Over the last week I have been spending most of my time in Gloucestershire. I spent two days this week sitting at the archives going over documents transcribed by an early 20th century antiquarian and I have spent the weekend hunting down supposed stone that was once at Hailes and now in other buildings in the immediate area. This has all been rather different than my ‘day job’, but it has been fun too.
Over the last few years there have been many times when people ask me the same question: why on earth did you decided to study architectural history instead of information systems for a phd? It is a reasonable question, but one that I am tired of answering. I do digital policy and strategy. If we lived in an offline world I would most likely be involved in research and policy work anyway, but it just happens that we have a communication and information medium that faces issues and I enjoy the work that I do around it. But why not do research in this area instead? Continue reading
Last weekend I went to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire. The purpose of the weekend was to run around (literally) and look at all potential and recorded locations into which Hailes Abbey fabric had been deposited. The weekend was in part successful The discovery of the St. Michael’s, Buckland and its contents including bits of stone from a Hailes reredo (possibly) and a William Morris stained glass window made it all worth it at the end of the weekend. However most of it was spent walking, running, and driving around in circles from Winchombe to Hailes to Broadway and back to Southam. It was the first of what I expect to be a few weekends spent trying to find pieces of Hailes fabric. Continue reading
To most people who don’t know me, my academic research may seem a bit incongruous with the rest of the work that I do and my interest in politics. I see it as a logical next step in my on-going and higher education process. I am not just looking at history – or rather architectural history – but I am thinking about the political economy, motivation, and institutions of that time period. And not in the least it is the time of the rise of merchants (or really entrepreneurs) who are making money and becoming patrons.
One of the worst things about being home ill with a cold is that you have a lot of time to get things done, but no energy to do things or even read. However, one of the best things about being home ill is that in between naps and resting, one can look at art or architecture books – as they are picture books.
DOMINIQUE LAZANSKI 