M.Phil Research Workshop
Meghan Frazier, Rebecca Graf, Rob Gorvin, Darragh Ryan
In the first weekend of December 2011, four Early Modern MPhil students and course director Graeme Murdock travelled to Kinloch Rannoch in the snowy Highlands of Scotland. We had been invited to attend a workshop run by the Reformation Studies Institute of the University of St Andrews. Over the course of the weekend a series of papers and presentations were given by staff and students in an informal setting. A group of PhD students from St Andrews led a very frank and helpful panel discussion on the opportunities and challenges of doctoral research in early modern history. Master’s students from Trinity presented a panel of papers on ‘Drinking Cultures in Early Modern Europe’. Rebecca Graf tested the geography of wine and beer cultures against responses to the Reformation. Meghan Frazier discussed the social and cultural role of taverns and ale houses within early modern communities. Rob Gorvin analysed efforts to regulate taverns within debates about the rising power of state bureaucracies. Darragh Ryan considered the history of gender in drinking cultures. Our panel sparked a lively discussion and we received some very helpful feedback on our papers. From our perspective, this workshop was a success on many fronts. It provided a challenging but supportive environment to deliver research papers. It was also a great opportunity to meet early modern PhD and Master’s students as well as staff from St Andrews. We also worked together as a team- not least in pushing a car through the snow to get home!