"True Heirs of the Reformation? Polemical Conflict between Pastors and Parishioners in Enlightenment England"

When

11:30 a.m., Aug. 4, 2019

Where

The Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies is presenting their summer series "News and Propaganda in the Early Modern Period." On August 4, Benjamin Miller, doctoral student, will present the first lecture, titled "True Heirs of the Reformation? Polemical Conflict between Pastors and Parishioners in Enlightenment England."

The invention of the printing press with movable type fundamentally changed the way information was spread in the early modern world and opened up the possibility of news reaching more people more quickly than before. However, just as with social media today, the printing press proved to be a mixed blessing. Especially during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, religious strife resulted in the dissemination of vitriol and propaganda. During the eighteenth century, the rise of literacy in many societies meant that the ideas of the Enlightenment rapidly spread through the printed word. Throughout the early modern period, however, the majority of the population remained illiterate, and as a result, media like images and the oral dissemination of information continued to be essential factors. The 2019 summer lectures will explore different media events in early modern Europe.

Ute Lotz-Heumann, Director of the Division and Heiko A. Oberman Professor of Late Medieval and Reformation History, and Beth Plummer, Susan C. Karant-Nunn Professor of Reformation and Early Modern European History, will contextualize and comment on each of the following lectures.

The series comprises four lectures presented on consecutive Sundays beginning on August 4.

Contact information: Luise Betterton 520-626-5448; bettertm@email.arizona.edu

St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, Murphey Gallery, 4440 N. Campbell Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85718