Mark Jones

Supervisors: 

• Phil Withington (Primary) 
• Tom Leng (Secondary)

Period:

1500-1800

Thesis abstract:

My research looks into language and symbolic power in seventeenth-century England. It is specifically interested in the term ‘riot’ and how it was used both to describe group behaviour as well as to depict excessive spending. By examining the word’s utterance and the context of its use, my thesis explores how early modern writers and orators chose to invoke a term loaded with connotations of violence when criticising the actions of their contemporaries.