Martyna Mirecka
MA (with distinction) in Political Science (Jagiellonian University), MLitt in Scottish History (University of St Andrews)
Email: mm878@st-andrews.ac.uk
Thesis title: British perceptions of Poland-Lithuania in the long seventeenth century
Supervisor: Professor Roger Mason
The purpose of my project is to establish what Britons knew and how they saw Poland-Lithuania in the early modern period. I am looking at the range of geographical and historical information, English and Latin descriptions of Poland-Lithuania’s physical topography and boundaries, and its ethnic and cultural make-up presented in histories, atlases and maps in order to establish what, where and who Poland-Lithuania was for Britons. Moreover, through examination of books, pamphlets and newspapers commenting on the kingdom’s geopolitical role, its political framework and religious diversity I aim to evaluate the role that both criticism and praise of Poland-Lithuania played in British religious and constitutional debates.
Conference and Seminar Papers
- What and where was Poland-Lithuania? Some reflections on early modern mapping, St Andrews-Aberdeen Postgraduate Conference, Aberdeen (forthcoming – May 2012)
- British perceptions of Poland-Lithuania – project overview, Postgraduate Forum, University of St Andrews (April 2012)
- Poland-Lithuania as a bulwark of Christendom, The Centre for Early Modern Studies, University of Aberdeen (February 2012)
- Re-imagining “imagined communities”. A case study in the shaping of historical perceptions, Historical Perspectives, University of Glasgow (June 2011)
- Poland-Lithuania on the pages of the London Gazette, ISHR Seminar, University of St Andrews (December 2010)
Teaching
MO1007 - The Early Modern Western World, c. 1450-c. 1770 (Tutor)
MO2008 - Scotland, Britain and Empire, 1500-2000 (Tutor)
Administration
St Andrews-Aberdeen Postgraduate Conference (May 2011) - Co-ordinator
Awards
Gibson-Sykora Scholarship, University of St Andrews (2012)