2014-15
Professor Edoardo Tortarolo
In January 2015, the Trinity Long Room Hub was delighted to welcome Visiting Research Fellow, Prof Edoardo Tortarolo from the University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy for a one week fellowship.
Professor Tortarolo is Professor of Early Modern History in the Department of the Humanities, University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy. Professor Tortarolo was appointed as a short term Visiting Research Fellow at the Trinity Long Room Hub in collaboration with the School of Histories and Humanities.
His current research project is titled 'Censorship and Enlightenment' and focuses on the revision of the categories of Censorship and Enlightenment by looking at relevant events in the second half of the 18th century in different cultural and political contexts. In recent years developments in the system of mass communication have heightened our sensitivity to the limits of, and threats to, the freedom of speech, of the press and of exchange of information and opinions.
The history of press and of control of the press has called for new approaches, and these form part of the larger history of the Enlightenment including its Irish expression. This comparative approach will provide insights into the way censorship was carried out by censors and publishers in those countries where pre-publication control was in place.
It will also allow analysis of how the public was influenced by the style and discourse of the periodicals and journals and by the selection of facts to be presented to the readers.
Professor Tortarolo gave a seminar on ‘(More) connected worlds: the 18th century from a global perspective’ as part of the Centre for Early Modern History Seminar Series 2014-15 on Monday 19 January 2015 at 4pm in the Trinity Long Room Hub.
Censorship and the Enlightenment
