Benjamin Woodford

 

E-mail: bdw1@queensu.ca
Phone:  613-533-2150  ext 74370
Fax: 613-533-6298
Office:  Watson 233

 

Education

PhD, University of Cambridge, April 2010
MA, Queen's University, October 2007
BA Honours, Dalhousie University, May 2006
 

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About

My research focuses on Oliver Cromwell and print culture in the 1650s. Cromwell's career has interested me throughout my studies and it continues to form the backbone of my work. My doctoral thesis explored different reactions to the growth of Cromwell's monarchical power. It included opinions from famous writers, such as John Milton and James Harrington, as well some lesser known writers. I sought to prove that the topic of Cromwellian kingship was not confined solely to Cromwell and his closest advisors; rather, it spilled out into the public discourse where all sections of society were eager to comment and debate. I have recently converted my doctoral thesis into a book entitled "Perceptions of a Monarchy without a King: reactions to Oliver Cromwell's power," which is under contract for publication with McGill-Queen's University Press.

Cromwell's speeches are another subject which I find fascinating. I have researched the variations and complexities of Cromwell's speeches and discovered that one's understanding of the speech can change dramatically depending on which version of the speech one reads. I presented my findings to the editorial board responsible for producing the new edition of Cromwell's letters and speeches, who later asked me to prepare one of the essays that would accompany the new edition of Cromwell's letters and speeches. My findings also led to an article on the sources of Cromwell's speeches which has been published by the journal Parliamentary History.

Currently, I am researching how Cromwell's reputation has changed over time.  I want to discover how the availability of sources and cultural factors have affected how historians have portrayed Cromwell over the last two centuries.

Publications

Book

Book manuscript entitled Perceptions of a Monarchy without a King:  Reactions to the Growth of Oliver Cromwell's Power is under contract for publication with McGill/Queen's University Press.

Journal Article

"Printing Oliver Cromwell's Speeches:  The Making of a Split Personality," Parliamentary History, Vo. 31, pt. 2 (2012), pp. 152-168.

Forthcoming essay

I have been commissioned to write an essay that will accompany the new edition of Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches, which is funded by the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council in the UK). My essay will discuss printed versions of Cromwell's speeches prior to 1662.

Book Review

"The Correspondence of Henry Cromwell, 1655-1659: From the British Library Lansdowne Manuscripts." Parliamentary History, Vol. 28, Part 2 (June 2009), 303-305.

Conference and Workshop Presentations

"English Print Culture and the Question of Cromwellian Kingship" Presented at the University of Cambridge Early Modern British and Irish History Seminar on 26 May 2010.

"Sectarian Print Culture and the Kingship Crisis during the Cromwellian Protectorate" Presented at Early Modern History Graduate Workshop at the University of Cambridge on 26 October 2009.

Presentation to the Editorial Board responsible for a new edition of Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches at an AHRC-funded workshop at Nottingham Trent University on 19 September 2009. Led the workshop concerning the problems of establishing copy texts of Cromwell's speeches as Lord Protector.

"The Development of Censorship during the English Civil War and Protectorate" Presented atRevolution and Restoration: Change and Continuity in the British Isles, c. 1640-1670 at Selwyn College, University of Cambridge, on 10 January 2009.

"Republican Attitudes Regarding Cromwell and Kingship" Presented at Early Modern History Graduate Workshop at the University of Cambridge on 13 October 2008.