More Tudor/Stuart Bibliography
Sharon Michalove, Editor, H-Albion (mlove@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu)
Tue, 18 Apr 1995 10:23:35 -0600
There is, of course, quite a large amount of literature on the
sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) beginning with Robert Merton
(1950s). More recently, there has been quite a bit written about SSK, and
with specific reference to early modern England, by such authors as David
Bloor, Steven Shapin, and Simon Schaffer--to name only a few. Schaffer,
in particular, has recently been doing a lot of work on local studies and
enculturation (straight from anthropological methodology). I would be
happy to supply specific references to anyone who is interested. Though
this literature is more concerned with scientific communities, it is part
of a historical movement that does not see a distinction between science
and the social sphere. Therefore, at the heart of some of these research
programs are studies in the history, society, and culture of early modern
England using the techniques of sociology and anthropology.
For a specific examination of ceremony/ritual/symbolism in the early
modern period one should take a brief look at Mario Biagioli's _Galileo,
Courtier_ (Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 1993?). Though this book is
concerned, obviously, with Italy, it will be most valuable to early
modern scholars who are interested in using anthropological methods.
Biagioli's examination of early modern Italian court culture might be a
useful model for those of you interested in seeing how anthropological
techniques could be utilized in an analogous setting in England of the
same period.
Please feel free to contact me directly or through the list if you would
like more specific information.
Nani Clow
Clow@husc.harvard.edu