Seán Williams writes and broadcasts on German and comparative cultural history.
Latest by this author
Ornamental gardens and Alpine-style cottages transformed the English countryside into miniature Swiss landscapes, blending Romantic ideals with playful kitsch.
More about this author
Seán Williams is a senior lecturer in German and European cultural history at the University of Sheffield, and writes and broadcasts on German and comparative cultural history. His first book, Pretexts for Writing: German Romantic Prefaces, Literature, and Philosophy, concerns print culture around 1800. He is currently writing a cultural and media history of the hairdresser. A version of “Little Switzerlands” can be heard on BBC Radio 3.
External
Dogged by Controversy
Our Relationship With Canines Through the Ages
Guardian | April | 2023
The exhibition Portraits of Dogs at the Wallace Collection in London shows how dogs became important in art and culture over time. It includes works from ancient Roman sculptures to drawings by Leonardo da Vinci and paintings by famous artists like Gainsborough and Landseer. Around 1800, dogs were often painted in fancy frames for wealthy families. Soon, people of all classes admired dogs, writing poems, stories, and memorials about them. Dogs became a major cultural symbol.
Telegraph | April | 2019
The author reviews an exhibition documenting the history of our friendship with dogs.
Touring Sweden’s Frozen Lakes
Guardian | February | 2018
The author embarks on a wild skating tour across Sweden, inspired by reading about how it was a popular past time in the late eighteenth century.
Publications by this author
German Romantic Prefaces, Literature, and Philosophy
Bucknell University Press | March | 2019
Around 1800, printed books inspired new ways of thinking about how the mind works, especially in Germany, where writers were seen as both poets and thinkers. Authors like Goethe, Jean Paul, and Hegel used prefaces to explore the challenges of writing and interpretation. While earlier writers showed how books allow playful ideas, German Romantic writers made these ideas more theoretical. This approach shaped later philosophy and post-structuralist literature, turning the preface into a space for creative and thoughtful experimentation.
Media by this author
Feature | September | 2020
Commemorating 250 years since the birth of Wordsworth, guests discuss the importance of cows in art and culture.
Feature | November | 2019
Williams explores the deep and meaningful relationship between small pooches and their eighteenth-century owners, from the Duchess of Devonshire to Frederick the Great!
Feature | October | 2016
From Hoffman to Balzac and beyond, Williams considers the depiction of hairdressers in art and text.
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