April 23rd 2013 - an event for Shakespeare's 449th birthday.

Shakespearean London is a new Study Day for 2013. Led by Julian Bowsher, expert in Shakespearean archaeology and author of recently published ‘Shakespeare’s London Theatreland’, the day begins at the Museum of London Archaeology’s Mortimer Wheeler House for an introductory lecture on some of the archaeological evidence for Shakespeare, before a privileged finds handling session of a range of artefacts from both playhouse and bear garden excavations.  In the afternoon, Julian will lead a guided walk around some of the major sites at Bankside, including the sites of the Swan Theatre, the Rose Theatre & Southwark Cathedral. This is a chance to see how archaeological evidence has complemented and enhanced the documentary sources about the nation’s favourites bard.

Andante Travels is a  tour operator specialising in archaeological tours all over the world.  We also run a series of ‘Study Days’ based at archaeological sites, museums and destinations all over the UK, where guests can see behind the scenes in museums and galleries, handle objects from antiquity and see how finds are excavated, conserved and displayed.  The days are led by expert guides who provide a thorough, yet unpressured, introduction to their respective subjects. Booking details for this event can be found here.

Adapting the Early Modern - PhD studentship at De Montfort University, Leicester

STARTING OCTOBER 2013

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS 15 MARCH 2013

A PhD research studentship covering stipend and tuition fee costs is offered for a project that combines early modern literary or theatrical research with recent work on cultural adaptation. Working within the School's Centre for Textual Studies and Centre for Adaptations, the student could explore such areas as how the editing of Shakespeare's works necessarily adapts them for new readers, how Renaissance theatre is represented in films--from the Globe in Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944) to the Curtain in John Madden's Shakespeare in Love (1998)--or how film portrayals of early modern dramatists such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and John Webster engage with early modern, modern or postmodern notions of creativity. There is plenty of scope for the project to explore broader concerns of early modern authorship, publication and adaptation.

The Centre for Textual Studies and the Centre for Adaptations at De Montfort University are internationally renowned and united by their concern with what happens to literary writing after it moves beyond the control of the originating author. Both centres have an established tradition of interdisciplinary research  with externally funded international collaborations.The successful candidate for this studentship will become part of a highly active community of career-young scholars working on similar projects within a vibrant research culture. Research in the subject area of English at De Montfort University was ranked joint-ninth with English at Cambridge University in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

For a more detailed description of the studentship project please visit our web site or contact Prof Gabriel Egan on +44 (0)116 25 77158 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Applications are invited from UK or EU students with a good first degree (First, 2:1 or equivalent) in a relevant subject. Doctoral scholarships are available for up to three years full-time study starting October 2013 and provide a bursary of 13,770 GBP/pa in addition to university tuition fees. To receive an application pack, please contact the Graduate School Office via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Completed applications should be returned together with two supporting references. Please quote ref:  DMU Research Scholarships 2013

 BSA honorary associate Michael Bogdanov headlines a distinguished line-up of speakers at the

New Elizabethans 1953-2013: Nation, Culture, and Modern Identity conference

Senate House, London, 13th-15th June 2013

Full details of the conference are available at: http://www.ies.sas.ac.uk/events/ies-conferences/NewElizabethans

In the years surrounding the Coronation of Elizabeth II, British political and cultural life was suffused with a language that both prophesized and idealized the potential for a new Elizabethan era. The self-styled new Elizabethans identified an innate national character in the accomplishments of a vanished age. This age was apparently manifest in ‘Shakespearean’ music, theatre, and poetry -- and characterized by imperial expansion and exploration, a clear sense of social hierarchy, a fierce and heroic spirit of patriotic individualism, and the brave resistance of a mighty little people to larger invading forces.

Papers are invited from a variety of critical and disciplinary perspectives. We particularly encourage contributions from those working in history, literature, politics, religion, music, theatre, film and television, cultural studies, sport, design, and visual art. Ideally, papers will engage with such informing themes as nostalgia, patriotism, heritage, progress, tradition, national character, and/or nation itself.

Proposals (max. 250 words) for papers of 20 minutes should be sent to the conference organizer, Dr Irene Morra (Cardiff University), at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by 15 February 2013. Late submissions will be considered.