Recent Developments in 17th and 18th‐Century English Catholic Studies

Abstract

The last 15 years have brought a revolution to research in 17th-and 18th-century English Catholicism. New approaches, shaped primarily by New Historicism and gender studies, have expanded the materials, questions, and methods driving scholarly investigations. The article describes several primary trends within this revolution: the development of inward-oriented and outward-oriented studies examining English Catholicism and English Catholicism's relationship with other discourses, respectively; a growing interest in women's experiences of and contributions to English Catholicism, particularly those of English nuns in exile; and a new narrative for 18th-century English Catholicism revealing its public as well as private iterations and impacts. Overall, current scholarship draws on a plethora of materials including material objects, texts, and space to construct an increasingly detailed picture of English Catholicism as a complex, dynamic force, and community during the 17th and 18th centuries.