Routledge Critical Junctures in Global Early Modernities – serie

Pornographic Sensibilities stages a conversation between two fields—Medieval/Early Modern Hispanic Studies and Porn Studies—that traditionally have had little to say to each other. The collection offers innovative new approaches to the study of gendered and sexualized bodies in medieval and early modern textual production, including literary and historical documents. The volume’s embrace of the interpretative tools of Porn Studies also inscribes a critical provocation: in what ways can contemporary modes of reading the past serve to freshly illuminate not only the contours of that same past but also the very critical assumptions of the present upon which fields like medieval and early modern Hispanic Studies are built? In this way, Pornographic Sensibilities encourages at once both rigorous historicizations of pre- and early-modern culture, and playful engagement with "presentism," considered here as a critical tool to undress the hidden assumptions of both past and present. This move substantively challenges long-held critical orthodoxies among scholars of pre-Enlightenment periods, for whom the very category of "pornography" itself has often problematically been framed as an anachronism when applied to their work.

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of Dürer’s depictions of human diversity, focusing particularly on his depictions of figures from outside his Western European milieu.Heather Madar contextualizes those depictions within their broader artistic and historical context and assesses them in light of current theories about early modern concepts of cultural, ethnic, religious and racial diversity. The book also explores Dürer’s connections with contemporaries, his later legacy with respect to his imagery of the other and the broader significance of Nuremberg to early modern engagements with the world beyond Europe.The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, Renaissance studies and Renaissance history.

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of Dürer’s depictions of human diversity, focusing particularly on his depictions of figures from outside his Western European milieu.Heather Madar contextualizes those depictions within their broader artistic and historical context and assesses them in light of current theories about early modern concepts of cultural, ethnic, religious and racial diversity. The book also explores Dürer’s connections with contemporaries, his later legacy with respect to his imagery of the other and the broader significance of Nuremberg to early modern engagements with the world beyond Europe.The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, Renaissance studies and Renaissance history.

Pornographic Sensibilities stages a conversation between two fields—Medieval/Early Modern Hispanic Studies and Porn Studies—that traditionally have had little to say to each other. The collection offers innovative new approaches to the study of gendered and sexualized bodies in medieval and early modern textual production, including literary and historical documents. The volume’s embrace of the interpretative tools of Porn Studies also inscribes a critical provocation: in what ways can contemporary modes of reading the past serve to freshly illuminate not only the contours of that same past but also the very critical assumptions of the present upon which fields like medieval and early modern Hispanic Studies are built? In this way, Pornographic Sensibilities encourages at once both rigorous historicizations of pre- and early-modern culture, and playful engagement with "presentism," considered here as a critical tool to undress the hidden assumptions of both past and present. This move substantively challenges long-held critical orthodoxies among scholars of pre-Enlightenment periods, for whom the very category of "pornography" itself has often problematically been framed as an anachronism when applied to their work.

This book reveals the relationship between apocalyptic thought, political supremacy, and racialization in the early modern world. The chapters in this book analyze apocalypse and racialization from several discursive and geopolitical spaces to shed light on the ubiquity and diversity of apocalyptic racial thought and its centrality to advancing political power objectives across linguistic and national borders in the early modern period. By approaching race through apocalyptic discourse, this volume not only exposes connections between the pursuit of political power and apocalyptic thought, but also contributes to defining race across multiple areas of research in the early modern period, including colonialism, English and Hispanist studies, and religious studies.

This book is an interdisciplinary edited collection that seeks to recognize the radical importance of sound, and center it in discussions in the field of early modern studies.Bringing together a collection of case studies related spatially and temporally to specific places or events, the volume explores a gallery of soundscapes mapping the early modern Iberian empires. This transnational and comparative style takes a twofold approach: on the one hand, each study works as a snapshot of the soundscape of a given place and time; on the other, the different entries offer a series of paradigms to systematically approach the tensions and developments related to sound in the early modern period. Ultimately, this volume collects soundscapes from multiple territories and geographies: from the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula and their expansion throughout the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the Pacific.Soundscapes of the Early Modern Hispanophone and Lusophone Worlds will be of great value to students and scholars interested in the history of senses, emotions and theatre, social and cultural history, and early modern history.

This book is an interdisciplinary edited collection that seeks to recognize the radical importance of sound, and center it in discussions in the field of early modern studies.Bringing together a collection of case studies related spatially and temporally to specific places or events, the volume explores a gallery of soundscapes mapping the early modern Iberian empires. This transnational and comparative style takes a twofold approach: on the one hand, each study works as a snapshot of the soundscape of a given place and time; on the other, the different entries offer a series of paradigms to systematically approach the tensions and developments related to sound in the early modern period. Ultimately, this volume collects soundscapes from multiple territories and geographies: from the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula and their expansion throughout the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the Pacific.Soundscapes of the Early Modern Hispanophone and Lusophone Worlds will be of great value to students and scholars interested in the history of senses, emotions and theatre, social and cultural history, and early modern history.

This book reveals the relationship between apocalyptic thought, political supremacy, and racialization in the early modern world. The chapters in this book analyze apocalypse and racialization from several discursive and geopolitical spaces to shed light on the ubiquity and diversity of apocalyptic racial thought and its centrality to advancing political power objectives across linguistic and national borders in the early modern period. By approaching race through apocalyptic discourse, this volume not only exposes connections between the pursuit of political power and apocalyptic thought, but also contributes to defining race across multiple areas of research in the early modern period, including colonialism, English and Hispanist studies, and religious studies.

Early Modern Drama in Modern Cultural Politics: The Afterlives of Spanish Golden Age Theatre examines how Spanish Golden Age theatre has been repeatedly appropriated, reinterpreted, and debated in modern cultural and political contexts. From the nineteenth century to the present, plays by authors such as Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Calderón have served as powerful symbols in discussions of national identity, cultural heritage, and political ideology.Combining literary analysis with theatre history and performance studies, the book explores how early modern works have lived beyond the page through staging, criticism, and institutional promotion. Drawing on archival materials, press sources, and production histories, it reconstructs the modern reception of key plays including Numancia, Fuenteovejuna, and stage adaptations of Don Quixote.Through a series of detailed case studies, the book shows how Golden Age drama continues to shape cultural institutions, theatrical practice, and public discourse in Spain and internationally. By placing Spanish classical theatre within broader debates about cultural memory, nationalism, and the politics of the canon, this study offers a new perspective on the enduring significance of early modern drama.

Framing whiteness as a sensorial quality connate with ethical, aesthetic, epistemological, and ontological hierarchies, this edited volume examines how the category of whiteness shaped architectural theories and practices across the early modern period.What was architecture’s role in race-making, constructions of whiteness, and processes of othering more generally? How was whiteness architecturally questioned, reinforced, conceptualized, practiced, and materialized? And how did whiteness intersect with categories such as class, nation, gender, beauty, hygiene, and health? In examining these questions, this volume explores the ways in which premodern critical race studies allow us to reimagine the boundaries and possibilities of architectural research, design, and practice.The book will be of interest to scholars working in architectural history, art history, early modern studies, and the history of race.