7
Introduction April 30, 2020. This year’s publication of Babel happens in unprecedented circumstances. Most years, we finish the journal by the end of the academic term, get them printed, and have a launch party with all our contributors and peers. It has always been one of my favourite events of the year, and I miss it greatly as I write this from my kitchen table, where I spend so much of my time during this first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. While I mourn our normal lives, and the loss of an opportunity to celebrate our academic work together, the early modern period and my study of it continue to be a grounding and comforting force in my life. No one knows how to joke about mortality like the early moderns, is what I always say. However, while I and so many others do find solace in studying the past, I would be remiss to not acknowledge the potential for harm that the study of the early modern period can perpetuate. This period, especially in Europe, where King’s students tend to focus our work, was rife with racism, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, and general xenophobia. As scholars, we have a responsibility to recognize and acknowledge this history. We do this so that we may question oppressive systems, and the ways they continue to be present in our contemporary life. The papers included in this journal contend with these issues in a myriad of ways, and we have included content warnings where applicable. I encourage you to engage with the journal on your own terms, and thank you for reading! Zoë Sherwin, Co-President of the Early Modern Students’ Society, 2019-2020.
