Theatre
The Tempest’s Islamic Ghosts
The Barbary powers are a non-negotiable part of the Mediterranean who are engaged with and even married into.
21 September 2026
Tiny Treasures: Cloves in Early Modern English Literature
This Southeast Asian spice not only sparked fierce international competition, but also featured within the literature of the Global Renaissance
10 August 2026
Unruly Muslim Women and the Construction of European Masculinity in Philip Massinger’s The Renegado
In 'The Renegado', the control of Muslim women is a site for constructing European racial, masculine superiority in contrast to perceived Muslim inferiority.
23 February 2026
Fit for a Princess: Connecting Britain and the ‘Moluccas’ in 1621 and 2011
John Fletcher's 'The Island Princess' and BBC's 'The Spice Trail': how the figure of a princess connects Maluku to Britain across 400 years.
17 February 2026
Of Scimitars and Shakespeare
As an early modern English playwright, Shakespeare uses the scimitar as a sign of Eastern otherness and the anxieties associated with it across time and space.
9 February 2026
Mughal Matriarchs: The Untold Power of Royal Women in the Renaissance
Mughal India’s queens were a formidable force for impoverished and isolated England
14 April 2025
Othello and the Ottomans
The ‘Turks’ are an ominous presence in Shakespeare’s Othello who trigger and drive events in the play
8 April 2024