The Future of Premodern Studies: A View from the Newberry

THE CENTER FOR RENAISSANCE STUDIES (CRS) at the Newberry Library in Chicago is celebrating its fortieth anniversary in 2019. The center was founded in 1979 by Counter-Reformation historian John Tedeschi in order to promote research and scholarly activities at the library, whose rich holdings in medieval and Renaissance studies had already been inspiring scholars since the arrival on staff in 1949 of noted historian Hans Baron. The CRS has always aimed to provide a place for students and faculty to take classes, work with sources, and enjoy collaborations that would not have been possible at their institutions or on an individual basis. Over the years and thanks to subsequent directors and acting directors (Mary Beth Rose, Clark Hulse, Raymond Clemens, Carla Zecher, and Karen Christianson), the center grew to include some fifty universities in its consortium throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Each year the center now hosts three or four symposia, a graduate student conference, numerous workshops and courses, lectures, scholarly seminars, and vernacular paleography institutes. The center also develops and supports digital humanities projects and the Newberry’s fellowship program. What the CRS has accomplished over the years is largely due to the Newberry’s enthusiastic community and the growth of its other research centers, now under the umbrella of the Newberry’s Institute for Research and Education. As I enter my fourth year as director of the center, I am poised to reflect on the future of the field of Renaissance studies as seen through the activities at the library and the center. I should note that by “Renaissance studies” I mean “premodern studies,” since our center encompasses medieval, Renaissance, baroque, colonial, and early