'Voltaire and the Sirven affair (1762-1772)' by John Renwick has recently been published in the Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment series. In this blog post, Renwick highlights the key arguments from his new book, re-evaluating Voltaire’s involvement and showing that, unlike the famous Calas affair, his role in the Sirvens’ eventual exoneration was limited.
Heroes or Villains? Democracy, Discourse, and New Actors in Romanian Politics: Inside the New Journal of Romanian Studies Special Issue
This special issue of the Journal of Romanian Studies, Heroes or Villains? Democracy, Discourse, and New Actors in Romanian Politics, offers a focused examination of Romania’s rapidly shifting political landscape during the 2024–2025 elections.
“Marking White Womanhood Between the Wars: Surplus Women and Trafficked Women” by Annaliese Hoehling
The title of the volume captures the stark absence of the acknowledgement of Whiteness at the core of Anglophone Modernism and in Modernist Studies. What happens when a nation suddenly has “too many women”? After World War I, Britain’s 1921 census indicated there were two million more women than men in the population. Newspapers quickly … Continue reading
Rethinking the Jesuit Expulsion and Spanish American independence
'Mexican Jesuits write the history of the Americas' by Luis Ramos has recently been published in the Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment series. In this blog post, Ramos reflects on his research and explains how the book uncovers the transformative role that eighteenth-century Mexican Jesuits played in reshaping European intellectual life.
Celebrating Disability History Month 2025
To mark Disability History Month in the UK, we've collated a reading list from our books and journals that engage with ideas and narratives of disability, particularly our leading journal, The Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies, and our acclaimed book series, Representations: Health, Disability, Culture and Society. Browse the reading list below and … Continue reading