers to the dynamic period of cultural exchange within and between different regions of the world from the 14th to the 18th centuries. The complex legacy of the Early Modern era in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe—a period of political change, movement of peoples and colonization, scientific and technological discovery, and artistic innovation—continues to shape the present day. As research and teaching in these fields becomes increasingly diverse and global, this group fosters inclusivity, connection, and collaboration among Harvard’s community of early modernists.

EMW is Harvard’s central hub for early modern activities of all kinds. It serves scholars, librarians, archivists, curators, and digital specialists working across departments and units, recognizing shared goals and fostering opportunities for collaboration in research, teaching, and public engagement. We maintain a coordinated list of lectures, workshops, seminars, and events hosted by affiliated groups and programs. We publish course offerings and promote awareness of the activities of our community members. We run two mailing lists—one newsletter for Harvard-based early modern events and one for events in the broader New England area. We welcome your input as we work to support ongoing and emerging projects in early modern fields across the university. If you would like to join one or both of our mailing lists, please write to our Program Coordinator, Anja Goeing, at agoeing@fas.harvard.edu. Welcome to Early Modern World at Harvard!

Key Terms | Voices from the Harvard College Writing Program: Public Shakespeare

Key Terms | Voices from the Harvard College Writing Program

Upcoming Events

2024 Apr 19

Harvard Undergraduate Research Symposium in Premodern Studies

(All day)

Location:

Barker Center, Room 110, Harvard University, 12 Quincy St, Cambridge MA, 02138

The Committee on Medieval Studies invites contributions from Harvard College students of papers (15-20 minutes in length) in any discipline, dealing with any topic in ancient, medieval, and early modern studies. Please submit the proposal form, along with a short abstract of 100-150 words to medieval@fas.harvard.edu (subject line: undergraduate paper proposal...

2024 Apr 19

Ashley Gonik (History, Harvard), dissertation defense of “Structuring Information: Printed Tables as Organizing Tools in Early Modern Europe”

10:30am

Location:

History Dept Conference Room, Robinson Hall, Harvard Yard

2024 Apr 19

Sarah Koval, Harvard University: Dissertation colloquium "Music and Bodily Health in 17th-century England"

2:00pm

Location:

Davison Room of the Harvard Music Building, 3 Oxford St., Cambridge MA

2024 Apr 19

Leah Whittington, Professor of English, Harvard University: "What Did Shakespeare Read? New Approaches to Classical Books and the Early Modern Stage"

5:30pm

Location:

Barker Center, Room 133. 12 Quincy St, Cambridge MA, 02138 (Harvard University)

Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar on Shakespearean Studies Read more about Leah Whittington, Professor of English, Harvard University: "What Did Shakespeare Read? New Approaches to Classical Books and the Early Modern Stage"

2024 Apr 23

Joseph Gauvreau (Comparative Literature, Harvard), dissertation defense of “The Contrafacta of Thomas Watson and Simon Goulart: Resignifying the Polyphonic Song in 16th-century England and France"

3:00pm

Location:

Harvard Dana Palmer House, 16 Quincy Street, Cambridge MA 02138

Under the direction of Katharina Piechocki, Kate van Orden, and Tom Conley Read more about Joseph Gauvreau (Comparative Literature, Harvard), dissertation defense of “The Contrafacta of Thomas Watson and Simon Goulart: Resignifying the Polyphonic Song in 16th-century England and France"

2024 Apr 23

Paris Spies-Gans: Imprints and Erasures: A New Story of Art (Zerner Lecture at the Harvard Art Museums)

6:30pm

Location:

Harvard Arts Museums, Menschel Hall, Lower Level, Cambridge MA (entrance on Broadway)

The lecture is sponsored by Harvard's History of Art and Architecture Dept.

The speaker will be discussing -- and asking the audience to ponder -- her favorite questions. How should we be thinking about women artists these days? Can we integrate them into art history's narratives in a way that lasts? And how, exactly, do they keep getting erased?

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