Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Our Research

We conduct innovative research into cultures, societies, and environments from late antiquity to the late eighteenth century. From the Silk Roads of Eurasia to the American archipelagos, from classics to chemistry, from close reading to computational modelling, we work across the arts and sciences to transform approaches to the study of the pre-modern past and to address current global challenges.

Explore our upcoming research events

Inventing Futures

How can the study of the past help us rise to the global challenges which threaten humanity today? Inventing Futures is a new, five-year programme of research at IMEMS which emphasizes the future-oriented consequences of our past-oriented study.

Inventing Futures (IFs) is generously supported by Joanna and Graham Barker. Each of its constituent research projects addresses a particular global challenge related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). Led by senior Durham academics, working with colleagues from other institutions, this new wave of future-oriented research will offer a crucial yet frequently overlooked historical and cultural set of perspectives and tools. Click below to learn more about the first three projects in the IFs programme.

Daphne and Her Sisters: Framing Gendered Violence

Forging Social Solidarities During Religious Wars

Imagining Alternatives: Utopia in the World

Research Clusters

Exploring the ideas of the past to invent sustainable futures, leading the study of Durham’s UNESCO World Heritage Site by placing it in a regional and global perspective, our large and diverse community of researchers are building on traditional areas of strength to develop new themes of research and to create cross-cutting collaborations. Click the boxes below to find out more.