Textual Ambassadors - Cultures of Diplomacy and Literary Writing in the Early Modern World

在近代早期，文学文本--印刷的、手稿的和口头的--在外交实践中起着至关重要的作用。大使馆是文化交流的场所，文学是我们现在所说的文化外交的常用工具。外交官们使用了广泛的文学文本，这些文本在沟通和调解文化差异方面至关重要。文学作品被作为外交礼物送去，而宫廷里的戏剧和诗歌作品则被赋予了外交意义。作为公共和私人人物，外交官们跨越国界传递文本。他们是作家，赞助人和各种文学的消费者，并受到他们在国外遇到的文学文化的深刻影响。尽管随着礼仪的发展，包括文学在内的文化艺术品在外交实践中变得越来越重要，但人们对这种跨文化外交交流的机制和意义以及它们对文学文化的影响仍然知之甚少。这是一个形成时期，在一个越来越全球化的背景下，外交结构和假设的发展：个别国家外交活动的地理范围大大扩大，统治者越来越多地派遣长期大使馆，通常采用常驻大使的方式，他们在国外提供持续的利益代表。越来越明显的是，我们只有通过更广泛和更深入地研究全球文艺复兴时期相互交织的文学文化和外交文化，才能真正理解早期现代外交和文艺复兴时期的文学文化。由于口头和书面文字仍然是外交实践的核心，这个网络将产生研究与文化外交的理解今天的影响。“文本大使”将为一个新兴但在方法论和理论上欠发达的领域提供迫切需要的定义。主要集中在欧洲和俄罗斯c.1450-1720的发展，它还将评估欧洲和亚洲，非洲和美洲之间的外交活动的扩展的影响。外交史学家越来越多地采用文化方法来研究曾经被认为是官僚或宪法的主题，但相对而言，文学的作用尚未得到探索。与此同时，文学学者越来越意识到，外交接触和过程对文本的形成很重要，但在很大程度上依赖于更古老的历史作品的背景。我们的目标是开发新的方法和理论方法，文学和外交之间的相互关系，将定义和推进这一新兴领域。我们将重点关注三个密切相关的领域：文学领域的变化对外交文化的影响;文本在外交实践中的作用，特别是那些作为“文本大使”的文本;以及外交实践中的变化对文学创作的影响。“文本大使”将汇集来自美国，英国和欧洲的国际学者团队，包括该领域的领军人物，如蒂莫西汉普顿（加州大学伯克利分校）和约翰沃特金斯（明尼苏达大学）。我们对创新的跨学科和多学科方法的承诺反映在网络的组成中：成员具有外交史，文学批评，图书史和文化研究方面的专业知识。我们的活动将集中在两个研讨会和一个国际会议，旨在a）确定该领域的挑战; B）进一步发展和完善我们的核心研究问题; c）探索一系列跨学科的方法;和d）在更广泛的背景下设置网络的研究。虚拟讨论论坛和阅读小组将在网络成员之间提供持续的对话和反思，而一个开放访问的网站将通过举办播客、博客和“文本大使”的网络展览来展示网络的研究。

In the early modern period literary texts - printed, manuscript, and oral - played a crucial part in diplomatic practice. Embassies were sites of cultural exchange and literature was a frequent tool in what we would now call cultural diplomacy. Professionally diplomats used a wide range of literary texts, texts which were critical in communicating and mediating cultural difference. Works of literature were sent as diplomatic gifts, while dramatic and poetic productions at court were invested with diplomatic meaning. As public and private figures diplomats moved texts across borders. They were writers, patrons and consumers of a diverse range of literature and were profoundly influenced by the literary cultures they encountered abroad. Although cultural artefacts, including literature, became increasingly important in diplomatic practice as protocol developed, the mechanisms and meaning of such cross-cultural diplomatic exchanges remain poorly understood, as does their impact on literary culture. This was a formative period in the development of diplomatic structures and assumptions in an ever more global context: the geographical scope of individual countries' diplomatic activity expanded considerably and rulers increasingly sent longer-term embassies, often adopting the use of resident ambassadors, who provided continuous representation of their interests abroad. It is increasingly apparent that we can only truly understand both early modern diplomacy and Renaissance literary culture through broader and deeper investigation into the interlocking literary and diplomatic cultures of the global Renaissance. As the spoken and written word remains central to diplomatic practice, this network will produce research with implications for the understanding of cultural diplomacy today. 'Textual Ambassadors' will provide urgently needed definition to a burgeoning, but methodologically and theoretically underdeveloped field. Primarily focussing on developments within Europe and Russia c.1450-1720, it will also assess the impact of the expansion of diplomatic activity between Europe and Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Historians of diplomacy are increasingly adopting cultural approaches to what was once considered a bureaucratic or constitutional subject, but have left the role of literature relatively unexplored. Meanwhile, literary scholars are increasingly aware that diplomatic contacts and processes were important in shaping texts but largely rely on older historical works for context. Our ambition is to develop new methodological and theoretical approaches to the interrelationship between literature and diplomacy that will define and advance this emerging field. We will focus on three closely related areas: the impact of changes in the literary sphere on diplomatic culture; the role of texts in diplomatic practice, particularly those that operated as 'textual ambassadors'; and the impact of changes in diplomatic practice on literary production. 'Textual Ambassadors' will draw together a team of international scholars from the USA, UK, and Europe, including leading figures in the field such as Timothy Hampton (UC Berkley) and John Watkins (University of Minnesota). Our commitment to innovative inter- and multidisciplinary approaches is reflected in the network's composition: members have expertise in diplomatic history, literary criticism, book history, and cultural studies. Our activities will centre on two workshops and an international conference aimed at a) establishing the challenges of the field; b) further developing and refining our core research questions; c) exploring a range of interdisciplinary approaches; and d) setting the network's research in broader context. Virtual discussion forums and reading groups will provide continuous dialogue and reflection among network members, while an open-access website will showcase the network's research by hosting podcasts, blogs, and web exhibits of 'textual ambassadors'.