معرفی
Mary Laven is Professor of Early Modern History and a Fellow at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, specializing in the social and cultural history of early modern Europe with particular focus on Italy. Her academic career spans over two decades at Cambridge, where she has established herself as a leading scholar in religious material culture and gender studies.
Her educational foundation includes an MA from the University of Cambridge, an MA in Renaissance Studies from the Warburg Institute (University of London), and a PhD from the University of Leicester on early modern nuns. This background informs her interdisciplinary approach to historical research.
Professor Laven's research centers on the intersection of religion, gender, and material culture in Renaissance Italy, with significant contributions to understanding domestic devotions, convent life, and Jesuit missions. Her work frequently examines how ordinary people practiced religion in household settings, challenging traditional narratives of the Counter-Reformation. She employs methodologies from art history, anthropology, and material culture studies to analyze objects, spaces, and texts.
Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent thematic threads: the material dimensions of piety in Italian homes, cross-cultural religious encounters (particularly Jesuit missions in China), and the social history of religious institutions. Her scholarship demonstrates increasing interdisciplinary collaboration, especially evident in the ERC-funded 'Domestic Devotions' project.
Her major recognitions include:
- 2002 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for Virgins of Venice: Enclosed Lives and Broken Vows in the Renaissance Convent
- Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship (2011-13) for 'Objects of Devotion'
- ERC Synergy Grant (2013-17) for 'Domestic Devotions'
- 2019 Roland H. Bainton History/Theology Prize for The Sacred Home in Renaissance Italy
Professor Laven has supervised numerous graduate students and secured substantial research funding, including the €14 million ERC Synergy Grant that supported a four-year collaborative project. She actively engages with public audiences through museum curation (Fitzwilliam Museum exhibitions) and media appearances (BBC Radio Four's In Our Time). Her institutional roles include serving as a syndic of the Fitzwilliam Museum and contributing to college governance at Jesus College.
She leads collaborative research teams such as the 'Domestic Devotions' project, which involved nine researchers investigating Renaissance Italian home religion through books, family records, objects, and paintings. This work has produced major publications, exhibitions, and digital resources that redefine understanding of everyday piety.
