Eleanor Barnett, PhD student

Postgraduate Pioneers 2017 #5

02 November 2017

With our Postgraduate Open Day fast-approaching (3 November), we introduce five PhD candidates who are already making waves at Cambridge.

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A feather in your cap: inside the symbolic universe of Renaissance Europe

02 November 2017

Today, feathers are an extravagant accessory in fashion; 500 years ago, however, they were used to constitute culture, artistry, good health and even courage in battle. This unlikely material is now part of a project that promises to tell us more not only about what happened in the past, but also about how it felt to be there.

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All the things

Living in a material world: why 'things' matter

18 October 2017

Things structure our lives. They enrich us, embellish us and express our hopes and fears. Here, to introduce a month-long focus on research on material culture, four academics from different disciplines explain why understanding how we interact with our material world can reveal unparalleled insights into what it is to be human.

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Kepler's Trial: An Opera

15 December 2016

An ambitious opera, telling the story of an infamous witch trial, was premiered in October. A film of Kepler's Trial the Opera is now available online. The project was conceived by historian Professor Ulinka Rublack whose recent research shines new light on a 400-year-old scandal.

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Holbein’s satirical depictions of authority figures, such as the King in the Dance Of Death (left), are a far cry from later work such as his iconic portrait of Henry VIII (right).

Holbein’s Dance Of Death - the 16th century Charlie Hebdo

02 November 2016

He is best remembered for the magnificent portraits he produced as the court painter of Henry VIII; but a new study of Hans Holbein’s famous ‘Dance Of Death’ suggests that he also had strong anti-establishment views, creating works which foreshadowed modern satire.

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Folding ‘Trompe l’oeil’ fan, English, c.1750

How we fell in love with shopping

20 March 2015

An exhibition of ‘treasured possessions’ from the 15th to the 18th centuries reveals how we first fell in love with shopping, and takes us back to an age when our belongings were made by hand and passed down through the generations.

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The first book of fashion

01 May 2013

Fashion conveys complex messages. The recreation of an outfit taken from one of an extraordinary series of Renaissance portraits reveals how one man made his mark on society. 

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DragonCon 2008 307

The Spanish Inquisition – Expected Next Month

22 October 2012

Why did nobody expect the Spanish Inquisition? Were their chief weapons really fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and a cushion? Cambridgeshire schoolchildren are invited to find out at an afternoon workshop, being held on 3rd November as part of Cambridge History for Schools.

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Yasumasa Morimura

Looking the part

05 March 2012

Throughout history, clothes have been a powerful part of our identity. Taking place this Friday, a symposium called Appearances of Gender – open to all and free of charge – will bring together some of the country’s leading commentators on dress for a debate about fashion and faith, culture and gender.

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