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Dr. Gary RivettB.A. (Sheff), M.A. (Sheff), Ph.D (Sheff)Postdoctoral Research Associate
Comparative History of Political Engagement in Western and African Societies, Centre for the Study of Democratic Culture.
Office Hours: Autumn 2012-13 - Mondays 5-6pm |
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Major Publications
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Biography
Originally from south London, Dr. Gary Rivett received his Ph.D from the University of Sheffield in 2010, where he has recently taken up the position of Postdoctoral Research Associate on the Leverhulme Trust funded research network titled ‘The Comparative History of Political Engagement in Western and African Society’. Gary has taught modules for Level one and two in Early Modern British and European history at Sheffield and was also a graduate tutor at the University of York in 2010. Research
Research Interests Gary’s research interests centre on the social, intellectual, cultural and political history of early modern Britain; political and print cultures during the English civil wars, revolution and commonwealth; sixteenth- and seventeenth-century historical consciousness, scholarship and writing; discourses and practices of peace and peace-making in seventeenth-century Britain; the collecting of cheap, printed ephemera; and the history of institutions. Gary’s work has focused especially on the relationship between the uses of the past and political engagement between 1640 and 1660. He has longstanding interests in historical, social and memory theory and concepts of time and change.
Current Research Current research grows out of Gary’s doctoral thesis, titled ‘Make use of both things present and past’: Thomas May’s Histories of Parliament, Printed Public Discourse and the Politics of the Recent Past, 1640-1650’. This work examined how authors of history, parliamentary thanksgiving orders and newsbooks used the recent past to support partisan positions and arguments. It argues that telling stories about, and giving meaning to, the recent past was frequently responsible for the dynamism of political discussion, which constrained political possibilities. Gary is developing this work in two directions: first, towards a consideration of the relationship between history, historical writing and political engagement in the English Revolution, which will result in a monograph. Second, he is exploring how the recent past was used to create, communicate and foster knowledge of normative expectations of government and political practices and processes during the 1640s and 1650s. The latter of these directions is an attempt to reassess how ideas circulate in society, especially in everyday, mundane public discourse. He is also in the early stages of developing a new research project, titled ‘Peace and Security in the Early Modern World’, which will explore how ideas of peace were discussed, put into practice and contested. Gary has given research papers in Sydney, Venice, London, Cambridge, Sheffield and Reading. In Sheffield, he is associated with the Centre for the Study of Democratic Culture and the Centre for Peace history.
Public Engagement Committed to working with members of the public to create stories about their past, Gary is, with Drs Mike Foley and Adrian Bingham, a partner in an academic-activist collaboration titled, ‘Stories of Activism in Sheffield, c. 1960-2012’. Working closely with activists and campaigners from the City of Sheffield, the project which will collect and archive campaign materials and oral testimonies from Sheffield’s activists. For more information visit: http://storiesofactivism.group.shef.ac.uk/ Duties and Responsibilities
Gary held a Teaching Associate position at the University of Sheffield in 2011-12 and is currently Level 1 course tutor for HST115, ‘Disenchantment in Early Modern Europe’. and has previously taught and lectured on HST247, ‘The Struggle for England's Soul: Politics, Religion and Cultural Conflict, 1560-1640’. He has organised several conferences and workshops as part of his role on the Leverhulme Trust-funded ‘The Comparative History of Political Engagement in Western and African Societies’ Research Network’. Details of these can be found here: http://www.historyofpoliticalengagement.dept.shef.ac.uk/events/ Selected Publications
Articles - ‘English Newsbooks, Storytelling and Political Criticism: Mercurius Aulicus and the Solemn League and Covenant, September-October 1643’, Media History, 19, 1 (2013). - ‘Peacemaking, Parliament and the Politics of the Recent Past in the English Civil Wars’, Huntington Library Quarterly, ‘Special Issue: Social and Culture Memories in Early Modern England’, (forthcoming, late 2013). - ‘Introduction: Activism, Mobilisation and Political Engagement in Comparative Historical Perspective’, Special Issue of Journal of Historical Sociology, (forthcoming, 2013). - ‘Thanksgiving sermons and Political Engagement in the English Revolution’ (in preparation)
Monographs - History, historical writing and political engagement in the English Revolution (in preparation) |
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