Royal Loss in the Modern World (1700-present)

Royal Loss in the Modern World: Communities of Mourning and Mourning in the Community (1700-present)

This exciting project aims to explore the political, cultural and emotional impact of Royal deaths in the context of the modernising and modern world. In an era of ‘democratisation’ and party politics, of increasing communications and globalisation what significance did the death of individual royals hold and how did their subjects, supporters and opponents respond? How widespread was material and/or emotional experience of royal death and mourning and how were royal deaths used and dressed for political ends? When was it ‘impolitic’ to mourn a royal death? Proposals for chapter/case-study contributions to a collected publication are welcomed from researchers at all stages in their career, from doctoral students to established scholars, and from any related disciplines, addressing such topics as:

• Royal Mourning in the provinces
• Royal Funerals as public spectacles
• Royal deaths and mourning in the media age
• Broadcasting royal funerals
• Mourning by special interest groups and/or communities
• Specific or wider communities purposefully abstaining from mourning a royal loss
• Unofficial or even secret mourning of a royal death
• Communities/groups of mourners at royal funeral/ commemoration event
• Dissemination of official mourning
• The material culture of mourning a royal death
• Relics of dead royals in the modern era
• International royal mourning, mourning in the empire, expat communities of mourning etc.
• Public controversy and royal death
• The significance of royal death and bodies within developing constitutional monarchies
• Royal ‘martyrs’ in the modern world
• Mourning of royal-like figures – eg. Elected representatives and/or their families

 

At this stage preliminary proposals of between 300 and 800 words and should be sent along with your name and institutional affiliation to royallossyork2012@gmail.com by 3rd January 2014.