About

Initially set up in 2020 as a quiet Padlet conversation between Anouska Lester and Sierra Carter, the Revels Office quickly grew and became a lifeline during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even when not in lockdown, there are few opportunities for PhD students and Early Career Researchers from different institutions and countries to regularly interact and support one another. The Revels Office aims to bring early modernists together and provide spaces (via Zoom and Padlet) to share ideas and resources, discuss writing wins and woes, and provide feedback on each other’s work.

New members are always welcome, and you can view our current members here.

The Revels Office website is supported by generous funding from the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies at the University of York.

Padlet

We use a private Padlet forum to regularly check in about our current research. You can share reading recommendations, ask for feedback, or just talk about whatever you’re working on right now.

Currently, our Padlet page is only for early modern PhD Students and Early Career Researchers (very loosely defined as anyone who finished their PhD within the last 5 years or who does not have a permanent contract).

If you would like to access the forum, please email Anouska and Sierra at revelsoffice@gmail.com.

Zooms

At the Revels Office, we have fully embraced Zoom life and many of us have only ever met virtually. You can join as often or infrequently as you like, and you can choose whether to use your camera, the chat box, or just listen in. Pet attendance encouraged.

We hold regular Zooms (all times GMT):

For further details and for Zoom links, please email us at revelsoffice@gmail.com. You can also sign up to our mailing lists for regular reminders.

Reading Group

Every month we meet as a group via Zoom to discuss a secondary or primary text which has been chosen by one of our members. Our next reading group is on Thursday 25th April at 3pm (BST) and we’ll be discussing Emma Smith’s Portable Magic. You can read more about our reading group here.

You can see details about our past reading groups here. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to talk to invited guests about their work. We’ve talked to Dr Andy Kesson (University of Roehampton) about A Bit Lit and Box Office Bears, Professor David McInnis (University of Melbourne) about the Lost Plays Database and his book Shakespeare and Lost Plays, and Dr Sophie Duncan (University of Oxford) about Shakespeare’s Props: Memory and Cognition.

All are welcome to join our reading group. Please email Juliana and Maria at revelsoffice@gmail.com if you’d like to attend or lead a session.