EC Making religious practice visible in 17th-century England

This course will focus upon the Catholic minorities of early modern England and the strategies they used in order to remain undetected in a kingdom where they were subject to severe sanctions. Yet, Catholic practice relied upon the use of objects which were definite tell-tale signs, and difficult to deny. The course will show how broadsheets, very much like today’s tabloids, liked to “reveal”, “unveil”or “unmask” the activities of underground recusant networks, and sensationalized their “discoveries” to appeal to the masses. During the seminars, students will become familiar with 17th century publications and practise close reading and analysis of both texts and images.

Marotti, Arthur, Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy. Catholic and Anti-Catholic Discourses in Early Modern England, Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press, 2005, p. 32-65.

Tumbleson, Raymond, Catholicism in the English Protestant Imagination. Nationalism, Religion, and Literature, 1600-1745, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998.