Dr Rosanna Cox

(MA, Cambridge; MA, PhD, London)

Dr Cox is interested in the interconnections between political thought and literature in the early modern period and, in particular, the mid-to-late seventeenth century. Her research focuses on the formation of political identities, the languages of political engagement and the relationships between gender, citizenship and hermeneutics. She is particularly interested in the works of John Milton, the ‘republican speculations’ of his contemporaries and the influence of classical ideas of statecraft in the formation of the commonwealth. She is currently writing a monograph entitled Milton and the Ideal Citizen: Versions of Liberty, Slavery and Political Identity, 1643-1660, which considers the ways in which Milton’s engagement with classical models in a series of his texts from 1643-1660 developed in response to his attempts to imbue the people of England with a sense of their rights and duties as citizens against a backdrop of unprecedented political transformation.

Her other interests include early modern ideas of education and the curricula and pedagogy of the universities from the mid-sixteenth century onwards. Her next project will focus on early modern diplomacy and diplomatic protocol in the mid-seventeenth century.

17th century, particularly topics relating to political identity, gender and rhetoric

Dr Cox co-edits and contributes to an innovative podcasting project, which disseminates scholarly research in new formats and on new platforms. The project is funded by an e-Learning fellowship at the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters, Queen Mary, University of London.

She is a member of the Society for Renaissance Studies.