Professor Indira Ghose, Department of English, received a generous grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation to study the production and reception of literature on courtesy and conduct in England over the period between 1500 and 1800. This includes texts such as parental advice books, guides to conversation, treaties of the court or devotional writing. “ Manners and norms of good conduct were once seen as trivial aspects of social life” explains Prof. Ghose, “but they are now regarded by cultural historians as having had a profound impact on modern identity.”

The project is now starting, and four new members have been added to the team. A primary aim of the project is to highlight how material and cultural aspects of texts helped to shape the circulation of cultural ideas within Europe. It will also produce an open-access database of conduct texts in English over three centuries.

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Department of English