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| 'Newcastle-on-Tyne', by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1823) |
The North East of England has a strong culture of innovation in commerce, industry and trade, from its maritime heritage in seafaring stretching back to the medieval and early modern periods, to its renown as a centre for coal mining, shipbuilding and railway invention during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The North East has been home to pioneers of commercial discovery, including George and Robert Stephenson who designed the miner’s safety lamp and the first locomotives, William Armstrong who invented the hydraulic crane, and Joseph Swan who demonstrated the first electric light bulb. Not only did the region produce some of the greatest minds in engineering, trade and industry, but it also inspired a rich history of literature, art and music that both celebrated and reacted against such developments in its culture.
In 1739, the
poet and physician Mark Akenside celebrated the ‘number’s, figure’s, motion’s,
laws’ that had contributed to his birthplace’s fame in his ‘Hymn to Science’.
By 1775, the Newcastle radical Thomas Spence was inspired by his anger towards
proposals to enclose the Town Moor to promote his ‘Land Plan’ – a call for the
equalisation of property that revived the agrarian ideals of the Diggers during
the English Civil War. As a centre for print culture, the Literary and
Philosophical Society became a meeting place for the region’s scientists,
industrialists and men of letters, but the North East was also home to some of
the country’s first female engineers, such as Rachel Parsons who trained women in
the factories of Wallsend during the First World War.
With the dawn of the
twenty-first century, much of the region’s industry has experienced a decline,
with widespread closures of the shipyards and coalmines that compelled the
writers of the North East to commemorate and scrutinise the commercial advances
of their age. Yet growing scholarly interest in its recent industrial past,
such as the ‘Writing the Strike’ project that focuses on poetry written by local
miners during the 1980s, ensures that both the commercial culture of the North
East, as well as its many representations, continues to live on.
The North East Research Group for Commerce and Culture intends to bring
together scholars from across the region who are interested in the impact of commercial
growth upon literature and other cultural forms, as well as the influence of literature
and culture upon such developments in industry. Relevant research interests
might include but are not limited to:
v Prominent innovators in North East commerce, industry and technology.
v Social, political or religious responses to the growth of trade in the region.
v The portrayal of commerce in the works of Northern writers and artists.
v Literary influences in the works of industrialists, scientists or engineers from
the North East.
v Responses or contributions to commercial growth in the North by minority or
marginalised groups.
vThe impact of North East industry upon literature and the arts on a national or
international level.
We welcome scholars from North East institutions who work more broadly upon themes of commerce or economics, and plan to arrange a first event in November 2019 to discuss our aims, scope and plans for public engagement. All disciplines and historical periods are welcome, as are postgraduates, early career researchers, and academic staff. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, or have any queries, please contact us at northeastcommerce2019@gmail.com.
v Prominent innovators in North East commerce, industry and technology.
v Social, political or religious responses to the growth of trade in the region.
v The portrayal of commerce in the works of Northern writers and artists.
v Literary influences in the works of industrialists, scientists or engineers from
the North East.
v Responses or contributions to commercial growth in the North by minority or
marginalised groups.
vThe impact of North East industry upon literature and the arts on a national or
international level.
We welcome scholars from North East institutions who work more broadly upon themes of commerce or economics, and plan to arrange a first event in November 2019 to discuss our aims, scope and plans for public engagement. All disciplines and historical periods are welcome, as are postgraduates, early career researchers, and academic staff. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, or have any queries, please contact us at northeastcommerce2019@gmail.com.
