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Dr Krisztina Ilko |
History of Art |
My research project, ‘The Pawns of History: A New Approach Towards the Global Middle Ages,’ uses the game of chess and surviving chess pieces to find a tangible approach towards the global medieval past. In contrast to previous histories which have focused on the development of gameplay, my project employs chess to study cross-cultural communication in the Afro-Eurasian world between 800 and 1400. Scholars have often approached the multicultural Middle Ages either through its connectivity or as a period of barrier making and cultural difference. Chess, however, opens up the possibility to trace interconnectivity between different geographies, cultures, and social strata, but also show how the same connections could be used to create separation and distinctiveness. The primary goal is therefore a critical rethinking of wider processes, practices, and products of cross-cultural interaction. Ultimately, my project addresses how the ‘global’ was experienced in the medieval era, and contributes to broader discussions about how the Middle Ages overlaps but also differs from the modern global world.
My scholarship has been generously supported by, amongst others, the Royal Historical Society (RHS), the British Academy, the International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA), the Italian Art Society (IAS), AHRC, the Francis Haskell Memorial Fund of The Burlington Magazine Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Delaware Valley Medieval Association, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, the University of Toronto, the University of Oxford, Trinity College, Oxford, Pembroke College, Cambridge, Kettle's Yard, and the History of Art Department at Cambridge. |
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Dr Eamonn O Keeffe |
History |
I completed a DPhil thesis on British military music during the Napoleonic Wars at the University of Oxford in 2022. The resulting research, which I am working on publishing as a book, has been awarded the André Corvisier Prize by the International Commission of Military History and the Pollard Prize by the Institute for Historical Research. An Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, I have worked as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire and am a Trustee of the Society for Army Historical Research. I have also published several peer-reviewed articles and discussed my work widely in the media, appearing twice on the BBC’s hit family history show 'Who Do You Think You Are?'
Besides pursuing my research, I convene the Cambridge military history working group and collaborate with the National Army Museum to promote greater public understanding of their collections. |