2018/19 Call for Papers
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“Beautiful shells from the shore” Thomas Jefferson’s Sacred Grotto of 1771
Wednesday 24 January 2018: A Presentation by Alley Jordan, University of Edinburgh.
In 1771, the twenty-eight-year-old Thomas Jefferson drew up plans for a classical grotto on his Virginian estate. The scheme embraced a physical and an imaginary world, profoundly influenced by the literature of the ancient world. Sadly for posterity, the ideas were never realised-financial constraints saw to that – but his original plans and additional notes of 1787 provide a tantalising glimpse into Jefferson’s neo-classical vision. In a fascinating paper, Alley Jordan, a second year PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, considered Jefferson’s grotto in its eighteenth-century context: what was its purpose? what was nature of the Grecian ideal which had inspired it? And how does the physical creation of a neo-classical grotto relate to notions of Enlightenment?
The grotto, Alley argued, served many purposes but ultimately it was a place where Jefferson could materialise or re-create his own imagination. Jefferson was steeped in a classical tradition, his grotto a conscious attempt to bring classical antiquity to life. In ancient Greece, the grotto had represented a place of escape. Situated in the mountains, it was a world away from the toils of everyday life. Its life-healing waters were associated with the god Asclepius and connected with the rivers of the Underworld. In early modern times, the grotto came to be associated with melancholy, but Jefferson wanted to recreate the classical idea. In his mind’s eye, he visualised a world removed from the day to day burdens of running a plantation where he could act out his own Theocritan idyll. He believed in the healing powers of spring water and, as the ancients, imagined the presence of Asclepius. Jefferson’s grotto, however, would be both healing and ornamental. He planned a tiered water fall which would make use of the natural waterfalls of Virginia and a sacred temple, similar perhaps to the Queen’s Temple at Stowe. Music and musical instrument would be present in the temple, a conscious echo of a world reflected by the poetry of Theocritus and Virgil. As Alley argued, the grotto was an artistic work which enabled Jefferson to imagine himself in an artistic dreamland.
T
he plan for Jefferson’s grotto, consistent with the classical notion of a locus amoenus, comprised a physical and mystical experience. Each part of the cave would elicit a different emotional response; a visit represented a journey from dark to light and from cold to hot, whilst the presence of stone provided an important connection with geology and geography. As Alley argued, the grotto was a place of transformation and enlightenment in the 18th century.
Alley’s paper generated animated discussion from an appreciative audience. The Graduate Workshop wishes Alley well with her continuing research.
Our next Graduate Workshop takes place on Wednesday 7 February 2018 when our speaker will be Gintare Venzlauskaite from the University of Glasgow. Her paper is entitled:
From Post-War West to Post-soviet east: Manifestations of Displacement, Collective Memory, and Lithuanian Diasporic Experience Revisited
It considers WWII displacements from Lithuania. To what extent did they have an effect on the country’s memory landscape? By providing a retrospective view of discursive patterns regarding population losses and their role in national identity construction, Gintare’s study travels across the US and Russia where a significant part of these losses has been transformed into diasporic communities and their networks.
The workshop will take place at 1 pm in G 16 in the William Robertson Wing of the Old Medical School in Teviot Place.
Everyone is welcome to attend!
Spring 2018 Graduate Workshop Programme
We have now posted details for the spring 2018 programme of the Graduate Workshop. You can find full details on our page:
The series begins on Wednesday 24 January at 1 pm in Room G 16 in the William Robertson Wing of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, the Old Medical School (Doorway 4) , Teviot Place, Edinburgh.
Alley Jordan, of the University of Edinburgh, will speak on:
“Beautiful shells from the shore” Thomas Jefferson’s Sacred Grotto of 1771
Everyone is most welcome to attend.
Autumn 2017 Graduate Workshop Programme
The Emigrant Ship, Charles Joseph Staniland 1880s- Detail (Image Copyright: Bradford Musuems and Galleries)
We have now posted details for the autumn 2017 programme of the Graduate Workshop. You can find full details on our Autumn 2017 Programme page.
The series begins on Tuesday 3 October 2017 at 1 pm in Room G 16 in the William Robertson Wing, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Old Medical School, Teviot Place (Doorway 4)
Marenka Thompson-Odlum of the University of Glasgow, will speak on:
Glassford’s Virginia: Imagining the Scottish Diaspora in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake Bay
Everyone is most welcome to attend.
Graduate Workshop 2017/2018: Call for Papers
We have now come to the end of our 2016/2017 programmme of Diaspora Studies Graduate Workshops. Many thanks to all our speakers who have made such a valuable contribution to this year’s series.
The Graduate Workshop will recommence in October 2017. If you would like to contribute a paper on a diaspora related topic to the 2017/2018 programme, please contact Alastair Learmont or Devin Grier ( see Contact) by 14 August 2017. You can find further details at Call for Papers
Graduate Workshop 14 March: Toys and the Movement of Peoples with Dr Catriona Ellis
Our next Graduate Workshop takes place on Tuesday 14 March 2017 at 1 pm
in G 16 (in the William Robertson Wing of the School of History Classics and Archaeology)
Dr Catriona Ellis who recently received her PhD from the University of Edinburgh will be giving a paper entitled:
Toys and the Movement of Peoples: What The Museum of Childhood’s Collections Tell Us About Material Culture and Childhood.
Toys reflect the interests of adults in collecting as much as of children in playing. What do toys tell us about the movement of peoples? Catriona will base her paper on recent work at Edinburgh’s Museum of Childhood
.
All are most welcome to attend.
Greek Poetry – The Diasporic Dimension: Graduate Workshop 7th February 2017
Our next Graduate Workshop will take place on Tuesday 7th February 2017 at 1 pm in Room G 16 in the William Robertson Wing of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology (Doorway 4 of the Old Medical School).
Maria Athanassiou, a third year PhD student at the International Centre for Musical Studies at the University of Newcastle will be speaking on Diasporic Elements and Soft Power in the Modern Greek Poetry set to Music.
Maria’s paper will consider the role of modern Greek poetry set to music, in a cultural and international setting. What does cultural diplomacy mean? In an age of globalisation, how does modern Greek poetry, set to music, represent “soft power”?
All are most welcome to attend.
Spring 2017 Graduate Workshop Programme
We have now posted our spring 2017 Graduate Workshop programme. You can find full details of all five presentations on our programme page:
The series begins on Thursday 12 January 2017 at 1 pm in Room G16 in the William Robertson Wing, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Old Medical School, Teviot Place (Doorway 4).
Jennifer McCoy of Federation University, Australia,will speak on:
‘Emigration: Scotland to Australia 1840 – 1870. Was the Effort Really Worthwhile?’
Everyone is most welcome to attend.
Scots in 18th Century Rome: Graduate Workshop 29th November 2016
Our next workshop will now take place on Tuesday 29th November at 1 pm in G16 of the William Robertson Wing of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology (Doorway 4 of Teviot) when Dr Lucinda Lax, Senior Curator of 18th Century Collections at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, will speak on:
Franciszek Smuglewicz’s James Byres of Tonley and His Family: A Scottish Antiquarian Network in Eighteenth-Century Rome.
Smuglewicz’s portrait of James Byres of Tonley provides the focal point for a consideration of why Scots in general, and Byres in particular, became so prominent as Ciceroni for grand tourists In what ways did Scottish families operate as “corporations” in 18th Century Rome?
All are most welcome to attend.
University of Edinburgh Diaspora Studies Graduate Workshop 