Blind Spots, Gaps, and Archival Silences: Reconstructing Contestation in the Venetian State Archive
| Dates: | 28 May 2024 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 18:00 |
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| What is it: | Lecture |
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| Organiser: | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures |
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| Speaker: | Maartje van Gelder |
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Venice boasts one of the largest early modern state archives. Produced by the Republic of Venice (797-1797), it has been mined for pioneering studies in political, economic, social, and cultural history. As Leopold von Ranke’s preferred sources, the records of the Venetian state arguably form the very foundation of history as a professional discipline. Drawing on critical archival studies and studies on the social history of the archive, in this talk I will focus on what this extensive government archive does not tell us. The reputation of Venice as La Serenissima, ‘the most serene one’, is one of the most enduring myths in European history. Unlike other early modern cities, Venice is believed to have experienced no significant popular contestation. Yet Venice’s reputation for serenity is founded on extensive archival suppression, rather than the actual absence of popular protest. By deconstructing archival gaps and silences, my project aims to reconstruct popular protest in the street, from grain riots and labour conflicts to mass demonstrations on Saint Mark’s Square and invasions of the Ducal Palace. In doing so, it rewrites Venetian history while raising the perennial question of how we can make archival silences speak.
This talk will be given by Dr. Maartje van Gelder (University of Amsterdam), this year's CIDRAL Visiting Fellow. The talk forms part of CIDRAL's Archives series.
Speaker
Maartje van Gelder
Organisation: University of Amsterdam
Travel and Contact Information
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Hanson Room
Humanities Bridgeford Street
Manchester
