How was the ‘present’ perceived and experienced in Northwestern Europe between the mid-fourteenth and the mid-seventeenth century?
This question forms the point of departure for this interdisciplinary and international research project, conducted at the universities of Lille, Lausanne and Neuchâtel and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation under the Sinergia scheme.
The region, comprising the Netherlands, the Western part of the Holy Roman Empire, Northern France and Southern England, forms a singular historical context that is markedly different from the Renaissance as it is commonly understood. Characterized by the coexistence of several political systems and various languages, strong urbanisation and rapidly changing conditions, it formed the stage for a number significant changes in the domains of politics, economy, religion and the arts.
Bringing together the disciplines of history, art and literary history, linguistics, media studies, anthropology and political science, the team of researchers will focus on three axes.
This project aims to direct the focus to this region, in order to shed light on its diversity and complexity and the essential role that it has played in the perception of the present in a larger European context.
