Early Modernity Beyond the West: David Atherton (Harvard University)

Join us for the first seminar, on Tuesday, January 13, at 4:30pm in Pigott Hall 252 for a conversation with Professor David Atherton (Harvard) on: What Was an Author in Early Modern Japan? Ueda Akinari and the Meaning(s) of a Creative Life! 

The seminar is part of the series, Early Modernity Beyond the West, which will take place in the winter and spring 2026. 

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Early Modernity Beyond the West aims to investigate whether and how the concept of early modernity can be extended to Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia between the 15th and the 18th centuries. The project brings together professors, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from Stanford and from other institutions, who work in the early modern field in history, art history, literature, and religion. In this way, the group fosters reflection on the features and issues of early modernity.

Assessing the breadth and relevance of early modernity for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia helps reconsider the concept on a global scale. In turn, defining early modernity as a transnational concept allows for more accurate analyses of each region’s specificities. Hence, the group’s guiding questions are: What are the defining traits of early modernity? What are the specificities of local experiences of early modernity? How do these specificities combine to delineate early modernity as a transnational concept?

The series is a Research Unit within the DLCL and takes place in collaboration with the Abbasi Program, CMEMS, CREEES, the Department of History, the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, EALC, Religious Studies, and Renaissances. 

We look forward to seeing you and to having fruitful conversations!