Visiting Scholar to Speak on Renaissance Herbals

Renaissance herbals—sixteenth and seventeenth century printed guides to plants, herbs, and trees, sometimes lavishly illustrated—may be the most popular early modern book you've never heard of. Come hear all about these fascinating works in a lecture by visiting scholar Sarah Neville, associate professor in the departments of English and Theatre, Film, and Media Arts at the Ohio State University, and the author of Early Modern Herbals and the Book Trade (Cambridge, 2022). Dr. Neville’s research in Shakespearean performance, book history, and editorial theory examines the ways that authority is negotiated in print, digital, and live media. Her talk will explore how Renaissance herbals, like the ones held in USU's Special Collections, as well as other best-sellers in their time, are often least likely to survive, making them paradoxically obscure by virtue of their ordinariness. 

Dr. Neville’s talk is the third in the 2024-2025 Tanner Talks series, “Biscuits and Botany: Transforming the Early Modern Book.” A collaboration between the departments of English and History, this series showcases co-sponsor USU Library’s rich collection of books on early modern science, medicine, and magic, demonstrating how books can be vehicles for creative, meaningful transformations through history. Dr. Neville’s talk will follow the official opening of a student-centered exhibit in USU Special Collections, “Magic and Astrology: Shakespeare’s Interconnected World,” from 3:00-4:00, in the library’s Lower Level.