Lecture outline

Literary and Philosophical Societies, or ‘Lit & Phils’, were once at the heart of Britain’s intellectual and civic life. From the late eighteenth century onwards, they drew large public audiences to lectures and debates on science, literature, politics, history and discovery, helping to create a culture in which ideas became part of everyday public life. This lecture explores the remarkable rise of the Lit & Phil movement, its role in shaping civic culture and public knowledge, and the reasons for its gradual twentieth-century decline. At a moment when questions of expertise, community and public debate feel newly urgent, the history of the Lit & Phil offers a striking perspective on what has been gained - and lost - in Britain’s intellectual life.

Biographical notes

Dr Martha Vandrei is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Exeter’s Cornwall campus. Her research focuses on the intellectual and cultural history of Britain from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. She is especially interested in the connections between popular and specialist knowledge cultures and in the social history of ideas. Her new book, an alternative history of the British Enlightenment, is under contract with Yale University Press.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, New Walk https://www.leicestermuseums.org/leicester-museum-art-gallery/

The hall will be open from 6:45 and tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.