Research Interests
Religious, cultural and intellectual history of Western Europe and North America from the Reformation to the end of the seventeenth century. I am particularly interested in the history of Reading practices, and the relationship between ‘reading’, confessional identity and public life in early modern England.
Courses taught:
Early Modern Christianity 1500-1648
MSt Ecclesiastical History
The Figure of Jesus Through the Centuries
Biography:
My research draws together themes and methodologies from the history of the book, cultural, and intellectual history (including the historical sociology of knowledge), gender history, as well as the religious and political history of the seventeenth century. My doctoral thesis ‘Reading, Religion and Politics c.1630-1685: Lord John Robartes and the Library at Lanhydrock’ was completed in 2024 under the supervision of George Southcombe and Grant Tapsell. I hold a BA and MSt in History from the University of Oxford and, before taking up the Departmental Lectureship in Early Modern Christianities, worked as a Stipendiary Lecturer in Early Modern History at Merton College, University of Oxford.
Recent Publications:
S. Aldred, ‘Medicine, Marriage, and Masculinity in Early Modern England: John Robartes and the library at Lanhydrock house 1630-1685’, Historical Research (2025).
